Captain of Sunken Italian Yacht Questioned For 3rd Time as Other Crew Members Are Set to be Investigated: Source (Exclusive)
James Cutfield, 50, is under investigation for negligent shipwreck and multiple counts of negligent homicide, per prosecutors
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The BayesianAuthorities in Italy are zeroing in on several individuals as they expand their investigation into the sinking of a yacht off the coast of Sicily on Monday, Aug. 19, that killed seven people.
James Cutfield, 50, the captain of the British-flagged yacht Bayesian, which sank during a storm in the Tyrrhenian Sea near the Sicilian port of Porticello, was interrogated for the third time by prosecutors in the resort town of Zagarella Domina, where survivors of the incident were taken, on Aug. 17, a source close to the criminal investigation confirms to People.
Cutfield, a New Zealand native, reportedly exercised his right to remain silent, invoking a principle in Italian law akin the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"I can tell you that the captain has exercised his right to remain silent for two reasons: he is understandably very distressed, and the defense attorneys were only appointed yesterday and need to get their heads around data and information which they have not had time to do, and as such have not yet been able to draw up a defense strategy," says the source.
On Aug. 24, Ambrogio Cartosio, the Chief Prosecutor of Termini Imerese, announced that authorities were launching manslaughter and negligent shipwreck investigations in connection with the sinking, which 15 others aboard survived, including nine crew members.
Cutfield was last questioned on Sunday, Aug. 25, the Italian news agency Ansa previously reported. He faced questions about the position of the keel, whether the hatch was open and when an alarm was raised amid the worsening weather conditions, per Ansa.
Several other crew members are also expected to be placed under investigation, Italian news outlets Rai, Adnkronos and Sky Italia reported on Aug. 27. The first mate of the yacht, Tijs Koopman, is likely to be interrogated and authorities have asked him to not leave Palermo so that he can be questioned, per Corriere della Sera and TV channel TG La7.
Related: Everything We Know About the Final Moments of the Passengers Who Died in the Sicily Yacht Tragedy
The victims aboard the luxury yacht Bayesian have been identified by Chief Prosecutor Cartosio as British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter, Hannah Lynch; the yacht's chef Recaldo Thomas; and passengers Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda, and Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy.
Passengers aboard were celebrating a recent legal victory in which Lynch, 59, was acquitted of fraud and conspiracy charges just two months prior, a source close to the survivors told People.
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Cutfield’s legal team was not immediately available for comment.
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