Vanished Disney cruise ship worker could be 'murdered'

[DISNEY FANTASY]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-34659505


The mysterious disappearance of a British woman on a cruise ship four years ago should be investigated by UK authorities, an MP has demanded.

Rebecca Coriam, 24, from Chester, fell overboard from the Disney Wonder near Mexico but her body has not been found.

Labour MP Chris Matheson said he fears she was murdered and has called for an inquiry.

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said disappearances overboard were "incredibly rare".

Rebecca's disappearance was investigated by the authorities in the Bahamas where the vessel was registered.

She was last seen alive on 21 March 2011 on board the ship where she worked as a child minder.

Her credit card, which was not found among her personal effects, was used after she vanished.

Image captionChris Matheson fears Rebecca Coriam was murdered

The City of Chester MP Chris Matheson said: "I believe there's sufficient evidence to indicate a crime may well have taken place.

"Whatever the circumstance, there's an obligation to investigate. My worst fear is Rebecca Coriam was murdered."

He said it was a "real possibility" she had been killed and the case had not been properly investigated.

Mr Matheson added: "Now is the time for that investigation to take place."

National jurisdiction only extends up to 24 miles beyond a coastline - beyond that, the law of the country whose flag the ship flies applies.

The Bahamas sent over police Supt Paul Rolle to investigate Rebecca's case.

Lord Prescott called for an end to the flags arrangement and adopt a US-style system in which the FBI investigates maritime crimes involving US citizens, no matter where a ship is registered.

Bill Anderson, a maritime investigator, said Supt Rolle "only interviewed six people out of just over 2,000-odd people and closed the investigation".

He said Mr Rolle spent less time investigating the case than it took him to fly to the vessel. Mr Anderson is "fully convinced" something criminal happened to Rebecca.

The CLIA, the trade body for the cruise industry, said it was the "safest mode of transport".

Disney declined to comment on the case.

You can see more about this story on Inside Out North West on BBC One on Monday 2 November at 19:30 and later on iPlayer.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Whilst she disappeared four years ago, this had a prominent report on BBC Breakfast today, the most watched breakfast show in the UK. They said the family hired a private investigator after the Bahamas sent just one person to investigate her disappearance and he only interviewed six people, in less time then it took him to fly to the shop from the Bahamas.

Now the private investigator has found what they say is significant new information that is shared with the local MP, and they now think there is a possibility of murder, IE her credit card used post her disappearance and other undisclosed information.

There seems to be some settlement between Disney and the family, stopping either making direct comment.

Senior Parliamentarians like Lord Prescott now are backing this making it newsworthy again and raising the profile.

 

[ludari]

This is truly a tragic situation and the family deserves some answers and a more detailed in depth investigation. I would also guess that DCL would also want to know what happened that resulted in the disappearance of this young girl.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

This is truly a tragic situation and the family deserves some answers and a more detailed in depth investigation. I would also guess that DCL would also want to know what happened that resulted in the disappearance of this young girl.

Agree.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Please allow me to start by asserting that people generally do not "fall" off of cruise ships.

Now, does that mean they could be pushed off in a murder situation? Yes, I suppose anything is possible. But that seems highly unlikely. Why bother? What's the motive? So what if her credit card was used after she went missing, my credit cards have been used (or attempted to be used) by people in other states several times.

What is likely, and extremely more common, is people "jumping" off of cruise ships. The parents and families of successful suicides often look for someone to blame. They refuse to believe that their loved one was in a situation that would cause them to not want to go on living. If there's no body, they may also refuse to believe that their loved one is dead.

I remember when this story "broke" years ago. Did the authorities on the ship and in its registered country handle everything as transparently as they could have? Probably not, but I always viewed their actions as those of people trying not to over-publicize a delicate suicide situation, out of respect for the grieving family (and likely their own concern for bad press), and not as some sort of a nefarious cover-up. Do you want to cruise with your kids on the ship with the newspaper headline "Distraught Disney Babysitter Leaps to Her Death in Shocking Love Triangle Suicide"? Well, you're reading this board, so you probably already are.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Well, today it is all over our TV and Radio, it has been before, but not at this level, it's been on the BBC Rolling news channel. What appears new is her MP and Lord Prescott now feel they have seen evidence that does indicate foul play. Not just the credit card but they will not say. The point is it was not investigated fully, in fact one person from the Bahamas interviewing six people in a couple of hours. She had been happy just before and it was completely out of character. Until UK police are allowed to investigate then it will rumble on.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

While it is always a good idea to review new evidence in a case, the ship has literally sailed on ever finding out what happened. It's been 4 years. There has been tons of crew turnover so trying to track down everyone working during that cruise will be nigh on impossible. Same with the passengers. The ship has been repeatedly cleaned and has been through drydock. Even if a body were to turn up, it would be so badly deteriorated at this point that it would be of little to no evidentiary value.
Video from places where the card was used or internet logs if used on-line are long gone. Phone records may still exist but without recordings of what was said, don't prove anything.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

While it is always a good idea to review new evidence in a case, the ship has literally sailed on ever finding out what happened. It's been 4 years. There has been tons of crew turnover so trying to track down everyone working during that cruise will be nigh on impossible. Same with the passengers. The ship has been repeatedly cleaned and has been through drydock. Even if a body were to turn up, it would be so badly deteriorated at this point that it would be of little to no evidentiary value.
Video from places where the card was used or internet logs if used on-line are long gone. Phone records may still exist but without recordings of what was said, don't prove anything.

I do not think they using this as the source of evidence. Base evidence would be taken at the time. I do not think anyone is expecting a body to turn up.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

I do not think they using this as the source of evidence. Base evidence would be taken at the time. I do not think anyone is expecting a body to turn up.

Without knowing exactly what evidence they think they've found, all we do is speculate. But again, time is well against anything they've turned up short of a confession. Someone could have stolen her Credit Card and used it without doing her any harm. Without video or internet logs to tie it to someone who was on the ship, it's not likely a case is going to be won on that. If someone did do her harm, the only evidence that might exist after this long is any video from the ship's cameras assuming it was properly preserved. Even if someone comes forward to say they saw something, corroborating it will be pretty difficult.

If there was foul play, I'd be the first to wish them luck catching the person and prosecuting them. I just don't give them good odds.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Without knowing exactly what evidence they think they've found, all we do is speculate. But again, time is well against anything they've turned up short of a confession. Someone could have stolen her Credit Card and used it without doing her any harm. Without video or internet logs to tie it to someone who was on the ship, it's not likely a case is going to be won on that. If someone did do her harm, the only evidence that might exist after this long is any video from the ship's cameras assuming it was properly preserved. Even if someone comes forward to say they saw something, corroborating it will be pretty difficult.

If there was foul play, I'd be the first to wish them luck catching the person and prosecuting them. I just don't give them good odds.

I am sure any CCTV known would be saved to DVD/Disc, forensics saved and stored, lists of the ships manifest of people on boosted saved, yes people could disappear. They said the credit card and something else their not going to publish, but was shared with their MP who openly said that this could mean she was murdered. We do not know whet that is, maybe it will come out in the newspapers soon. The odds are stacked against them, but in this day and age anything is possible.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

This was a extremely sad event.

However I don't see any mention of new evidence. I only is a polically MP say she could have been murdered, but not backing it up. This was always a possibilty, as was she jumped, fell, or pushed, or never returned for ashore in the last port, etc. Frankly this sounds more a polical and news grab then anything else.

If the family investigator or a friend from the vessel or any.new evidense surfaces, I would be the first to say open a full investigation.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

This was a extremely sad event.

However I don't see any mention of new evidence. I only is a polically MP say she could have been murdered, but not backing it up. This was always a possibilty, as was she jumped, fell, or pushed, or never returned for ashore in the last port, etc. Frankly this sounds more a polical and news grab then anything else.

If the family investigator or a friend from the vessel or any.new evidense surfaces, I would be the first to say open a full investigation.

TS yes, on our TV News they have said more - but in a careful way, they say there is more evidence from the PI.

 

[wilkeliza]

I always am skeptical when it is a PI who has found evidence. PIs are paid to give the family what they want.

I hope they do have a break in this case and figure it out but I'm not sure how they could have new evidence 4 years later on a cruise ship. I could imagine it in a home where perhaps DNA was found in the carpet or a whole found in the wall but the boat has been turned over so many times now and at least one mandatory dry dock in that 4 year period. I can't imagine they found anything on the ship.

 

[DVC-Don]

I don't put much credit into the PI finding the credit card was used after her disappearance. Heck my credit cards have been used in San Francisco, Paris and Brazil over the years and I have never been to any of those locations. My cards got hacked!

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

The credit card use was found not long after the tragic incident happened. Nothing new there.

AKK

It is still a terrible thing to think back about ....

 

[cruisehopeful]

I remember the story because it was so sad. As I recall, she was last seen on a phone call, where she was clearly distraught. She then ran off crying to never be seen again. That would be quite a coincidence if she was murdered at that moment.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

If if someone made a threat you maybe distraught on a call.

 

[Mickey4me!]

I remember the credit card usage was discussed when it first happened. I thought they eventually decided it was just a late posting to her account of a charge that had been made before she disappeared but I could be mistaken. Unfortunately media reporting can be slanted in either direction so you're never sure what the facts really are. Very sad for her family and friends.

 

[Expatriat]

If I received a "threat" while working aboard a cruise ship, I would immediately report it to the appropriate higher-up and if that higher-up was making the threat, I would go even higher. First move. No hesitation. Although I don't think anything would ever cause me to jump ship as an escape from life, a dramatically failed love situation is the only thing that could ever come close. I can't dismiss that possibility, however remote, that love or lack of (a powerful force and maybe not a situation revealed to her family or friends in general) may have pushed her to the brink and in one crazy moment she took her own life. If it was murder, I agree with those who said they are unlikely to prove it (without a doubt) after all this time. No body + no known eyewitnesses usually = no murder.

 

[kiford]

She had been happy just before and it was completely out of character

A good friend of mine committed suicide a year and a half ago. I and others had always thought of him as the most stable of persons, the one who everyone got rational and reasonable advice from. I spoke to him 3 weeks before he committed suicide - he was laughing and telling stories, joking, mentioned about getting together for lunch some time soon, talked about his new job, his daughter's upcoming wedding. Everything seemed normal. I was shocked when I heard the news. He was very good at keeping his real feelings to himself. In public, he put on a face of normality and hid the pain and depression that he felt, and had felt for some time. I still feel like I should have known how he was really feeling, but even his wife never anticipated his actions. We don't know if it was one moment of impulse when the pain got too much or if it was a long-term plan.

The reality is that you don't really know what's going on inside someone's head, especially someone who may potentially commit suicide. They can hide their feelings and act like everything is normal. I tend to ignore such comments as "it was out of character" or they seemed happy before. Maybe she was killed and maybe not, but this particular observation is irrelevant when it comes to someone who has committed suicide. Their true state of mind isn't always obvious.