George Allen Smith IV Family Story

Table Of Content

• Honeymoon Cruise
• Video shows SLAM! Miami students’ savage beating
• Our Ships Sailing to & from San Juan
• Why Sail from San Juan with Celebrity Cruises
• Honeymooner Goes Overboard: Accident or Foul Play?
• News
• Disappearance of George Smith – Six Years Later – Media Frenzy Follows Case of “Missing Honeymooner”
• Disappearance of George Smith – Larry King Live & the “Missing Groom Mystery”

The FBI would begin an investigation that would span eight years and remains open to this day. For almost eight years, Maureen and George Smith have lived a life of torment not knowing what happened to their 26-year-old son aboard that cruise ship. A publishing company in Connecticut issued a press release today indicating that there is additional evidence to support the conclusion that George Smith was murdered during his honeymoon cruise in July of 2005.

Honeymoon Cruise

"We were told by the Connecticut FBI that there was not enough evidence to prove George had been murdered and that his death may have been the result of an accident," the Smith family wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. One of the tests which Dr. Henry Lee wanted to perform during his inspection of the Brilliance of the Seas cruise ship was dropping a life size mannequin from the rail of the balcony. The other three men were not questioned by Turkish police but were kicked off the cruise ship just days later after a 20-year-old woman came forward and claimed she had been raped by Kofman and the Rozenberg cousins.

Video shows SLAM! Miami students’ savage beating

A fellow passenger, who was in a room close to the newlyweds, told DailyMail.com that the two were very social and could be heard drinking and partying during the first few days on the ship. The tragic death of George Smith IV on his honeymoon cruise was the focus of nonstop media attention during the summer of and led many to wonder how the smart and attractive newlywed ended up overboard in the waters of the Mediterranean. Ship crew members never even called Smith’s cabin to make sure everyone was ok.

Our Ships Sailing to & from San Juan

FBI closes probe into vanished cruise ship honeymooner George Smith IV - CBS News

FBI closes probe into vanished cruise ship honeymooner George Smith IV.

Posted: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 08:00:00 GMT [source]

On the tape, Jones says the three Russian-Americans are seen and heard making callous remarks about George's death and at the end Greg Rozenberg says "I told you I was gangsta." In July of 2005, 26-year-old George Smith went tumbling off a cruise ship balcony into the water below. Smith was never seen again and the mystery of how he went overboard has never been solved. Today, you’ll find a city with a focus on the future while still striving to preserve its own unique culture of dance, music, cuisine, and folklore. Travelers on cruises from San Juan or visiting San Juan as a port of call will find that tourism is a big part of the economy and will be charmed by its residents, who are known for their warm hospitality to visitors. Behind the scenes, however, you’ll find one of the most robust economies in the Caribbean, which is largely influenced by the industries of service and manufacturing.

The four men and their families were then ejected from the ship in Naples, where Italian police looked into the rape allegation and washed their hands of it saying they had no jurisdiction. No one has ever been charged in the sexual incident and lawyers for the men believe the tape saved them. "There's a lotta evidence to suggest that that was not as simple as -- as the Russian men and as Josh have said," Jones told John Miller. "You look at the behavior of these young men. ...they're not good boys or good Samaritans." "You know, they ordered so much food, and they couldn't have killed George because they were in the room eating the room service," Jones told Miller. "And they told us that if Josh ever says anything that is different than what he said before the grand jury, anything, they will fly him back to Connecticut on perjury charges," Greer explained.

Honeymooner Goes Overboard: Accident or Foul Play?

Smith disappeared from Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas ship on July 5, 2005. Although his body was never recovered, bloodstains were found beneath the balcony of the cabin he was sharing with his new wife, Jennifer Hagel-Smith, who is now remarried. Is made up of attorneys who are nationally recognized industry leaders in the field of maritime and admiralty law. Our team of cruise lawyers has well over two centuries of combined experience, has successfully handled over 3,000 cases, and has recovered over 300 million dollars in damages for our clients. Several of our attorneys have even been selected to “Best Lawyers” ® by US News & World Report every year as far back as 2016.

Jennifer, however, was not there, so George decided to search the ship before giving up and returning back to his room. According to an interview Askin and his attorney gave to Vanity Fair, an employee at the casino was getting a little too close to Jennifer as the night went on. The couple also joined George and Jennifer when they went to the casino on the ship in the early hours of July 5. The FBI dropped its criminal investigation this year into Smith's death. That year she also began working at the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in New York City as the major gifts officer, before moving to Fairfield, Connecticut according to an interview she gave to Fairfield Living. George was helping to run his family's liquor store in Cos Cob, Connecticut, while Jennifer, then 25, was about to begin a job as a third-grade teacher, having recently received a Masters in Education from Roger Williams University.

At the time, his death was considered suspicious and now the person who may have had answers about what happened on that ship has been murdered. Smith mysteriously disappeared in the early morning hours of July 5, 2005,[2][3] and evidence suggested that foul play might have been involved. Blood stains were found in his cabin as well as on the side of the ship, and it appeared that he might have been tossed off the ship or fallen overboard and drowned. George Allen Smith IV (born October 3, 1978) was an American man who disappeared overboard from the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship MS Brilliance of the Seas in July 2005 under suspicious circumstances. His story has been reported on by Dateline NBC and 48 Hours and was depicted in a television film called Deadly Honeymoon, which still airs on Lifetime. Five years ago yesterday, George Smith IV (below with his dad, George Smith III) disappeared from Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas cruise ship between Greece and Turkey.

Disappearance of George Smith – Larry King Live & the “Missing Groom Mystery”

We reached an agreement that Royal Caribbean would pay $1,060,000 and reveal all of its investigation materials regarding George’s death. Mr. Smith’s newly-wed bride, Jennifer Hagel, retained me to represent the interests of George’s estate against Royal Caribbean. I was tasked with trying to find out what happened and to hold those responsible for George’s death accountable. "But we don't believe that Josh was involved in the actual, you know, tossing of George overboard."

On his July 2005 honeymoon cruise, George Smith IV, 26, of Greenwich, Connecticut, went overboard into the Mediterranean as his Royal Caribbean ship traveled from Greece to Turkey. The FBI investigated for 10 years before telling the family they couldn’t prove his death was a homicide and not an accident, a decision that "outraged and disgusted" Smith's relatives. The International Cruise Victims Association (ICV) is dedicated to helping the loved ones of passengers who have been involved in crimes at sea, especially those who have disappeared at sea. This weekend, 48 Hours reported on the mysterious disappearance of a cruise ship passenger whose case has yet to be closed. In the wake of two other passengers falling overboard from a Carnival cruise last week in Australia, the need to improve maritime safety regulations industry-wide is blatantly clear. Yet, the case of missing passenger George Allen Smith IV remains unsolved eight years after the tragic disappearance occurred and the cruise line on which he was sailing seems to have washed its hands of any responsibility in investigating the case.

Agriculture also plays a role in Puerto Rico’s economy, though not as much as it once did. Cruises that call in San Juan for a day conveniently pull into port right in the heart of Old San Juan. The Old San Juan Cruise Pier has a trolley stop, taxi ranks, and many places to shop and dine just steps away. If you’re embarking on one of the cruises from San Juan to the Caribbean, you’ll depart from the Pan American Pier, located in the Isla Grande neighborhood across the Cano de San Antonio bay from Old San Juan. The cruise terminal has a parking lot, taxi rank, and an air-conditioned lounge inside. If you’re heading straight to the airport after your cruise ends in San Juan, expect a 20-minute cab or shuttle ride between the cruise terminal and San Juan airport.

"My wife and I were awakened by yelling coming from the Smith cabin. This yelling sounded what I would liken to a drinking game," he said. "Rusty actually observes George get up from his seat, approach Jennifer and there is this exchange of words between them. Rusty does not hear what is being said but he does observe Jennifer kick George in his groin," he explained. And in the ship's lobby, they rounded up Josh Askin and the group of Russian-Americans -- Rusty Kofman and Zach and Greg Rozenberg. "She freaked out, but so did I. I ran out of the room and told my mom to go in. I didn't want to be next to someone who was just told that they lost their husband," said Askin.

The Russians alleged they helped Smith back to his room, took off his shoes and put him to bed, however, passengers who were in their cabins near the scene recalled hearing a lot of noise and yelling from Smith’s stateroom around that time. One passenger even recounts hearing large objects like furniture being thrown across the room. Smith’s family has maintained all these years that George was murdered by several men with whom George had an argument. And now, new evidence suggests there may be some truth to the allegations.