New Development: Bride Kicks Groom

"A man who disappeared from his honeymoon cruise last summer argued in
the ship's bar with his wife, who kicked him in the groin hours before
he vanished, two witnesses said Friday."

http://tinyurl.com/dk5sh

The bride claims that the witnesses are lying, but then she also said
she has no memory of sleeping in the corridor. Sounds like selective
memory.

More from the witnesses:

"witness said she was in the bar with her friends when another group
introduced them to Smith and his wife. She said the couple was heavily
intoxicated and Hagel-Smith was leaning on a male passenger. 'We were
afraid a fight was going to start ... she was flirting with him.' Smith
then began calling his wife names, the witnesses agreed. 'She kind of
pushed him away lightly and suddenly stood up and kicked him in the
private and stumbled out of the bar.'"

My take: they got into a fight, she pushed him overboard, and the
lawsuit and investigations are misdirection to draw attention away from
her part in it.


How B

Ray Goldenberg wrote:

Hi Howard,

FWIW, this is not a new development. It was known many months ago.





See below for a NEW development.


http://www.nytimes.com

January 7, 2006

Grand Jury Reviews Report of Rape on Cruise Ship

By ALISON LEIGH COWAN

A federal grand jury in Connecticut is investigating the disappearance
of George Allen Smith IV, the Greenwich man who has been missing since
his honeymoon cruise of the Mediterranean last summer, and is also
looking into a report of the rape of an 18-year-old woman on the ship
two days after Mr. Smith disappeared, according to people with
knowledge of the investigation.

Some of the same passengers who were seen drinking and partying with
Mr. Smith and who later helped him back to his room the night he
vanished, appear on videotapes of the alleged sexual assault, according
to Royal Caribbean, the operator of the cruise.

The mystery behind Mr. Smith's disappearance somewhere between Greece
and Turkey in the early hours of July 5 has been the subject of a
Congressional hearing, news programs and Internet blogs.

But the case took an unexpected turn this week when Royal Caribbean
disclosed that it had expelled two families from the ship four days
after Mr. Smith's disappearance because of "an allegation of sexual
assault against a female passenger" by some members of those families.

Two videotapes of the alleged assault, made by the participants, are
now in the hands of the authorities, the cruise line said, adding, "The
young men involved contended the encounter was consensual, but the
woman adamantly denied that."

Keith Greer, a lawyer representing one of the families, said yesterday
that the rape report was now part of an F.B.I. investigation. He said
he was hired by the family to help them cooperate in the investigation
and to pursue civil remedies. He said he had notified Royal Caribbean
of his clients' intention to sue over their removal from the ship.

One member of that family, Josh Askin, a 20-year-old college student,
has told reporters that he and three friends from a New York-based
family also removed from the ship had helped Mr. Smith return to his
cabin after a night of drinking. Mr. Smith disappeared a short time
later. According to Mr. Greer, Mr. Askin believes that neither he nor
his friends "did anything criminal" at any point on the cruise.

Both Mr. Greer and company officials said that Mr. Askin was prevented
by crew members from debarking when the ship docked at Kusadasi,
Turkey, the morning after Mr. Smith's disappearance. They said he was
put in a room with the missing man's wife, Jennifer Hagel Smith, as she
was being informed that her husband was lost, and was questioned about
the disappearance later that day by Turkish authorities in his parents'
presence, before being released.

The Smith matter was eventually taken over by agents from the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, who boarded and inspected the ship on July 7
when it arrived in Piraeus, Greece. Royal Caribbean officials say that
by then the sexual encounter had happened but had not yet been brought
to their attention.

By the time the woman notified them, on July 8, the ship was back at
sea en route to Naples, Italy. Royal Caribbean said it promptly
notified the F.B.I. and Italian authorities about the woman's
allegation. Italian and American officials boarded the ship when it
docked in Naples early on July 9. Two tapes - one obtained by the
company and one handed over by parents of one of the young men involved
in the sexual episode - were turned over to the Italian authorities,
who later gave them to the American authorities, the company said.

The company said it expelled the young men and their families shortly
after local authorities concluded their questioning of the young men.
Lisa Bull, a spokeswoman for the F.B.I. in New Haven, described the
investigation into Mr. Smith's disappearance as "a very active and far-
reaching one," but declined to say whether the office was also
investigating the rape report.

Mr. Greer said that he believed his client, Josh Askin, was aware of
the sexual encounter at the time but "was not involved in having sex
with the girl" and "didn't have physical contact."

Arthur Gershfeld, a criminal lawyer for some of the young men involved
in the sexual encounter, said he had every confidence "that the
gentlemen I represent will not be implicated in any type of wrongdoing."

He said that "the F.B.I. has all the evidence and yet the F.B.I. does
not feel that this is a problem. These are good people who are being
tormented by this investigation. This cruise turned out to be a
nightmare."

A family friend speaking on behalf of the 18-year-old woman said the
cruise line had provided her with excellent care and had responded
swiftly to the charges. He asked that his name not be disclosed to
shield the woman's identity, but said that she was "angry and looking
forward to her day in court."

Mr. Gershfeld declined to say whether his clients had helped put Mr.
Smith to bed the night he disappeared or whether they had even been
drinking. As painful as it might be for the Smith family, he said, "No
one did anything to this gentleman."

"steinbrenner" wrote in message
news:MTEzNjY2ODQ2Ny5wb25kZXJ0ZQ.1136668467@nulluse r.com...

See below for a NEW development.


http://www.nytimes.com

January 7, 2006

Grand Jury Reviews Report of Rape on Cruise Ship

By ALISON LEIGH COWAN.....................

It's from the New York Times, for christ sakes. You know, Jason Blair and
all that stuff. Do you actually expect anyone to believe a story in the New
York Times? Jeez, the loons are out today.

"Lauren"



Jeez, the loons are out today.




Apparently.

The full moon isn't until next week.
Hey, anymore it does not matter if is a full moon for the loons to come
out. JR
====
It's from the New York Times, for christ sakes. You know, Jason Blair
and all that stuff. Do you actually expect anyone to believe a story in
the New York Times? Jeez, the loons are out today.

"Ray Goldenberg" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 11:06:28 -0800, How B
wrote:

"A man who disappeared from his honeymoon cruise last summer argued in
the ship's bar with his wife, who kicked him in the groin hours before
he vanished, two witnesses said Friday.


If this was a honeymoon, just think what the marriage would have been, if it
had continued.
There is something very odd about this..not your typical honeymoon! There
must be story behind all this that explains the peculiar behavior of both
the bride and bridegroom.....Sad.

--Jean

AND the woman wasn't even crying when interviewed.
At least the interview I saw. She sounded sooooo saddddened. Like
Jim

On Sat, 7 Jan 2006 16:55:49 -0500, Lauren wrote:

It's from the New York Times, for christ sakes. You know, Jason Blair and
all that stuff. Do you actually expect anyone to believe a story in the New
York Times? Jeez, the loons are out today.

Good point! Let's make sure that everything from the NYT is labeled as
disinformation.

Thanks for bringing that out ot us!!!

rolling eyes
--
http://www.punkvoter.com/anim/anim-idiot.html

jimbo wrote:

AND the woman wasn't even crying when interviewed.
At least the interview I saw. She sounded sooooo saddddened. Like
Jim


I read in some rag (PEOPLE, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY????) that a cop (or
retired cop) had the stateroom next to the Smith's. He said he heard
loud male voices arguing about 4 AM, then a door closing. After that,
he heard a male voice (or voices--can't remember which) in NORMAL
conversation, some drawers opening and closing, and furniture moving
(that one is weird--must have been a helluva large stateroom!) Then, he
heard a "horrendous" (his word) THUD. After that, no more sounds.

Some people, the article said, had seen her flirting with a dealer in
the casino (or maybe it was a bartender?)

This article also stated that he was to return to take over his father's
liquor store after the honeymoon cruise.

Now, given the weirdness of this whole thing, and the wife's rather
detached and emotionless attitude, I was wondering if somewhere there
might be an insurance policy, with her as the beneficiary.

WARNING!! THE FOLLOWING IS SPECULATION!!!! Could be she was just
pulling an Anna Nicole, and was marrying the dude for some big bucks.
Possibly met some unsavory types on the cruise, as well as another
possible love interest. Then, paid, or conned, the unsavory types to
befriend hubby, then eradicate him. Given the circumstances, she could
most likely collect the insurance. AGAIN, SPECULATION!!!!!

But, stranger things have happened, eh?

The Stranger

wrote in message ...
..

Now, given the weirdness of this whole thing, and the wife's rather
detached and emotionless attitude, I was wondering if somewhere there
might be an insurance policy, with her as the beneficiary.

WARNING!! THE FOLLOWING IS SPECULATION!!!! Could be she was just pulling
an Anna Nicole, and was marrying the dude for some big bucks. Possibly met
some unsavory types on the cruise, as well as another possible love
interest. Then, paid, or conned, the unsavory types to befriend hubby,
then eradicate him. Given the circumstances, she could most likely
collect the insurance. AGAIN, SPECULATION!!!!!

But, stranger things have happened, eh?


That's a lot of food for thought....The whole thing is bizarre at the
least...A honeymoon couple who apparently did not even like each other or
know each other's whereabouts on a honeymoon cruise. The bride is found
sleeping on the floor in a hall corridor far from their cabin at 4 am; taken
to her cabin by the crew and she still is not missing her husband or know
his whereabouts; yet goes to the spa that very morning for a massage in the
very same clothes in which she had slept in when found sleeping in the
hallway; all the time not ever giving a thought as to where her bridegroom
hubby was! That should make for a good book!

--Jean