Murder on Carnival Cruise

[MM27]

http://www.lawfuel.com/show-release.asp?ID=22440

July 16, 2009 (by Horatio Algren) According to by a California cruise ship wrongful death lawyer, reports the FBI is investigating the death of a 55 year old woman they believe was killed by her husband aboard a Carnival cruise.

Special agent Keith Slotter of the San Diego FBI Office stated that after they were notified on Tuesday about the death of a 55 year old woman, there were 20 agents transported by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter to the cruise ship Carnival Elation.

FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth stated that the alleged suspect in the murder is the woman’s husband was being kept in a small jail aboard the cruise ship when they arrived. The cabin on the lower deck where the death took place was being guarded and a sign was posted stating secured area.

According to Agent Slotter they do not know the motive for the murder and that out of the 2,052 passengers; approximately 40 passengers were interviewed by the FBI.
According to one of the passengers on the ship Tuesday night, there was an announcement over the public address system calling for Operation Starbright to go to room R-24.

Thursday morning a team was aboard the Carnival Elation to collect forensic evidence in the secured area where the woman was found. The 55 year old woman has been identified by the County Medical Examiner’s Office as Shirley McGill, a resident of Winnetka California.

The Carnival cruise ship Elation left San Diego on Saturday with 2,052 passengers aboard for a five day cruise to Cabo San Lucas. A spokesperson in a written statement for the Carnival Cruise line stated their thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Shirley McGill.

 

[eduk8r26]

My family and I (37 of us) were on that cruise ship this week. It happened Tuesday night. We were at a family karaoke and while some kids were singing the PA system broke in with the announcement "Operation Brightstar to R24." We thought it might have been a missing child, but didn't think anything more. But my brother, who is a policeman, googled 'Brightstar" and found out it means medical emergency. We didn't hear anything more till we got off yesterday morning and saw the news trucks. I did think it was odd that the ship stopped in the middle of the Pacific about 3 Wednesday morning. Found out later it was to let the 20 or so FBI agents on board. I didn't see any of them at all on Wednesday either.

 

[DWGal210]

That is so scary - what a terrible thing.

It seems that quite a few terrible tragedies have happened on Carnival ships. Maybe I'm wrong and it's other cruise lines, but I can think of 3-4 instances from the past year where someone has died under suspicious circumstances and/or fell overboard. It seems to me these are Carnival ships.

In any event, very tragic for her family. How terrible.

 

[LoraJ]

That is so scary - what a terrible thing.

It seems that quite a few terrible tragedies have happened on Carnival ships. Maybe I'm wrong and it's other cruise lines, but I can think of 3-4 instances from the past year where someone has died under suspicious circumstances and/or fell overboard. It seems to me these are Carnival ships.

In any event, very tragic for her family. How terrible.

Most of the time, the jumpers are suicidal.

There have been incidents on Royal Caribbean as well.

 

[DWGal210]

Most of the time, the jumpers are suicidal.

There have been incidents on Royal Caribbean as well.

That's right, I did hear about RC as well. How sad - terribles occurances all around.

 

[rowbear]

That is so scary - what a terrible thing.

It seems that quite a few terrible tragedies have happened on Carnival ships. Maybe I'm wrong and it's other cruise lines, but I can think of 3-4 instances from the past year where someone has died under suspicious circumstances and/or fell overboard. It seems to me these are Carnival ships.

In any event, very tragic for her family. How terrible.

Probably because Carnival is so very popular and well-known. I have no idea what their market share of cruisers are but when you have the equivalent of a small town's population on your ship often enough incidents will happen I suppose.

Probably the only reason this doesn't happen more often (statistically) is because people are on vacation where they are less stressed and having a good time.

 

[MM27]

That is so scary - what a terrible thing.

It seems that quite a few terrible tragedies have happened on Carnival ships. Maybe I'm wrong and it's other cruise lines, but I can think of 3-4 instances from the past year where someone has died under suspicious circumstances and/or fell overboard. It seems to me these are Carnival ships.

In any event, very tragic for her family. How terrible.

It's not just Carnival. There is actually a website that lists all of the incidents at sea and they all (large and small vessels) have their share of issues.

I just always wondered why people wait until they're out at sea to do these things.

 

[tasha99]

I remember a website like that but I couldn't find the one I was thinking of. This one seemed pretty comprehensive as well though.

http://www.cruisebruise.com/index.html

 

[S. C.]

I remember a website like that but I couldn't find the one I was thinking of. This one seemed pretty comprehensive as well though.

http://www.cruisebruise.com/index.html

Thank you I didn't know about that website.


Is this the other website everyone is thinking of?

http://www.cruisejunkie.com/events.html
Scroll down to get to the list.


.

 

[tasha99]

That's the one I was thinking of. I used to read it all the time when I worked at Royal Caribbean. (not at work, just because it interested me)

 

[freckles and boo]

Alcohol plays a big role in many of these things as well. I was on a cruise with my sister this spring and our first night out we enountered (and helped) a woman who was stumbling around with vomit on her shirt at nine pm. We weren't even out of sight of Florida. We had to find a steward to help out because she was literally blotto and probably would have fallen down the stairs if we hadn't been there.

 

[MM27]

Thank you I didn't know about that website.


Is this the other website everyone is thinking of?

http://www.cruisejunkie.com/events.html
Scroll down to get to the list.


.

Yeah, that's the one I read.

 

[KSchwagg86]

That is so scary - what a terrible thing.

It seems that quite a few terrible tragedies have happened on Carnival ships. Maybe I'm wrong and it's other cruise lines, but I can think of 3-4 instances from the past year where someone has died under suspicious circumstances and/or fell overboard. It seems to me these are Carnival ships.

In any event, very tragic for her family. How terrible.

Carnival also normally attracts the more crazy crowds from what I have heard/read...still ver sad