Autopsies reveal cause of death of US banker and wife onboard Mike Lynch’s superyacht
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Autopsies have been carried out on a couple who drowned on Mike Lynch’s superyacht when it sank off the coast of Sicily last month.
Seven lives were lost when the British-flagged boat, called the Bayesian, went down in a freak storm while anchored near the Sicilian capital of Palermo on 19 August.
British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 19-year-old daughter Hannah Lynch were among those who died, while his wife, Angela Bacares, survived with 14 others.
On Monday, Italian authorities said the first post-mortem examinations on the victims had been carried out on US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda. The results confirmed that the pair had drowned.
Post-mortem examinations are planned on Wednesday on the bodies of Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley’s London-based investment banking subsidiary, and his wife Judy.
They are also due to take place for the remaining three victims, Mr Lynch, who had organised the yacht trip to celebrate a recent legal victory, his daughter Hannah and the yacht’s cook, Recaldo Thomas.
Mr Morvillo was one of Mr Lynch’s US lawyers in a fraud case involving the sale in 2011 of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in an £8.3 billion deal that quickly turned sour over allegations Mr Lynch had cooked the books to overvalue Autonomy.
He was acquitted in June.
Prosecutors are investigating the captain, New Zealander James Cutfield, and two crew members for possible responsibility in connection with the sinking.
The 56-metre (184ft) luxury yacht sank during what appears to have been a sudden downburst, or localised powerful wind from a thunderstorm that spreads rapidly after hitting the surface.
Prosecutors said raising the Bayesian and examining the yacht for evidence would provide key elements to the investigation.
