George Smith, a 26-year-old man from Greenwich, Connecticut, married Jennifer Hagel in June 2005. For their honeymoon, they took a two-week Mediterranean cruise. One night, somewhere between Greece and Turkey, after a night of drinking, Smith mysteriously disappeared. Blood stains were found in his cabin and on the side of the ship. It looked like he either fell over or his body had been tossed off the ship. One year later, after an FBI investigation, Royal Caribbean International paid Jennifer Hagel Smith a compensation of $1.1 million. Hagel Smith remarried four years later, in 2009.
George Smith’s family filed a lawsuit challenging the settlement. They believe the settlement “was reached in part to avoid embarrassing disclosures about Hagel Smith’s conduct during the cruise.” On the tenth anniversary of Smith’s death, 48 Hours is airing its investigation of his death on July 4, 10pm on CBS.