One week after the Sicily yacht sinking, the captain of the 183-foot-long vessel is now a key subject in the investigation.
According to Italian news agency Ansa, the boat’s commander James Cutfield is being investigated after the yacht, the Bayesian, sunk on Monday, Aug. 19, at around 5 a.m. local time off the coast of Porticello. The cause of the sinking was a “violent storm.”
22 people, including 12 passengers and 10 crew members, were reportedly onboard the yacht when it sank. While 15 people were rescued, authorities say that seven people were killed. The yacht’s owner, Mike Lynch, was among those who died. His body was discovered on Aug. 22 while the body of his teenage daughter Hannah was recovered the following day.
Others who died in the sinking were New York City attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda, and Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy. Chef Recaldo Thomas’ body was found as well. All of their bodies have been recovered from the water.
Morvillo represented Lynch during Silicon Valley’s “biggest ever fraud cases”. This was over the sale of his company to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011.
Days after the sinking, the captain of the Sicily yacht was questioned by prosecutors from the Termini Imerese Prosecutor’s Office, who are part of the sinking’s investigation. Cutfield is being investigated for “negligent shipwreck and multiple counts of negligent homicide.”
Among the topics that were discussed were the position of the keel, if the hatch was open, and when the alarm was announced as the weather conditions worsened.
Investigators stated that approximately 32 minutes passed from when the yacht began to sink to the first distress flare. The flare went off at around 4:45.
Italian Criminal Lawyer Says an Investigation Into the Sicily Yacht Captain Does Not ‘Imply Guilt’
While speaking to PEOPLE, an Italian lawyer stated that an investigation in the Sicily yacht captain does not imply guilt. It also does not automatically mean that charges will be brought against the captain.
“It does mean that the people under investigation are able to appoint their own medical expert to the autopsies that are taking place their week,” they explained. “A very useful defense measure if they are later formally charged at a later date.”
Italian media outlet Giornale di Sicilia also reported the captain was allowed to hire a defense attorney before the autopsies. The examinations of the bodies are set to start on Monday, Aug. 26, and will conclude on Thursday, Aug. 29.