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Man’s overboard death may be linked to Davie unsolved murder

Ian Margol , Reporter

DAVIE, Fla. – It has been more than 15 years since a Connecticut man named George Smith went overboard on a cruise ship. 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.

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.

“Unfortunately, there’s a possibility that we may never find out now what happened to George,” Attorney Mike Jones, who represent’s Smith’s family, said.

Smith had just been married and he was on his honeymoon.

“At one point, at about 2 a.m., they were in a disco type setting at one of the bars,” said Jones  “Unfortunately, George and Jennifer actually got in a fight and Jennifer stormed out of the club and left George behind.”

After she stormed off, Smith kept partying with a group of guys that he had met on the ship.

Hours later, the men say they walked Smith back to his room.

“They claim they just left the room, but the evidence revealed afterward was that it was an attempted robbery gone wrong,” Jones said.

The next morning all that was left of Smith was a blood stain on an overhang below his cabin’s balcony and now, 15 years later, the case remains unsolved.

One person who may know something though is Gregory Rozenberg who was one of the men Smith was hanging out with that night on the ship.

In December of 2019, Rozenberg was murdered in front of his Davie home and police believe whoever murdered him had targeted him.

Rozenberg may have taken the truth of what happened to Smith with him when he died.

Davie police are hoping to find the truth behind his murder case now. And maybe help investigators solve the circumstances behind Smith’s death, too.

Copyright 2020 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

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CCTV footage shows last moments of groom who ‘vanished’ on cruise during honeymoon

Newlywed george smith was last seen alive on 5 july 2005.

Rhianna Benson

What was supposed to be the happiest holiday of newly-married couple George Smith and Jennifer Hagel's life, soon turned sour when, during their honeymoon cruise, the groom seemingly disappeared into thin air.

Now, two decades later, George's family still have no idea what harrowing fate befell him that night after blood was found in numerous locations around the cabin, but a body was never found.

And now, after 19 years, the CCTV footage of what many believe to be his final moments alive is continuing to circle on social media - as do the theories regarding what exactly happened to him?

Was it a tragic fall into the crashing waves below that killed George? Or did someone else onboard have some more sinister intentions in mind?

Or - even more chilling - is the theory that George may alive somewhere...

In the early hours of 5 July 2005, George and his new wife Jennifer - who'd tied the knot 11 days prior in plush ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island - were enjoying a booze-fuelled evening on board Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas ship .

On board the ship, George became friends with another passenger, Josh Askin, 20, as well as others.

On the evening of 4 July, Jennifer and George went to the ship’s casino which turned into a drunken night. CCTV from the casino is the last time George was seen alive.

Josh Askin, along with three other men on the ship - Rusty Kofman, Greg Rozenberg and Zach Rozenberg - were said to have helped George back to his cabin after he was too drunk.

They then told the police that they helped him take his shoes off before putting him to bed and then heading their separate ways and ordering room service, although the cruise ship has no records of this.

A legal representative for Askin later argued, however, that a simple oversight in the hand-written hospitality records may have meant that the orders weren't written down.

Wife Jennifer was later found around 4.30am after passing out in one of the ships' hallways, but she has little recollection of what happened after the casino.

With George last seen alive in the casino, it was later assumed he must have fallen overboard, with bloodstains being found on the side of the ship.

Yet one piece of evidence didn't appear to support that theory.

Bloodstains were also found on his bedsheets, which remain unexplained.

In the cabin, a chair was found pushed up against the railings of the balcony leading to the assumption that George had climbed up and then gone overboard from the ship.

Yet the bloodied sheets remain with no explanation, and police none the wiser even 19 years later.

Topics:  Crime , True Crime , Sex and Relationships , Wedding , Cruise , Cruise Ship

Rhianna is an Entertainment Journalist at LADbible Group, working across LADbible, UNILAD and Tyla. She has a Masters in News Journalism from the University of Salford and a Masters in Ancient History from the University of Edinburgh. She previously worked as a Celebrity Reporter for OK! and New Magazines, and as a TV Writer for Reach PLC.

@ rhiannaBjourno

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George Allen Smith IV

Royal Caribbean Honeymoon Tragedy

On July 5, 2005, my husband, George A. Smith IV, tragically went overboard during our honeymoon cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean ship, Brilliance of the Seas.

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Cruise Widow: FBI Said Foul Play Possible

By leanne gendreau • published june 8, 2009 • updated on june 9, 2009 at 8:57 am.

The family of a Greenwich newlywed who disappeared from his honeymoon cruise in 2005 says federal authorities believed he was the victim of foul play, according to thousands of pages of court records released Monday.

But the man's widow disagrees. The FBI told her there is a 50 percent chance he was the victim of foul play, she said.

George Allen Smith IV of Greenwich was celebrating his marriage with a cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship when he vanished somewhere between Greece and Turkey. His body never has been found.

The FBI has investigated Smith's disappearance, but no one has been charged. The Associated Press left a telephone message for the FBI, but the agency usually does not comment on ongoing investigations.

Attorneys for Smith's family asked his widow about a meeting with the FBI that included prosecutor Peter Jongbloed.

"Do you recall Mr. Jongbloed actually interjecting and looking right at you and saying, 'Jennifer, we also believe there was foul play,' meaning the Department of Justice and the FBI," an attorney for Smith's family asked.

Smith’s widow, Jennifer Hagel Smith, of Cromwell, disagreed.

After some back and forth, she eventually said an FBI agent told her he didn't rule out foul play or an accident.

"But the fact of the matter is, in his mind that it was 50-50," Hagel Smith said.

Federal authorities told her they didn't have enough information to indict anyone and they were near the end of their investigation, she said.

George Smith's family is challenging a nearly $1.1 million settlement Hagel Smith reached with Royal Caribbean. The deal was approved by a probate court, but Smith's family appealed to Stamford Superior Court.

Records from the probate hearing were released Monday.

Smith's disappearance followed a night of heavy drinking. The cruise line said his wife was found passed out on a floor far from their cabin.

Hagel Smith has said her husband's family refuses to acknowledge the possibility that George Smith's intoxication from alcohol and prescription drugs may have been a factor in an accidental death. Instead, she said they have insisted Smith was a victim of foul play despite a lack of evidence.

Smith was taking the antidepressant Zoloft and Clonazepam, which treats anxiety and panic disorders, according to Hagel Smith's attorney.

Smith's attorney says there was no evidence he took prescription drugs. They also say they did not receive witness statements or documents from Royal Caribbean.

In the appeal, Smith's parents and sister said his widow agreed to an inadequate settlement with the cruise ship line to avoid embarrassing disclosures about her conduct.  

Honeymooner's disappearance: Was it murder?

Tuesday night on MSNBC’s “Rita Cosby Live & Direct,” two noted forensic scientists offered insight into the disappearance of George Smith.  Six months ago Smith, a honeymooner from Connecticut, disappeared from his cabin on deck nine of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas .   Dr. Henry Lee (of O.J. Simpson fame) briefly discussed his forensic examination this past Monday of the cabin occupied by George and Jennifer Hagel Smith when they were passengers on this ship.  I was also there in Miami and saw Dr. Lee and his team as they went about taking various measurements and looking for forensic evidence in the bedroom and balcony of the cabin that had been occupied by the Smiths last May.  Although the FBI is believed to have the carpet and other items of potential forensic interest from the cabin, Dr. Lee, who is working for George Smith’s wife, Jennifer, still conducted a belated “CSI-Miami”-type investigation.  Looking for evidence of blood and other trace evidence, Dr. Lee also spent time 22 feet directly below the Smith’s former cabin, as it was there on a white metal awning used to cover a lifeboat that the bloody outline of a human body was photographed by a fellow passenger on the morning of George Smith’s disappearance.  Although understandably cryptic in what he was willing to tell the media, Dr. Lee did suggest that he found something of some significance, perhaps evidence of blood, or scratches or cuts on the metal awning.           

Dr. Lee had already indicated that he had been able to conduct three of five experiments that he wanted to do while onboard the ship.  One test he wanted to run was squashed by the cruise line.  Dr. Lee wanted to throw a manikin the same height and weight as George Smith over the cabin balcony railing to see where, and how, it would land on the life boat cover below.  Dr. Lee believed it important to his investigation, but the cruise line was probably right in its refusal to allow this experiment.  For one, it is presumed that Smith disappeared while the ship was under way and at sea.  Therefore throwing the manikin from the balcony to the metal awning below while the ship was tied up in port would be nothing like a ship moving at 20 knots in a rough sea, perhaps with sea spray washing over the ship.  Further, at the time Dr. Lee proposed conducting the test, 2500 new passengers were boarding Brilliance of the Seas and would have witnessed the test.  Also, there were dozens of TV cameras pointed at the balcony, waiting for the “money shot,” one that would have been shown dozens and dozens of times as the “dummy” arched over the railing and hit the awning over two stories below.  Probably not a good marketing photo op for the cruise line….

The second forensic scientist to be interviewed on MSNBC Tuesday night was Dr. Lawrence Kobolinski (Dr. K).  Dr. K offered an interesting perspective to this case, especially noting that I continue to suggest that the three options to explain Smith’s disappearance, ruling out natural causes of course, are homicide, suicide, and accidental death.  Dr. K offered his belief that the Smith’s cabin was indeed a crime scene and that Smith had been murdered.  He based this on the amount of blood seen in the passenger’s photograph of the life boat cover, one that appears to show a significant amount of “red” on an otherwise white metal surface.  He further suggested his belief that this loss of blood would be consistent with Smith having been stabbed with a knife and then thrown over the cabin railing by persons unknown.  When he hit the awning, Smith might have been dead already, or might have died shortly thereafter.  Dr. K evidently does not believe the blood loss is attributable to, say, a possible head injury sustained from a fall of 22 feet.

Were Dr. K to be correct in his analysis, this act of foul play might then be laid at the feet of one of the last three or four men to be in Smith’s cabin with him.  At the assumed time of George Smith’s death his wife was lying unconscious on the same deck, but half way around the ship, apparently having become lost on her way back to her cabin.  Inexplicably, she was curled up in a dead-end hallway on the 9 th deck.  Again, if Dr. K is correct, there could be, even some 6 months later, trace evidence of blood in the room, on the walls, ceiling, furniture, that an application of a Luminol-like spray might uncover.  CSI fans will know that Luminol is often used at crime scenes in the visualization of blood.  It is highly sensitive and can usually locate faint blood that is invisible to the eye.  When sprayed on surfaces where blood is evident, the Luminol will make the blood patterns appear a bright green.

If I continue with Dr. K’s theory, then there would probably have been blood on the clothing of the assailants, something that would have been evident to a crime lab had the clothing of any such suspect been seized by Turkish authorities in their very limited investigation aboard ship the day Smith disappeared.  And then there’s the question of how Smith’s body disappeared from the awning where he apparently fell, or was dropped.  Did he lie there bleeding for an unknown time period, then perhaps awake and attempt to climb down from the awning, slipping instead into the dark and unforgiving sea?  Or, again were he the victim of foul play did he lie there under the now-frightened eyes of his assailant or assailants, who now had to somehow climb down onto the lifeboat awning him or themselves to slide or push Smith to his watery grave?

We still don’t know the truth.  The cruise line has turned over approximately 98 surveillance tapes from various cameras throughout the ship, tapes that some suggest depict an argument between the Smiths shortly before George disappeared, one in which witnesses suggest that Jennifer kicked George in the groin because he called her a “hussy.”  Others suggest that the surveillance tapes do not show the corridors, halls or passageways leading to the cabins, so there would be no footage of who came and went from the Smith’s cabin that fateful night.  But if the tapes showed staircases or elevator entrances, for example, the timing on the tapes could depict who entered, say, the elevator on the Smith’s floor at about the time George is believed to have gone overboard.  After all, how many people were up and about the halls between 4 and 5 a.m. that morning?  And the key cards would show who used a key to get into a state room at that time of the morning.  Finally, there are witnesses, both eye and “ear,” on either side of the Smith’s cabin who either heard or saw some evidence of a possible argument or people leaving the cabin at that hour of the morning.

This investigation has deteriorated into a she said (Jennifer Hagel Smith), they said (the cruise line) type of case.  Jennifer has gone on national television recounting how she was mishandled by cruise line personnel.  Cruise line defenders say that at the time they thought they had done what was needed to help Jennifer and to facilitate the investigation.  The parents of George Smith continue to demand answers to the ultimate fate of their son and seek reform concerning the investigation of crimes on the high seas.

There are now two distinct cases that are interwoven but need be separated.  First there is the criminal investigation trying to determine the fate of George Smith.  Was he just so intoxicated that he pushed a chair against the rail on the balcony, sat on the railing to get some air and think out the events of the evening, and simply fell overboard?  Or was he murdered as suggested by Dr. K, perhaps during the course of an argument or even an attempted robbery?  And now comes the buildup to a civil law suit by Jennifer (and perhaps the parents of George Smith) against the cruise line with deep pockets.  Somehow today everything in our world eventually evolves into a law suit.  Somebody is always trying to hold someone else responsible for the actions of another, no matter whether right or wrong.  “We demand that someone pay.”  Attorney and host of MSNBC’s “The Abrams Report” Dan Abrams is right to suggest that this “how Jennifer was treated afterwards” aspect of the case pales alongside discovering what really happened to George.  After all, isn’t he the ultimate and true victim in this case?  But he left behind a “grieving” widow and a family who obviously loved him, all of whom want this matter resolved, even though Jennifer’s in-laws have suggested their belief that she has been less than forthright with them in this case but perhaps that is because the FBI has asked her not to talk about the investigation…

In this case there are plenty of victims and plenty of personal and professional responsibility to go around.  Some suggest that George and Jennifer Smith were drinking way too much the night he disappeared, perhaps mixing “routine” alcoholic drinks with “Absinthe,” a dangerous concoction at best.  That Jennifer and George argued that night was evident.  Jennifer left the bar first, with George, accompanied by three or 4 young men, leaving later.  Others report their arguing was evident that night and it appears obvious that the newlyweds did not go to their room at the time that George disappeared, this with George overboard and Jennifer passed out, unconscious or just asleep in the hall many feet away.  Then there is the questions concerning the three or four young men that accompanied George back to his room just prior to his disappearance.  Were these young men the cause of the loud noise coming from the Smith’s room?  Did they have anything to do with the blood found in the cabin and with Smith going overboard?  And what about the ship’s personnel?  When they responded to complaints of loud noises in the Smith’s cabin shortly after 4:00 a.m., should they have gone into the room, walked out on the balcony and looked down some two decks below, perhaps where Smith still lay?  Or should they have done this at about 4:45 a.m. when they wheeled Jennifer into her room and placed her on the bed just a few feet away from the sliding glass door to the balcony, and the lifeboat awning just below?

This is a classic “who did what to whom,” but this is real life and real death.  George Smith should have been starting the next phase of his life, but instead he has vanished, probably never to be seen again.  Dr. Henry Lee is a great forensic scientist, but he’s not a magician.  He can’t make linking physical evidence appear if it was never there to begin with, or if it has disappeared in the last six months.  If, as Dr. K suggests, this is a murder investigation, then who committed the murder and how do you solve the case?  If more than one assailant is responsible, someone may get a plea bargain and someone else life in federal prison.  Reality is that it may take someone’s statement to break this case open.   But it may take linking physical evidence to convict in the absence of a body.  This is a mystery to be solved by investigation, and a civil suit to be resolved by litigation.  No matter how you look at it, George Smith will never get to talk about the results of these cases.  It is the investigators and the forensic scientists who must become George’s voice now that he can no longer speak for himself, this while family and friends grieve his loss and the rest of us wonder who and how and why?

Clint Van Zandt is an MSNBC analyst. He is the founder and president of Inc. Van Zandt and his associates also developed , a Website dedicated "to develop, evaluate, and disseminate information to help prepare and inform individuals concerning personal and family security issues." During his 25-year career in the FBI, Van Zandt was a supervisor in the FBI's internationally renowned Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He was also the FBI's Chief Hostage Negotiator and was the leader of the analytical team tasked with identifying the "Unabomber."

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The new life, marriage and two children of the honeymoon widow ten years after her husband mysteriously died on a cruise DAYS after their wedding

• George Smith died on July 5, 2005 under mysterious circumstances on the Royal Caribbean ship Brilliance of the Seas off the coast of Turkey
• He had got married just days earlier to Jennifer Hagel in a lavish ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island
• Hagel was not with him when he died as she had allegedly passed out drunk in a hallway of the ship
• After his death, Hagel reached a $1.1million settlement with the cruise-ship company and said her husband's death may have been an accident
• In 2007 she began working at the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in New York City as the major gifts officer
• In 2009 she married financial analyst Jeff Agne, and the couple have two daughters, born in 2010 and 2013
• She is estranged from her first husband's family, who believe she knows more about their son's death than she has told authorities
• The FBI dropped its criminal investigation this year into Smith's death

By Chris Spargo For Dailymail.com

Published: 11:51 EDT, 24 August 2015 | Updated: 11:34 EDT, 7 December 2016

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The tragic death of George Smith IV on his honeymoon cruise was the focus of nonstop media attention during the summer of 2005 -and led many to wonder how the smart and attractive newlywed ended up overboard in the waters of the Mediterranean.

It has been ten years since the tragedy, and while his family maintain he was murdered and continue their quest for answers, his then-bride has moved on with her life.

Jennifer Hagel-Smith is now Jennifer Agne after getting remarried in 2009 and having two children with her new husband.

She is also wealthier - after receiving a $1.1million settlement in 2007 from the cruise-ship company Royal Caribbean.

This settlement led to her estrangement from her first husband's family, who have repeatedly criticized her not only for accepting what they believed to be far too little money but also for publicly saying that perhaps George had accidentally fallen overboard.

He vanished sometime after 4am on July 5, 2005 just off the coast of Turkey.  

Scroll down for video 

Wedding day: Jennifer married George Smith in Newport Rhode Island in June 2005 (above)

George was just 26 when he died during a cruise on the Royal Caribbean ship Brilliance of the Seas.

He and Jennifer had married in late June in what his sister Bree called a 'storybook ceremony' at the Inn at Castle Hill in Newport, Rhode Island.

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.

That was not to be however, after George's mysterious death.

Jennifer agreed to a settlement with Royal Caribbean in 2007 and said in a statement that her husband could have possibly fallen off the ship - perhaps while drunk and smoking a cigar while trying to balance on the balcony of their stateroom.

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 . 

In that interview she was promoting her work with Near & Far Aid , a non-profit organization that works to provide affordable housing and eliminate poverty. 

When asked about the best accessory a woman can have, she said; 'Perhaps the best accessory we all can wear is our smile and gratitude. It’s free and looks great on everyone.' 

She also chaired the annual Designer House Tour to benefit the group earlier this year.

Support: Jennifer with (l-r) brother Johnny, a friend, husband Jeff, brother-in-law, sister Jessica and parents Deborah and John

In October of 2009 Jennifer married financial adviser Jeff Agne - who works in Global Healthcare Equities for PineBridge Investments according to his LinkedIn account. The couple now have two daughters, born in 2010 and 2013 .

The wedding took place at a church in Manchester, Vermont according to an almuni newsletter  from Jeff's alma mater University of Vermont.

'They are living in New York City and expecting to have a baby soon - who will probably be the greatest athlete known to man,' says the newsletter.

Jeff moved to New York City after college to attend the Stern School of Business at New York University, where he received a Master of Business Administration. 

'We couldn't be happier,' Jennifer's father John Hagel said shortly before his daughter's nuptials in an interview with  Greenwich Time . 

'We're just thrilled she's been able to move on with her life and start a new life with Jeff. We couldn't be prouder for both of them.'

The announcement came at the same time the Smith family was challenging the settlement that Jennifer received from Royal Caribbean - alleging that it was reached in haste in an attempt to hide embarrassing details about Jennifer's behavior on the ship.

The Smiths also believe they should have received $2.4million.

They lost that challenge and reached their own settlement with the company in 2011, which also required Royal Caribbean to turn over documents and interviews.

When asked at the time about their former daughter-in-law's second wedding, the Smith family declined to comment on advice from their lawyer. 

Agne and her family still live in Connecticut, close to her parents. She did not respond to multiple requests for comment. 

The FBI dropped its criminal investigation this year into Smith's death.

MYSTERIOUS DEATH

The Smiths left on their cruise from Barcelona just days after their wedding, and the pair quickly made friends on the ship, including fellow honeymooners Paul and Galina Kvitnisky.

'They were really great ... they were just normal down to earth, happy people,' Galina said in an interview with 48 Hours in 2014.

The couple also joined George and Jennifer when they went to the casino on the ship in the early hours of July 5.

This was just before George's disappearance, and his sister believes that his actions at the casino could have had something to do with his death.

'I think George looked prosperous,' said Bree. 'Additionally, he had a really nice watch ... which was a Breitling watch, was worth a bit of money.

'People may have made assumptions that George was a millionaire, even though he wasn't.'

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.

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Honeymoon: George and Jennifer are seen aboard the Royal Caribbean ship Brilliance of the Sea

Mystery: The last image of George taken before his death as he left the ship's casino

Fight: The couple reportedly left the casino separately following a fight (Jennifer above)

It was at the casino that George met up with 20-year-old Josh Askin, a new friend he was teaching to play craps.

Also in the casino were cousins Zachary and Greg Rozenberg and their friend Rusty Kofman. 

Those four men were likely the last to see George alive. 

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.

Lloyd Botah worked as a croupier on the ship, and Jennifer appeared to be a bit too 'cozy' with him, Askin said.

'He (Botah) was definitely stepping over professional boundaries,' said Askin's attorney C. Keith Greer.

'It was awkward, but I don’t know that George noticed it at the time.'

When the casino closed at 2:30am, George and the four men went to the discotheque, where they were joined at a table by Jennifer and Botah.

Multiple eyewitnesses claim the group was drinking Absinthe that had been smuggled on board, and that at some point the newlyweds fought before Jennifer kicked George in the genitals and stormed out of the club.

Askin claimed that Botah followed Jennifer.

Jennifer was to become a teacher upon her return while George worked at his family's liquor store

Jennifer and George pose in Greece on July 4, the day before his mysterious death

When the five men left, George was too drunk to walk without some help according to Askin and Kofman, so they accompanied him back to his stateroom.

Jennifer, however, was not there, so George decided to search the ship before giving up and returning back to his room. 

Shortly after returning to his room, his neighbor, Clete Hyman, called to report the group for making loud noise.

This was a complaint he had made on another night during the trip, and he said it simply sounded like people playing a drinking game. 

Askin said that he, Kofman and the Rozenbergs were with George at this time but the four left the room together.

Hyman meanwhile said he saw three men leaving the room when he looked out into the hallway from his peephole. 

'You could definitely hear a voice ushering people out of the room,' he said. 

'"Good night," "Good night," "Good night," repeatedly. I hear the door close. And then I waited a little bit, ten seconds or so, and I looked out my door. And that’s when I saw the male subjects. Three male subjects.'

Hyman has never revealed the identity of the three men he saw, or if he was even able to see who exactly was in the hallway.

The deputy police chief from California said in 2006 that he did not want to say too much during an open investigation. 

He heard a 'horrific thud' shortly after seeing the three men in the hall.

'My first thought was that someone fell on the balcony - not off,' he said.

As for Jennifer, she returned to the room a little before 5am with members of the crew, who had found her passed out and asleep in a hallway.

The room was empty, and a few hours later she left for an appointment at the spa despite the fact she could not locate her husband. 

She said she thought he may be sleeping in another room, which had happened previously on the trip. 

Shortly into her massage she was paged over the ship's intercom.

Early that morning a passenger had found blood on a lifeboat canopy, and officials wanted to make sure the Smiths were not hurt. 

This was when they realized that George had gone overboard.  

At the same time, Askin also reached to out to staff on the ship to say that he had been drinking with George the night before and that perhaps he was still sleeping.

Jennifer and Askin were then told what had likely happened, and led off the ship to be questioned by Turkish police. 

It was later alleged that the blood stain was in the shape of his body. 

Jennifer got off the ship in Turkey after her husband went missing and then flew back to the U.S. 

The couple headed off on their honeymoon almost immediately after their wedding ceremony (pictured)

A look at the massive Brilliance of the Seas, one of the biggest boats in the world at the time

Jennifer had an alibi, while Askin said he and the three other men left George and went back to one of their rooms and ordered room service.

While calls were made to room service by the men, there is no record of any food being delivered by employees on the ship. 

Askin boarded the ship after being questioned, while Jennifer stayed in Turkey and flew back home the next day.

The Smith family has criticized this move on their Facebook page, asking why she did not stay behind and try to look for her new husband - and instead 'hopped the first plane back to the United States after her release from Turkish police custody'.

In that same post they also said: 'Due in part to Jennifer Hagel Agne's selective amnesia, we still do not know who murdered George, and justice has eluded us.'

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.

Askin was also present for part of the alleged assault, which had been filmed with Kofman's camera.

The families were all asked to leave the ship at that point.

The rape charge was dropped by an Italian magistrate after they reviewed the tape, and the families returned home.

The Smith family, on the other hand, had made their way to Europe, where they passed out flyers and searched for George.

They also criticized Royal Caribbean for not keeping them abreast of what they had uncovered in their investigation, 

Meanwhile, Jennifer lashed out over the way she was treated following her husband's death. 

The family and young widow seemed to be getting along during this difficult time, and both stated publicly that they knew George had been murdered. 

No one has ever been charged with George's death and his body has never been recovered. 

Clues: The mysterious blood stain found outside below George's room was believed to be a print of his body

Jennifer has said George may have drunkenly fallen off the balcony of their room (pictured)

Devoted: George's parents (above) have continued their search for clues in their son's death

The Smith family claimed that Jennifer seemed bothered a few months after Smith's disappearance, when she saw they were wearing pins showing George in a picture he had taken with the actress Tara Reid the day before his death - despite the fact Reid had been cropped out of the photo.

'In December 2005, our family attended a Congressional hearing on cruise crime in Washington, D.C,' wrote Bree on Facebook.

'We wore pins with photos of George's face that had been cropped from the attached photo of George with actress Tara Reid. 

'Upon seeing us at the onset of the hearing, Jennifer appeared to be transfixed with the image on our pins. She asked us, "Is this from the photo George took with Tara Reid?"

'Hundreds of photos were taken from their honeymoon onboard Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas yet Jennifer distinctly remembered that image of George's face had been taken from George's photo with Tara Reid.'

On that same page they also posted a letter from Jennifer's attorney that had been sent to Royal Caribbean.

'On February 4, 2006, Miami maritime attorney James Walker, the lawyer for Jennifer Hagel (now Agne), sent a letter to Royal Caribbean lawyer Robert Peltz asking if Royal Caribbean knew of or had a copy of a video-tape showing men other than George having sex with George's newlywed wife Jennifer,' wrote Bree. 

The Smith family continues to investigate, and has requested all of the FBI's files now that they are through with their investigation. 

'We're definitely not giving up,' his sister Bree said in a 2013 interview. 

Share or comment on this article: Honeymoon widow Hagel Smith whose husband died on cruise 10 years ago's new life

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MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF: George Smith

Episode Summary

In 2005 George and Jennifer Smith boarded a cruise ship for their honeymoon, never realizing that only one of them would make it home. George is presumed to have gone overboard, but the circumstances around his death are perplexing and his family is still fighting for answers to this day.

Episode Info

George and Jennifer Smith

Photo Source

George and Jennifer

Blood on the cruise ship

Blood on the bed

Rusty Kofman

Zack Rozenburg

Greg Rozenburg

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** Please note ** All Fan Club episode sources are listed directly on their episode show notes in the Fan Club app.

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Widow Says Husband Who Disappeared on Cruise Mixed Alcohol, Prescription Drugs

NEW HAVEN, Conn – The widow of a Connecticut man who disappeared during their honeymoon cruise said Friday that her husband had mixed prescription drugs with alcohol the night he vanished three years ago on the Mediterranean Sea.

The widow, Jennifer Hagel Smith, said her husband's family has refused to acknowledge the possibility that George Smith's intoxication from alcohol and prescription drugs may have been a factor in an accidental death. Instead, she said they have insisted Smith was a victim of foul play despite a lack of evidence.

"In the three years since George's disappearance, the Smiths or their representatives have described a crime scene in the cabin on the ship that simply didn't exist," said Richard Sheeley, Hagel Smith's attorney.

"They have published reports of blood evidence that the families now know is baseless," he said, "and they have conjured up a conspiracy that never existed between the cruise line, investigators and, eventually, even the young woman they once welcomed into their family as a daughter."

The conspiracy, Sheeley said, was that the Royal Caribbean cruise line was withholding information from the Smith family.

Smith, of Greenwich, was taking the antidepressant Zoloft and Clonazepam, which treats anxiety and panic disorders, Sheeley said. A doctor had advised him not to drink alcohol while taking the drugs, he said.

Hagel Smith is not saying the prescription drugs and alcohol caused her husband's death, Sheeley said.

"But it could have contributed to an accident that caused his death," he said.

The claim that George Smith used alcohol and prescription drugs the night he disappeared came in a new legal filing Friday in Stamford Superior Court.

Hagel Smith filed a response to an appeal by Smith's relatives, who are challenging a nearly $1.1 million settlement she reached with Royal Caribbean. The deal was approved by a probate court.

Michael Jones, a lawyer for Smith's family, said Sheeley's comments were not accurate, but declined to elaborate. He said Smith's family continues to believe he was a victim of foul play.

Hagel Smith did not want to disclose her husband's use of prescription drugs, but was forced to do so because of his family's "relentless" litigation, Sheeley said.

Hagel Smith has received numerous documents, including cabin access records and statements made to investigators, Sheeley said.

"There's no evidence we can see of murder," Sheeley said.

He said that there was only a "spec" of blood found in the cabin, and that what was originally believed to be blood on a towel turned out to be makeup.

George Smith was on a honeymoon cruise aboard a Royal Caribbean ship in July 2005 when he vanished somewhere between Greece and Turkey. His body has never been found.

The FBI has investigated Smith's disappearance, but no one has been charged.

In the appeal, Smith's parents and sister said his widow agreed to an inadequate settlement with the cruise ship line to avoid embarrassing disclosures about her conduct.

His disappearance followed a night of heavy drinking. The cruise line said his wife was found passed out on a floor far from their cabin.

Smith's attorney has cited reports of Hagel Smith's drinking and that she argued with her husband the night he disappeared, kicked him in the groin and left the ship's bar. Hagel Smith has called those accounts "ridiculous" and "outlandish."

Hagel Smith's other lawyer, Elizabeth Byrne, said any embarrassing behavior that may have occurred had already been reported and was not a motivation to settle. She said the probate ruling showed the settlement was reasonable and that her client acted in good faith.

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Cruise Ship Deaths and Disappearances: A Honeymooner Vanishes Overboard and Other Mysteries

Honeymooner goes overboard: accident or foul play.

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. Smith’s family — citing accounts of other men with him in his cabin and the sounds of arguing before a “thud” was heard between 4 and 5 a.m, when Smith's wife returned to their room after a night where both had been drinking — said they believe he was murdered. 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. His body was never found.

Cruise Ship Deaths and Disappearances: George Smith, More

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Passenger dies on Royal Caribbean ship that left Miami for 9-month world cruise

Serenade of the seas left miami on dec. 10, 2023, on the ultimate world cruise, a 274-night, seven-continent voyage that stops at 60 countries and 11 world wonders, by nbc6 • published february 13, 2024 • updated on february 13, 2024 at 3:22 pm.

A passenger has died while on board a Royal Caribbean ship that left Miami for a nine-month "Ultimate World Cruise," the company said Tuesday.

"A guest sailing on board Serenade of the Seas has sadly passed away," a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News . "We are actively providing support and assistance to the guest's loved ones at this time. Out of the privacy of the guest and their family, we have nothing further to share at this time."

📺 24/7 South Florida news stream: Watch NBC6 free wherever you are

The passenger's identity and details surrounding their death weren't released.

Serenade of the Seas left Miami on Dec. 10, 2023, on the Ultimate World Cruise, a 274-night, seven-continent voyage that stops at 60 countries and 11 world wonders.

The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.

The ship has already made its way through Mexico, the Caribbean, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador on its South America leg last month. On Sunday, the Asia Pacific leg of the voyage began that will see the ship pass through Hawaii, Polynesia and Australia.

This article tagged under:

Passenger dies on Royal Caribbean ship that left Miami for 9-month world cruise

Serenade of the seas left miami on dec. 10, 2023, on the ultimate world cruise, a 274-night, seven-continent voyage that stops at 60 countries and 11 world wonders, by nbc6 • published february 13, 2024 • updated on february 13, 2024 at 3:23 pm.

A passenger has died while on board a Royal Caribbean ship that left Miami for a nine-month "Ultimate World Cruise," the company said Tuesday.

"A guest sailing on board Serenade of the Seas has sadly passed away," a Royal Caribbean spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News . "We are actively providing support and assistance to the guest's loved ones at this time. Out of the privacy of the guest and their family, we have nothing further to share at this time."

The passenger's identity and details surrounding their death weren't released.

24/7 New York news stream: Watch NBC 4 free wherever you are

Serenade of the Seas left Miami on Dec. 10, 2023, on the Ultimate World Cruise, a 274-night, seven-continent voyage that stops at 60 countries and 11 world wonders.

The ship has already made its way through Mexico, the Caribbean, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador on its South America leg last month. On Sunday, the Asia Pacific leg of the voyage began that will see the ship pass through Hawaii, Polynesia and Australia.

Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.

This article tagged under:

Watch CBS News

FBI: Man Who Disappeared From Cruise Ship In 2005 May Have Been Killed By Russian Mob

May 30, 2012 / 6:43 PM EDT / CBS New York

GREENWICH, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- There are new developments in the case of a Connecticut newlywed who disappeared in 2005. Until now, it appeared that he fell off a cruise ship by accident.

But CBS 2's Pablo Guzman reported, the FBI now has evidence raising the possibility of foul play.

In July 2005, newlywed George Smith of Greenwich disappeared at sea, between Greece and Turkey. His family has always suspected he was murdered. However, three young Russian-Americans from Brooklyn who had been drinking with Smith have now caught the interest of the FBI's so-called "Russian Mafia" unit, CBS News reported on Wednesday.

The three are seen on an old video telling Turkish police they found Smith passed out, and took him to his room.

"I closed the door, never saw him again. End of story. That was it," one of the men said at the time.

But the new video, which was made from somebody's cell phone, allegedly shows the young Russians making fun of Smith, and incriminating themselves in the process.

"To me it was amazing that people would actually film themselves talking about somebody's death in such a fashion," Smith family attorney Michael Jones said.

The FBI has that new video, Guzman reported. George Smith's sister is clear on what the family is hoping for.

"We want to see arrests. We want to see indictments. We want to see convictions," Bree Smith said.

His mother said she thinks she knows exactly what happened.

"I believe it was a botched robbery that got out of hand and my son was murdered on that cruise ship," Maureen Smith said.

A girlfriend of someone with the Russians said they believed Smith had $50,000 in his cabin, and that his new bride, Jennifer, was seen gambling $200 hands of blackjack, Guzman reported.

George Smith's sister told CBS News the new video "could be the missing piece of the puzzle."

Please offer your thoughts in the comments section below ...

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