Murder With My Husband - 174. George Smith - A Cruise Ship Mystery

Episode Date: July 24, 2023

On this episode of MWMH, Payton tells Garrett the unbelievable case of George Smith and how he seemingly vanished while on a cruise. https://linktr.ee/murderwithmyhusband Case sources: “Man Overboard: Inside the Honeymoon Cruise Murder” by Joan Lownds.  Dateline NBC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7j5I_LQC4c CBS News. https://www.ibolaw.com/images/Murder-at-Sea-CBS-News.pdf, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-closes-probe-into-vanished-cruise-ship-honeymooner/ MSNBC. https://youtu.be/zoNy-VvybWg  The New York Times- https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/07/nyregion/grand-jury-reviews-report-of-rape-on-cruise-ship.html Greenwich Time- https://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Family-outraged-over-FBI-dropping-probe-into-6003042.php Local 10- https://www.local10.com/news/local/2020/09/11/critical-clue-released-in-unsolved-davie-murder-from-last-christmas/ Justice for George Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/JusticeforGeorgeSmith?fref=ts&ref=br_tf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey everybody welcome back to the podcast is your host Peyton Moreland. Is that what I say? I don't remember what you say actually. How about I start a free? Hey everybody welcome back to the podcast. This is murder with my husband. I'm Peyton Moreland. No, I'm Garrett Moreland and he's a husband. I'm the husband. I almost forgot because I was in my head about it. Yeah. All right, just wanted to say that merch we were having some issues everything to solve now, it's all going out. If you don't have the merch, please email fanjoy and they will get that solved.

As well, we were having a little bit of complications with those who are subscribed on Apple with some of our ad free stuff that is all fixed now. So we are sorry about that. And a quick plug if you want ad free content and bonus episodes, you can subscribe to us on Apple or Patreon. Okay, I think that just takes us right into your 10 seconds. Great, I get to talk a little bit more. Let's want to address real quick. Everyone has been sending me the same meme. What do you think I was going to say? I just think that was so funny, the way you act like

you're about to just make the speech the user. Yeah You said, yeah, yeah, you know, I do what I'm talking about. No. Everyone has been sending me the same meme. I get it. I've seen it. I don't really know what to say at this point. If you sent me the meme, you know what I'm talking about. It's a pickleball meme.

And between my husband and Garrett, I don't know how many messages we've gotten about it. But everyone's been sending it to me and I get it. Okay. and between my husband and Garrett, I don't know how many messages we've gotten about it, but everyone's been sending it to me and I get it, okay? I understand it, I see it. I'm not even gonna address it. I'm not even gonna talk about it. So you have to say what the meme is, because then people will keep sending it to you.

All right, we're gonna put it up here on social media. That's not even funny. I think, you know, I love you guys. I appreciate it. I appreciate that everyone's thinking of me when they're looking at this meme and they're sending it to me. But I think I feel a little bit of envy and jealousy

kind of creeping through a little bit. And that's okay. It's okay. I'm not upset about it. It's perfectly fine. So yeah, I just should pay in it. What are your thoughts? Get creative. You don't like it? I didn, I just should pay in it. What are your thoughts?

Get creative. You don't like it? I didn't like it. I get it. It's because Pickleball's like, it kind of is. He's a good fun of. Well, that, but I'm trying to think, I'm trying to compare it to something.

It's just, it's talked about like too much. Like people that play it are like obsessed. And I'm like, I think you talk about it every day in seconds. I haven't talked about it every day in seconds. I haven't talked about it in a long time on purpose. I've been trying to distance myself away from it, okay? Cause now I've been playing a little bit more golf.

Oh, yes, that's true. He has a golf lesson tonight, actually. It's true. I don't tell people that. Because if I have a golf lesson and I stay really bad, it's embarrassing. No one's gonna know how good you are. Yeah, my handicap is plus one.

So, if you're a golfer, you know what that means. If not a golfer, then it means I'm really good. So, between the pick-a-ball meme, my golf lessons and work-in, that's kind of what I got going for me this week. So, it's been a longer 10 seconds. Hopefully everyone's enjoyed it. And I appreciate all the love. All right, our case sources this week are date lines, CBS news, MSNBC, Greenwich Times, local 10, and Justice for George Facebook page. All right, a honeymoon vacation is probably one of the most romantic trips you'll ever take in your life if you go on one.

You're riding that high of newlywed bliss. You have this whole new chapter of your life ahead of you. It makes you feel invincible. Like there's nothing in the world that can hurt you or bring you down. And that was certainly how George Smith and his new bride Jennifer felt when they set sail on Royal Caribbean's brilliance of the seas in 2005. During the trip, George actually said so in an email to his family. He wrote, quote, quote, quote,

quote, What George didn't know when he hit send was that email wasn't a joke. It was a prophecy. Real quick, Peyton Was that email? Wasn't a joke. It was a prophecy. Real quick, Peyton and I have never been on a cruise. And after today's story, I don't think we're gonna go on one. All right, let's hear it. George and Jennifer Smith were the epitome of a small town

all-American couple. They met in 2002 while living in Greenwich, Connecticut. George was a handsome 23-year-old, fresh out of college, training to take over his father's liquor store. Everyone in town knew and really loved George and honestly the whole Smith family. His girlfriend, Jennifer, was a pretty blonde 22-year-old and aspiring school teacher who was also the daughter of a local police officer. Everyone said George and Jennifer were a fun loving couple, real relationship goals, two people who just couldn't wait to start their lives together.

So after only two years of dating, George got down on one knee during a vacation in Aruba. They were on the beach with the sun setting perfectly in the background. Jennifer obviously couldn't say no, and they immediately began planning the wedding. A little over a year later, on June 25, 2005, George and Jennifer tied the knot out of Victorian mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. The morning after the wedding, they hosted a giant brunch for all of their guests. Then they said their goodbyes grabbed their suit cases and headed straight to the airport to begin their honeymoon vacation. Now, George has been meticulously planning this trip for a while. It's a 12-day cruise through the Mediterranean with the port of call in Barcelona, Spain.

Sorry, I normally don't interrupt like this, but I just have to say, Peyton lost her passport on our honeymoon. And I will tell the story and I'll tell the story next week. Maybe during, no, just hurry and tell it. It could go fast. I don't, you lost your passport. Oh my gosh. This is why I tell the stories. Okay. Fine. I'll tell the story. We were going through the, we hadn't gotten to security yet. We were going through, like, checking, checking in our bags and everything. And paying Hunter passport and I had my passport and we had just got married and we were leaving that night

in our honeymoon. And everything was going smooth so far. We drove all the way to the LAX airport. So obviously, it's a complete madhouse. It's always crazy over there. And we're getting ready. We just checked in that our bags were getting ready to head to the security line. And I had my passport in my hand and

Peyton had hers in her hand. Well, apparently not two seconds later, she looks at me and goes, I don't have my passport anymore. Yeah. And he's like, what? And I was like, I don't know. My passport was in my hand. And then now it's not. And in my defense, at the check encounter, Garrett handed me the bag tags and everything. So I was just holding my passport, but then I took a bunch of stuff in my hand. Anyways, I guess I dropped it.

I got on the phone, called my mom, bawling, Garrett's just running through the airport, trying to find my passport. We found it. We found it. We went up to the girl. We're like, hey, did you find a passport on the floor? She was like, yeah, give me this, this, this,

that you would have thought I was getting arrested. I came here to social security number, your first and last night. She was going hard. Yeah, but we found it. But we found it, got the passport. It was a good first test for our marriage and we're still married today doing a podcast.

So let's hop back into it. So for George and Jennifer, it's clear for their honeymoon. They are sparing no expense. George booked a $10,000 package for a midship state room with a balcony. This way, they can sip champagne while overlooking the ocean. Keep it as romantic as possible. On June 29, the couple takes a photo together on the dock, right as they're about to board the Royal Caribbean ship called Brilliant of the Seas. They have their arms around each other, their smiling ear to ear. It's obvious they're definitely filling the newlywed bliss. That evening, the ship leaves Barcelona and for the next

several days, sell south, making stops in France and Italy. Meanwhile, they've been making friends with other guests on board, like Paul and Jelena Vinitski, another honeymooning couple. They have a few meals together, they party with them at the ship's bars and nightclubs. By day four, they're practically old friends, like they've definitely just made these best friends. They also meet a 20-year-old named Josh Askin from Laguna Hills, California. Now, despite being on the trip with his family, Josh actually spends one afternoon gallivanting around Florence, Italy, with George and Jennifer. So the Smiths seem to be pretty warm, social people.

They have no problem just hanging out with new people. But on July 4th, day five of the trip, the cruise liner docks in Mekino's grease for the day. And George and Jennifer decide they just want the day to themselves to wander the island just the two of them. They fall in love with Mekino's and even make plans to return for a longer trip in the future.

The couple is having such a good time, in fact, that George sends that email to his family that day. The one saying he such a good time, in fact, that George sends that email to his family that day, the one saying he's having the time of his life and not to get in touch unless someone dies. Well, the couple get back to the ship around 6 p.m. that evening. They shower and get ready for dinner, again, with just the two of them. They tell Paul and Jalena they'll meet up with them after for a drink. So around 11 p.m. They finish their meal. Then George and Jennifer go back to their room to drop off his dinner jacket. From there they head to the ship's casino to meet up with the Vignetskis and Josh.

Jennifer takes a seat at the Blackjack table while George heads to the Crap's table. And their Josh introduces George to a few other guys around their age. They're a group of Russian-American 20-somethings from Brooklyn. A guy named Gregory Rosenberg who's there with his brother Zachary Rosenberg and their cousin Rusty Kaufman. Now people are taking notice of George at the craps table for a few reasons. Number one, he's wearing this very expensive bright-ling watch that he got as a wedding gift. Two, other passengers over here, George saying he has over 17 grand in cash, sitting back in his room. And three, he appears to be getting

very drunk as the night goes on. Why would you bring that much cash with you on a cruise? Well, also just why tell people? 17 grand. It's a lot. At some point, the Venetsky's tell George that he should probably call it a night with them. They should all just go back to their rooms and get some sleep.

But George isn't having it. Instead, George decides to leave Jennifer at the Blackjack table while he and Josh go back to his room and grab some more cash. Security footage clocks George and Josh leaving the casino around 106 am, now the early morning hours of July 5th. After they make a stop in Josh's room to take a shot, which they'd smuggled on board together after their day in Florence.

George and Josh then return to the casino a few minutes later where they find Jennifer has made friends with the Casino Manager, a guy named Lloyd Batha. But at 2am, the casino closes. So they move the party to the ship's nightclub, the Star Quest disco. That includes Jennifer, George, Josh, the Casino Manager Lloyd, and the three Russian American guys,

George just be friend at the Crap's table. Okay. George and his new friends all get a table at the club together. And Josh has snuck in the alcohol that he had in his rooms. They're all passing that around. But here's where things get weird. Can they not drink in the nightclub or something?

I think you just have to, you have to get the alcohol from the ship. I don't know that for sure, but again, we've never been on a cruise. Yes. So a few passengers say they see Lloyd and Jennifer getting a little bit too cozy on a couch in the club. Member Lloyd is the manager, which I seems interestingly just got married. Right. And now she's getting cozy with the manager. But George is also, I mean, not gonna think skews, but isn't he like pissed drunk right now? Basically, yes. There's rumors

that after this happens, George approaches Jennifer and the two start fighting. Some witnesses say they hear him call her a hussey. Then Jennifer shoves George and kicks him in the groin before stumbling out of the club. Oh my gosh. That makes our passport story look like nothing. Yes. So it seems the couple has been drinking quite a bit by this point. But according to Josh Askin and Rusty Kaufman, Jennifer doesn't stumble out of the club alone.

She's escorted by Lloyd, the guy that she was cuddling with. By this point, it's about 3.30 a.m. and the club is closing in 15 minutes. So Rusty, Zach, Gregory, and Josh get George to his feet. They then escort him back to his room, perhaps assuming Jennifer might have found her way back already. We know that at 3.52 a.m., George's key card is used to enter his state room, which is important. These key cards come in handy a lot throughout this episode, mainly because they give a down-to-the-minute timeline of when people are coming and going from their rooms. But here's the thing.

When George gets back to his room at 3.52, Jennifer isn't there. She's nowhere to be found. So he asks his new friends if they'll help him go look for her. At first, there's a bit of a debate over whether they should go or not. In fact, the guests staying in the room next to George's hear them loudly discussing the matter before finally agreeing to just go with him. But apparently, they don't do a very thorough search for Jennifer. They only check one area of the ship called the Solarium, which is this covered porch area with a hot tub. And once they see Jennifer's not there, they take George right back to his room. His key card clocks in again at 401 AM.

That's less than a 10-minute search for his wife. But the problem is, George can barely walk at this point. Supposedly, Josh uses the restroom while Greg's Zach and Rusty take off his shoes and put him into bed. Then they all go back to their respective rooms and order room service, leaving George to sleep off his hangover. Q to about three hours later. The sun is coming up over Kushudasa Turkey, and a 16-year-old girl on board of the ship goes out to her balcony to snap a few photos. That's when she notices something on the canopy over the lifeboats just down below. It's a giant red blood stain, and a bloody handprint next to it.

At around the same time, Jennifer Smith is waking up in her room alone. When she returned the night before and didn't see George, she figured their fight caused him to spend the night in one of his new friends rooms. And when he wasn't back that morning in time for their couple's massage, she decided to just go alone, almost out of spite. So around 8 a.m., Jennifer makes her way to the spa. What's odd about this is Jennifer is about an hour and a half early for the spa appointment, which she later blames on the time change between Greece and Turkey.

This is already way confusing because George said that she wasn't there. She said that he wasn't there, but if the friends went and helped George, so I don't know, you're gonna have to keep going. Hence why this story is a doozy. That was yeah, I'm already way confused. So she goes to the spa and now we're in half early and she also shows up wearing the same dress she'd gone out in the night before. Now around the same time Jennifer's receiving her massage, ship personnel are notified of the blood stain on that canopy. So they began checking the rooms in the area above it.

When they find the Smith's room empty, they page the couple over the ship's intercom. Only Jennifer can't hear it because the intercom is often the spa, so guests can enjoy their service. So eventually, a crew member comes in and interrupts her spa asking if they can speak to Jennifer privately. They bring Jennifer to guest relations. There, the captain sits her down and tells her that her husband appears to be missing and is presumed overboard. Now, Jennifer's ears are ringing. She's in total shock. According to Josh Askin, who's also being questioned by the guest relations at this ringing, she's in total shock. According to Josh Askin, who's also being questioned

by the guest relations at this time, she's shaking uncontrollably and in absolute hysterics. She just keeps saying to herself, this is like a bad dream. The leading theory at this point being pushed by the captain in particular, is that this whole thing was an accident. He's basing this off of his own personal assessment of the room

and what he believes was a butt print left on the railing in the morning due. So they think he just fell off? They think he went outside and just accidentally fell off, hitting the canopy and then falling into the water. Okay. The captain says, here's what I think happened.

He was sitting on the railing last night, maybe smoking a cigar, when a wave knocked the boat and sent him over the side. And for Jennifer, she has no reason not to believe this theory. She feels confident that suicide was not on the table for George, and there's no one on board that she's aware of who would have wanted to kill George, or who would have had any reason to do so. What Jennifer doesn't realize is how suspicious she looks by saying, over and over, that she can't remember what happened last night, and that she woke up alone in their room this morning, and that didn't seem to alarm her.

After breaking the news to Jennifer, the Royal Caribbean staff take her to an empty cabin. They tell her to shower and give her a tank top and shorts with the ship's logo to wear since she isn't allowed back in her cabin at this time. It's more or less considered a crime scene now, which means Jennifer doesn't know the other thing they found in her room. Two small blood stains on the sheets. Each only two centimeters long shaped like a number 11. The blood stains were shaped like the number 11? Yes, like just two blood stains side by side. Okay, I thought something like drew 11 with the blood stains. Got it. And this is really hard because when they

got in the fight the night before, so many people saw it, you have his friends saying she wasn't in the room, her saying he wasn't in the room, her saying I can't really remember, they were both so drunk. This is hard, like this is not a good situation to be in. So once the boat docs in Kusudasa, the Turkish police come on board to help with the investigation. They round up all of the people George was seen with the night

before, primarily Josh Askin, Gregory and Zach Rosenberg and Rusty Kaufman. But it's clear that the Turkish police are taking a different stance from the ship's captain because they mentioned a Josh that Jennifer is in fact a suspect in the case currently a suspect in her husband's disappearance. Which means they think there's been foul play. When Josh hears this though his reaction is a bit over the top. He defends Jennifer and insisting she has no idea what happened.

He says she was with another man last night, Lloyd Batha, and he is the one police should be looking at, not her. Apparently, this isn't the only suspicious thing that Josh does that day. He also asks the crew member whether security cameras are installed in the ship's hallways. The man says yes, and Josh asks where, but the crew members won't tell him. Oh, man, they goodness. We have some cameras. Right. Just put those babies up and when they'll exactly what happened.

Well, instead, Josh seems to act frustrated that they won't tell him where the cameras are and he walks off. So later that day, Jennifer is asked to leave the ship and go down to the police station in Kushudasa for more questioning. Mind you, Jennifer is all alone in a country she's never been before. Her brand new husband is missing and she's now in a foreign police station where she doesn't speak the same language. And she's being told that her missing husband is most likely dead as well. I can't imagine how terrifying this moment must be, but it gets even worse. After Jennifer is interrogated, she's taken further into town to what

she describes as a cedar neighborhood and brought to a hospital. There she says a police officer looks up her shirt and down her pants, practically strip searching her for reasons that she doesn't understand. Meanwhile, Jennifer has the added pressure of worrying that the ship is going to leave without her. She knows the boat is set to leave around 7pm that night and it's getting closer to that hour. She's wondering, will I make it back to the ship or do they just plan on leaving me stranded here? Royal Caribbean certainly isn't making it easy for her. They haven't given her an escort or any money or information to get around town, so she's completely on her own. Eventually Jennifer makes it back to the dock before the boat's set to leave, but it's not the

welcome back that she's hoping for. Instead, she sees all of her in Georgia's bags packed up, waiting for her on the dock, as well as a handful of plastic royal Caribbean bags with other souvenirs and odds and ends that didn't fit in their luggage. Can they just kick someone off like that in the middle of a different country? I guess they can. That's insane. That seems... I mean, even if you didn't murder someone, I mean, I guess, I don't know. I don't know. I think they just don't want to be liable. That's pretty nuts.

They also give her a pair of George's tennis sneakers, and that's when it hits Jennifer. Her husband is gone. And to pour salt in the wound, Jennifer is realizing she's been kicked off the ship. That doesn't seem right. Royal Caribbean has left this brand new widow to fend for herself in Turkey without any food, money, hotel arrangements, or transportation home. Eventually, Jennifer's father pays for her flight back to the States, but on board the Royal Caribbean, the investigation is just heating up.

So they kicked her off, kicked all his stuff off, which why are you sending his stuff off if you're investigating? That's, I don't understand. There's gotta be some protocol that they're not following because it doesn't seem wrong to just, boop. Yeah. And this is why people say there is this huge conspiracy theory is around cruises. What do you mean?

People say that people go missing all the time and sketchy stuff like this happens all the time and it's just rushed under the rug. It's literally, it's, I'm never going on a cruise. So at this point, brilliance of the seas is only about halfway through its 12-day journey, which means there's plenty of time for witnesses to come forward and share details about George's final night. That includes the guests that were staying next door to the Smiths, and a police veteran named Cleet Heimann and his wife. Cleet's the one who heard the

loud debate between George and his new friends in the moments before they went searching for missing Jennifer. But that's not all he heard. He claimed it around 4am that night he heard loud cheering coming from George's room. It almost sounded like a college drinking game. Cleet began banging on the wall, but instead of the voices disappearing, they just moved to the balcony outside. So that's when Cleet and his wife heard what they believed to be an argument. Cleet called down to guest relations to report that things were escalating. Shortly after, he heard someone loudly saying, Good night!

Over and over, almost as if they were ushering people out of the room. Then he heard the door open and close. Cleat went to the people and saw three twenty-something males leaving George's cabin. But if you remember, George was hanging out with four. George Askin, Gregory Rosenberg, Zachary Rosenberg, and Rusty Kaufman. That's when he noticed the noise from George's room hadn't stopped completely. Cleak could hear banging almost as if someone was opening and slamming cabinets in the room. Like they were looking for something.

Next, the sounds continued from the balcony, including a shuffling of chairs and furniture. Then, for a moment, everything seemed to go silent. Until a few seconds later, when CLEAT heard an extremely loud thud, and CLEAT wasn't the only one to witness this. On the other side of the Smith's room was a couple named Pat and Greg Lawyer. They too were woken up by all of the commotion going on in the Smith's room at that time. They also heard that loud thud. But just a few minutes later they believed it was about to be resolved when they heard security knocking on the Smith's

cabin door. Thanks to Cleats' call, guest relations had sent guards up to check on the Smiths at around 4.30 a.m. At this point, Greg Lawyer actually poked his head out of the room to say, hey, you guys better get in there because something's going on. Except they didn't go in. They kind of just waved Greg off. And when no one answered the Smith store, that was that. The guards just went back to their post.

They later argued that because there was no more noise coming from the Smith's room, they didn't have cause to enter. So is this not just turning into like a movie? It, yeah, it reminds me of that movie with Jennifer Aniston. And murder mystery. Yeah, murder mystery. Yep. It's like, well, two of the neighboring cabins heard commotion at 430.

This is after everything we've learned. And they come forward and they're like, we heard this loud, and, and we called security, and then security came up, but didn't actually go in the room. But there was four, there was three guys, and said, four guys, and the next morning, she shows up to the spot hour and half early in the clothes she was wearing the night before. And then she gets kicked off the cruise. Yes. This is insane.

So obviously, it's time to look at the friends. Yeah. And it would seem like Georgia's new friends didn't have pure intentions after all. But when Josh Greg Rusty and Zach are questioned, they say they were back in their rooms by 4.30 a.m. ordering room service. They stick to that original story. Which there's cameras, they're going to know right away if they're lying. Well, they claimed the mail arrived by 4.45 a.m. and they even took pictures of their

food with a digital camera Which was timestamped. If this was true, it meant they couldn't have been in the room with George when the thud was heard. So this begs a bigger question. Where was Jennifer during all of this? Well at 4.30 a.m. the same time Clea and the lawyers heard that horrific thud Jennifer was actually found passed out in a hallway on the other side of the ship. Oh, geez. A plumber discovered her and called security. They came to get her put her in a wheelchair and escorted her back to her room. According to her key card, they let her in at 4.50 a.m. This would be

after the loud thump. And at that point, there was no one else in the room. Even stranger, the balcony curtain and the sliding glass door were closed. Got it. So she totally could have waken up and he wasn't there. So her story is actually checking up. Yeah, it checks out. So if George did go out there alone for a cigar and it was an accident, why would he close the curtains in the door? It's more likely that someone pushed him off and then closed the curtains in the door and left the room. But there was another detail that seemed off. Despite what some witnesses thought they saw, Jennifer had apparently left the club alone earlier that night, not

with the casino manager Lloyd. This is what she says. He left the club shortly before Jennifer and George had that rumored fight at around 315 AM. And he used his key card to access his girlfriend's cabin at 325 AM. Keep in mind though, the people pushing the narrative that Jennifer and Lloyd left together happened to be the same guys George was last seen with that evening. Josh, Greg, Zach and Rusty, his new friends. When in reality, Jennifer left the club drunk and alone at around 3 30 a.m. So at first everyone assumes she left with Lloyd because that's what all the eyewitnesses say. But now they're starting to wonder if maybe that was wrong because Lloyd's key card opened up his own cabin. Got it. I mean, I know it seems like it's confusing,

but at the same time, I feel like for those that are investigating, it would be pretty easy to solve with the key cards and all the cameras, and knowing, I mean, it's on the cruise ship. Right. That's the only place it is. These are your pool of suspects. Exactly.

This was confirmed that Jennifer left alone by a cleaning man on staff who watched Jennifer strike her head on the wall as she left the club. She then proceeded to the elevator and the cleaner got on the elevator with Jennifer to make sure she got to her floor alright. But when she got off the elevator, she turned right instead of left, landing her in the opposite direction of her room. The cleaner likely felt she would make it the rest of the way, but instead Jennifer just ended up passing out in the hallway. And it took another hour for her to be discovered by the crew. So no, Jennifer was not with Lloyd that evening. Both of them later took polygraph tests that confirmed this.

They also both had alibis during the time George seemed to go overboard, ones that were confirmed by other witnesses on board as well as those handy key cards Which all say are much better alibis than the Rosenberg's Josh and Rusty's because the more investigators looked into their story The more it starts to fall apart because police have Technically determined that he died from the time his key card entered that room and the time Jennifer entered the room He had to have gone overboard because he's not in the room anymore. Why would you kill someone on a cruise ship? I feel like it would be extremely easy to figure out who did it. 17 grand in the room.

I guess so. Remember, that's what he told his new friends. Money is the root of all problems. So it turns out there was no record of the guys having ordered room service the morning of July 5th, which is exactly what you're saying, like, come on. Yeah. Of course they were going to check.

The dining crew kept handwritten records which showed no deliveries having gone up to any of their cabins. Plus, no one on duty remembered receiving a call from them that morning. As a matter of fact, these guys had been banned from ordering room service after repeatedly harassing the operator earlier in the trip. And perhaps not surprisingly, this wasn't the only trouble they'd caused on board so far. The night before George's disappearance, a security guard found the Rosenbergs drinking

and smoking on the main pool deck which was closed at the time. They politely asked them to clear the area, but Greg Rosenberg cursed out the guard and told him, nobody can stop me. At another point, staff found them stealing liquor on board. And worst of all, the night after George disappeared, Greg and Rusty were accused of drugging and luring an 18 year old female passenger back to their room. They allegedly raped her and videotaped the act. While Josh Askin was not involved in the physical act, he was said to be present while it was happening. Remember, Josh isn't related to these guys.

He's here on a family trip, but just hanging out with them. On July 8, about 10 days into the 12-day cruise, the 18-year-old passenger had reported this group of friends to the Royal Caribbean staff. The cruise line drafts up a handwritten report that states the Rosenberg family is out of control. The following day on July 9th, when the ship docks and napoles, the crew finally kicks the Rosenbergs and Josh Askin, as well as the rest of their families they're vacationing

with off of the ship. So I think the Caribbean or the Royal Caribbean their vacationing with off of the ship. So I think that the Caribbean, or the Royal Caribbean just really loves to just boot the boot. People. I'm sure you can. I'm guarantee you there's fine print that says, we can kick you off anytime we want. Right.

Italian police very briefly question them about the rape accusations, but they're never charged with anything. The police basically say they had no jurisdiction over the crime since it happened in international waters. And shockingly, never wants to they question or accuse them of playing a role in George Smith's disappearance. So after George Smith disappears and is last seen with these guys, they lure an 18 year old to their room, rape her, and then are kicked off the ship and never wants to someone like, well,

maybe they also did something to George. Do they not have like a prison on board cruise ships? I don't think so. The Chokey. Okay, not a Chokey, but like I feel like you think so. You had to do the Chokey just in the boiler room. I feel like you need to have a prison. I feel like there has to be on bigger ships, right?

Just somewhere you, someone does something, you just keep them there the whole time. I don't think so because think of how hard it is because they're sailing in international waters to different countries, like what is the law? Is there even law? Yeah, that's a good point. I don't know enough about that. Or is there just cruise ship rules?

No, I mean, there's laws, but international waters. I don't know how international waters work, except no idea. However, there is one piece of evidence that's confiscated by the FBI when they're questioned in Italy when the boys are questioned in Italy. It's the videotape that was taken during the reported sex crime. Okay. But there's other footage on this tape as well,

including intimate conversations that were never meant to be exposed. So on that tape is a lunch gathering between Greg, Josh, Zachary, and Rusty near hours after George disappeared. They're making callous remarks about the newly missing George that imply they may know more about his disappearance than they're letting on. At one point Rusty says something about George going, parachute off his balcony. Before the tape cuts, Greg stands up and flashes a gang sign at the camera while saying,

see, I told you I was a gangster. It's almost as if they were bragging about his death. After the trip is over and all of the passengers are back home, the cases picked up by the Connecticut FBI. They received some other damning witness statements from guests on board, but nothing incriminating enough to lead to an arrest. For example, one ship employee says they overheard Josh Askin in an elevator saying, I know more than they think I know. Those A-holes almost got me arrested in Turkey. When called in for a polygraph test, Josh fails. As does Rusty Kaufman.

What's up with all these polygraph tests? They're just throwing them out left and right. Left and right. Yeah. No. You trying to copy what I'm saying? No. But Gregory Rosenberg's polygraph test

reads inconclusive, so we have another one. OK. The FBI suspects that this might have been a robbery gone wrong, primarily because of the tiny blood stains left in George's cabin. Remember the small marks that were shaped in 11? Well, police believe that might have been caused by someone trying to remove George's very expensive, bright-ling watch.

That perhaps they pinched his skin and drew blood as they pulled it off. The robbery motive makes sense because if you recall, George was overheard by other passengers saying he had around $17,000 worth of cash in his room. It's also possible that just one of them ended the robbery. That would explain why Cleat Heymann heard a loud good night and saw only three men leave when there were four hanging out in the room with George that night. Perhaps just one stayed behind to pull off the heist and murder George. Still, the FBI spends the next decade struggling to prove any of this was the case. Decade. Yes. What? Can we,

where are the cameras? You said there's cameras in the hallway. Like, what's up with all these cameras? From what I can tell, there's no cameras showing his actual door, so they can't see who exactly left. I think they definitely have these four suspects, but they don't have enough evidence or proof to say which one did it, if all four of them did it together, how it all happened. Got it.

Some BS. And even more heartbreaking, because they don't close the case. They spend the next decade struggling. Also, I also feel still feel so bad for Jennifer. She got kicked off the ship her husband got killed. Yeah, and then she had to get back home like that's when her husband's gone now. Well in Worson that it's caused this huge divide between Georgia's family and her. Yeah, I'm sure. In the weeks after her son's death,

Georgia's mother Marine doesn't want to leave Jennifer aside. She says she feels like this is the last remaining piece she has of her son, George. But over the next few months, the family starts to build suspicions around Jennifer. They claim she refuses to talk about the night of the disappearance, even in the privacy of their home, which can you blame her? I mean, the last thing she did with her new husband They claim she refuses to talk about the night of the disappearance, even in the privacy of their home, which

Can you blame her? I mean it didn't the last thing she did with her new husband is fight. Yeah Even though she insists she can't remember anything about that night She still obviously isn't talking about it and things only get worse when Jennifer chooses to settle quickly and out of court with the cruise line over George's wrongful death suit George's parents start to wonder if Jennifer is actually hiding something that she doesn't want exposed to the public. And this becomes the sentiment shared in the media as well. When Jennifer remains calm and composed and not a sobbing mess in televised interviews, many point fingers at her saying she's played a role somehow, which is just wildly unfair. Because the truth is, Jennifer was also a victim in all of this.

One of the theories put forth by Jennifer's attorney is that she and George were both drugged the night of her disappearance. One of the passengers they became friends with said at 2.30am that evening, Jennifer appeared completely sober. But just an hour later, she was so inebriated she could barely walk and passed out in the wrong direction of her room. That's actually a good point because George was the one that was super drunk. Yeah, she wasn't. I mean, George could have been drugged as well because they were both struggling. Yeah.

We know the Rosenbergs had drugs on them. If they used them on the 18 year old female passenger a night later, remember they drugged someone the next night. But even with all of these tiny clues, the investigation goes nowhere. In 2015, George Smith's family gets a call from the FBI. They claim there isn't enough evidence to conclusively prove George died as a result of foul play. And they say it's possible his death actually was just a result of an on board accident. George's sister Bree blames this largely on the way the cruise line handled her brother's death in the hours after

it happened. She finds that royal Caribbean didn't properly seal off the crime scene. Instead, staffed moved about the room, cleaning, vacuuming and contaminating potential evidence before the FBI could come onboard. 100% what I was saying they took all his stuff. They just didn't care. They're just like, oh, let's move on. By the time the sun went down on July 5th, the captain had ordered the blood on the overhang of the ship, be washed away and painted over immediately.

What? Supposedly because it was disturbing to the other guests. Did they didn't collect it or anything? Then a team of risk management lawyers swarmed the ship to try and slant witness statements and create the appearance of an accident or potential suicide. Bri also claimed that Royal Caribbean took a while to tell the family the full story of what happened. She later accused Royal Caribbean of a comprehensive cover-up.

But disturbingly enough, much of this was legal at the time, because these cruise lines are mostly operating like we said in unregulated international waters Where there is no laws Well, they just had no law stating that they had to alert a family member if something happens to their loved one on board There was also no law saying they had to report it to us authorities Which was a massive problem because believe it or not these sort of cruise line cover-ups were a bit of an epidemic for a while. According to the Maritime Injury Guide, more than 400 people have gone missing from cruise ships over the last 20 years.

That is mind blowing. Many of which likely did not get a full and proper investigation. Where do they go? Like, right? Are they just killed? It wasn't until Obama passed the cruise vessel security and safety act in 2010 that all of this changed. Now cruise lines must report disappearances, rapes, and other crimes to the FBI and the Coast Guard immediately. So

yes, George Smith's case certainly helped change the safety measures and guidelines, making cruises safer today. Wait, is this a cold case? And in 2012, his family went head-to-head with the monolithic cruise line industry, winning a settlement from Royal Caribbean that guaranteed any new information about George's case be made available to them. But ultimately, no one was ever convicted of killing George Smith. And one of the people who might have held the answers to George's mysterious death took them to their grave in 2019.

That year, Gregory Rosenberg was ambushed in his driveway in Davy, Florida. He was shot multiple times and killed in what was suspected to be a drug-related crime. While the FBI's investigation has since closed, George's family is still searching for any and all answers regarding their son's disappearance. If you have any information about what might have happened to George Smith, you can visit

the Justice for George Smith Facebook page, call the tip line at 844-651-19 6 or email GeorgeSmithtipline at gmail.com. And that is the case of GeorgeSmith, the unsolved case. Dang, I mean, I feel like it's kind of obvious who it might be, but we'll never know for sure. Like I said, I think you have four suspects. And what one of them's dead now? Yes, but I think you have four spuzz suspects who most likely know what happened. them's dead now. Yes, but I think you have force bus suspects who most likely know what happened

That's crazy also. I didn't realize that So do people still go missing on cruise ships like this all the time? Not not as often because now they're forced to report report it But I mean you hear all the time like I could make I can make a whole sear I could probably make a whole podcast about people. A cruise ship missing. Who go missing or murdered on cruise ships? That's nuts. I feel so bad for Jennifer.

I know. Oh, I feel so bad for her. And George's family too, obviously. I mean, she has an alibi. She didn't do it. She was passed out and her key car was never used. No, she didn't do it. And then George was killed for no reason.

Yeah. Like, that's horrible. It probably was a robbery. I mean, how many other people were at that table when he was bragging about it? I had been about the money and the Jennifer wasn't and they're at that time and they're like, okay, let's do it. And I'm just heartbroken that whether they were drugged

or just inebriated that their last moments together happened to just be an out of character fight. Yeah. I mean, it's just not, it's not happy. Okay, you guys, that is our case for this week, and we will see you next time with another episode. I love it. I hate it.

Goodbye. you