Husband and Wife Drowned Together as Yacht Sank in Sicily, Autopsy Reportedly Finds

Mar. 15, 2025

Neda (left) and Chris Morvillo in 2018.Photo:Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty

The cause of death of two of the victims on the yacht that sank in Sicily has been determined.

British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter Hannah Lynch,Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda, Morgan Stanley International chairmanJonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy, and yacht chef Recaldo Thomas have been identified as the seven people who died after the luxury yachtBayesiansank off the coast of Sicilyon Monday, Aug. 19.

On Monday, Sept. 2, theAssociated Pressand Italian news agencyANSAreported that the autopsies of Christopher and his wife Neda ruled their cause of death as drowning.

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The couple are reported to have died from suffocation due to drowning. While additional laboratory tests have been carried out to confirm the cause of death, there are currently no other causes.

Rescuers of the Vigili del Fuoco, the Italian Corps. of Firefighters patrol on a small boat in Porticello, on Aug. 21.ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty

ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty

The autopsies for Jonathan and his wife, Judy, are set to be carried out on Wednesday. However, the autopsies for Mike and his daughter Hannah, as well as Thomas', haven’t been assigned as of yet.

The Italian Coast Guard previously said in a statement that the 183-foot British-flagged vessel sank during a “violent storm” last month.

Guests were on the yacht celebrating Mike’sacquittal on all counts of a series of fraud and conspiracy chargeshe faced in the U.S. after a legal battle that dated back to 2018.

His wife, Angela Bacares, was also present on the yacht, but she was rescued along with 14 others on board.

Divers of the Vigili del Fuoco, the Italian Corps. of Firefighters enter Porticello harbor near Palermo.ALESSANDRO FUCARINI/AFP via Getty

ALESSANDRO FUCARINI/AFP via Getty

Meanwhile, Christopher represented Mike in the case, while Jonathan, 70, was a close friend of Mike’s.

Speaking at a press conference on Aug. 24, Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra, head of the Palermo Fire Brigade, said, “It was quite clear that people were trying to hide in the cabins.”

“In the left-hand side, we found the first 5 bodies in the left-hand side cabins, and the final body on the right-hand side,” Fiandra said. “We found them on the highest part of the ship, which was closer to the surface. The vessel had three cabins on each side.”

The five victims, who “took refuge” on the luxury yacht’s left side,had been “searching for air pockets"in a final attempt at survival,” he added.

Ambrogio Cartosio, the chief prosecutor of Termini Imerese, also announced on Aug. 24 that amanslaughter investigationhad been launched, “hypothesizing the crimes of negligent shipwreck.”

source: people.com