Criminal inquiries into Bayesian yacht deaths delays UK inquest

A coroner has said criminal investigations need to finish before a full inquest can start into the deaths of four people when a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily.

Tech tycoon Mike Lynch, 59, his daughter Hannah, 18, both from Suffolk, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife, Judy, 71, from Kent, were among seven people who died when the Bayesian sank on 19 August.

Suffolk senior coroner Nigel Parsley heard that two criminal investigations were taking place, in the UK and Italy.

The 56m (184ft)-long sailing vessel is still on the seabed and was expected to be recovered in May.

An earlier inquest hearing in Ipswich in October 2024 heard the boat was 0.8 nautical miles off the northern coast of the Italian island, near the fishing village of Porticello, east of Palermo, when bad weather hit.

Fifteen people managed to escape on a lifeboat including a one-year-old as well as Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares.

The bodies of the deceased were recovered following a search by divers over several days. Ms Lynch’s body was the last to be recovered.

Mike and Hannah Lynch lived at the Loudham Hall estate near Wickham Market, while Mr and Mrs Bloomer lived near Sevenoaks.

The other three people who died were US lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo and the yacht’s chef Recaldo Thomas, who was originally from Antigua.

The Suffolk coroner is only looking into the deaths of the British victims.

During a pre-inquest review held in Ipswich, the coroner said “very little evidence has been seen in this case yet” and he added he would not be setting a date for the full inquest until criminal investigations had finished.

He said that hearing was likely to last 5-10 days, but it could be longer if a jury was required.

However, Mr Parsley said he was “minded to conduct this inquest without a jury”.

He said he expected to hear from senior crew members, maritime investigators, weather experts and eyewitness accounts.

Mark Cam, lead investigation officer from the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency spoke at the latest hearing and said the agency was looking to see if there were any “breaches of maritime legislation”.

He added that Italian authorities were conducting a criminal investigation and were looking at the possibility of charges equivalent to manslaughter.

Mr Cam said they had “taken a number of witness statements… some statements are still needed from crew members”.

According to Mr Cam “virtually all the crew members do not live in the UK” which meant it was taking more time to gather interviews.

He said he expected investigations on the vessel to take “many months” and it will need to be “made safe” when recovered.

Simon Graves, principal inspector at the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) told the coroner they were hoping to publish an interim report in the public realm in the next four to six weeks, containing information about the incident.

He added that MAIB investigators would be on the scene when the yacht was brought ashore.

He said their investigation was separate from the criminal inquiries and “our sole purpose is to improve safety”.