Four Onboard Mike Lynch’s Yacht Bayesian ‘Dry Drowned’: Autopsies

Four of the dead passengers who went down with the 184-foot luxury yacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily on August 19 during a storm likely ran out of oxygen while trapped in an air pocket in one of the cabins of on the submerged ship, according to autopsies released Wednesday.

Medical Examiners at the Forensic Medicine Institute of the Palermo Polyclinic hospital stated that Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo, Morgan Stanley executive Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Anne Bloomer died from “atypical drowning.” This means that they did not directly die from water intake as would a person drowning in water, or underwater; rather, could not get more oxygen.

The four joined Lynch on the yacht as a part of his victory celebrations after being acquitted of fraud charges in Hewlett Packard’s case against him and were found in the cabin along with Lynch.

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Autopsies for Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, are expected to be carried out on Friday, according to CNN. The two were discovered in separate cabins—Hannah discovered alone—prosecutors revealed to reporters on August 24.

An autopsy for chef Recaldo Thomas, whose body was discovered off the ship, has not happened yet due to issues the Italian authorities have had reaching Thomas’ family in Antigua.

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Italian prosecutors are currently investigating the ship’s engineer Tim Parker Eaton, night watch, Matthew Griffith and captain James Cutfield for manslaughter.

All three of the men have left Italy as the investigation continues, according to CNN.

HP is currently pursuing $4 billion from Lynch’s estate after an English court ruled in 2022 that he had inflated the value of his company, Autonomy, before selling it to the technology giant.