Autopsies show: Cause of death of superyacht victims was “death by imprisonment”

Four of the seven people who died when the Bayesian superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily last month died after being trapped alive in the ship's cabins and suffocated, autopsies revealed.

New York lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda, as well as Jonathan Bloomer, CEO of Morgan Stanley's London-based investment banking subsidiary, and his wife Judy, all died of “death by childbirth” according to forensic findings, reports the Italian news magazine La Repubblica.

The so-called “dry drowning” supports the hypothesis that the four were awake when the ship sank and were desperately breathing oxygen in a narrow air bubble until it tragically ran out. They had no water in their lungs, trachea or stomach, according to the examinations carried out by pathologists at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Palermo.

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The four victims, as well as tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch – who organized the yacht trip to celebrate a recent legal victory – were found in a cabin on the port, or left, side of the ship's hull after the Bayesian capsized and sank within about 16 minutes of a predawn storm on August 19.

Lynch's 18-year-old daughter Hannah was found in the next cabin, also on the port side of the hull. La Repubblica reports that Lynch's wife tried to save her husband and daughter, but when the boat shook, she cut her bare feet on glass and fell to the bottom. The cuts left her unable to walk for a week.

The ship sank on its starboard side and when the oxygen ran out, carbon dioxide was released in the air pockets, ultimately leading to their deaths.

YACHT MANUFACTURER SAYS: 'UNBELIEVABLE' CREW ERRORS LEAD TO FATAL SHIPWRECK IN SICILY

Jonathan Bloomer in 2004. (Andy Shaw/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The ship's cook, Recaldo Thomas, was found right next to the wreck.

According to La Repubblica, autopsies of the bodies of Lynch, his daughter and Thomas are scheduled for Friday.

Civil protection officials believe the ship was hit by an overwater tornado, known as a waterspout, near the port of Porticello, where the yacht was anchored.

There were 22 people on board the Bayesian – 12 passengers and 10 crew members. Fifteen people, including Lynch's wife, were rescued from the 184-foot British-flagged luxury yacht.

Morvillo was one of Lynch's U.S. attorneys in a fraud case involving the sale of search engine company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. The sale cost $11 billion and was derailed by allegations that Lynch cooked the books to overvalue Autonomy, the AP reported. He was acquitted in June.

According to reports, the public prosecutor's office is investigating the captain and two crew members for possible responsibility for the sinking. The cause of the ship's sinking has not yet been determined.

Among the bodies recovered from the luxury superyacht was that of billionaire and British technology titan Mike Lynch. (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Giovanni Costantino, CEO of the manufacturer responsible for building the yacht, blames a series of “indescribable, unreasonable mistakes” by the crew for the ship’s sinking.

Costantino told Reuters the yacht's crew made an “incredible mistake” by not being prepared for the storm, which was included in shipping forecasts. Passengers should have been called out of their cabins and instructed to gather at a safety point while the ship prepared for the storm by taking measures such as hauling in the anchor, the CEO said.

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Italian fire service divers work at the site of a shipwreck in Porticello, Sicily, southern Italy, Thursday, August 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)

Costantino ruled out design or construction errors as a reason for the ship's sinking, saying it was unlikely after the ship had operated smoothly for 16 years, including in more severe weather conditions than Bayesian experienced this week.

Instead, he blamed the yacht's crew for the “incredible mistake” of not being prepared for the storm, which was included in shipping forecasts. Passengers should have been called out of their cabins and gathered at a safety point while the ship prepared for the storm by hauling anchor, the CEO said.

In addition, doors and hatches had to be closed, the keel lowered to increase stability and other safety measures taken, Costantino explained.

Greg Norman, Stephen Sorace and Greg Wehner of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.