174. George Smith - A Cruise Ship Mystery
45:56 Share

You guys, most weight loss plans are one size fits all. They don't take into account each person's individual needs, but Noom builds personal plans that can meet your individual needs. Noom takes into account dietary restrictions, medical issues, and other personal needs to build a plan that works for you and is built for your psychology and your biology,

meeting you where you are. And you guys, I actually have been using Noom Weight and it truly feels personalized to meet my lifestyle. What I love most is that Noom doesn't restrict what you can eat and it actually doesn't shame you when you choose to treat yourself. Noom's personalized program has felt more sustainable than other more restrictive weight loss programs.

Noom Weight uses psychology and biology, and that's why they say losing weight starts with your brain. The program helps you understand the science behind your eating choices and why you have cravings and actually helps you build new habits for a healthier lifestyle. So stay focused on what's important to you with Noom's psychology and biology based approach. Sign up for your trial today at Noom.com. Today, Noom has helped more than 5.2 million people lose weight.

It's that time of the year. Your vacation is coming up. You can already hear the beach waves, feel the warm breeze, relax, and think about work. You really, really want it all to work out while you're away. Monday.com gives you and the team that peace of mind. When all work is on one platform and everyone's in sync, things just flow wherever you are. Tap the banner to go to Monday.com.

Hey everybody, welcome back to the podcast. This is your host, Peyton Moreland. Is that what I say? I don't remember what you say, actually. How about I start it for you? Hey everybody, welcome back to the podcast. This is Murder With My Husband. I'm Peyton Moreland. And I'm Garrett Moreland. And he's the husband. And I'm the husband.

I almost forgot because I was in my head about it. All right. Just wanted to say that merch, we were having some issues. Everything is solved 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. I just wanted to address real quick, everyone has been sending me the same meme. What did you think I was going to say? I just think that was so funny the way you said it. You acted like you were about to just make a speech to the union or something. Because I am. I am. You just wait. You have no idea what I'm talking about. No. 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've sent me the meme, you know what I'm talking about. It's a pickleball meme. And between Murrith, 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 going to address it i'm not even going to talk about it 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

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 showed Peyton it. What are your thoughts? Get creative. You don't like it? I didn't like it. I get it. It's because pickleball is like it kind of is. Easy to make 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. I think you talk about it every 10 seconds. I haven't talked about it in a long time on purpose. I've been trying to distance myself away from it, okay? Because 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 going to 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 pickleball meme, my golf lessons working, it'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 Dateline, 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,

What George didn't know when he hit send 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. To

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 25th, 2005, George and Jennifer tied the knot at a 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 suitcases, 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. I'll tell the story next week. Maybe during my. No, 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. We hadn't gotten to security yet. We were going through like check-in. Check-in in our bags and everything. And.

Peyton had her passport and I had my passport and we had just got married and we were leaving that night on 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, did our bags. We're 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-in counter, Garrett handed me like the bag tags and everything. So I was just holding my passport, but then I like 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 your this, this, that you would have thought I was getting arrested. Give me your social security number, your first and last name. She was going hard. Yeah, but we found it. 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 stateroom with a balcony. This way they can sip champagne while overlooking the ocean, keep it as romantic as possible. On June 29th, the couple takes a photo together on the dock right as they're about to board the Royal Caribbean ship called Brilliance of the Seas. They have their arms around each other, they're smiling ear to ear. It's obvious they're definitely feeling the newlywed bliss.

That evening, the ship leaves Barcelona and for the next several days sells south, making stops in France and Italy. Meanwhile, they've been making friends with other guests on board, like Paul and Jelena Vinitsky, 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 Mykonos, Greece 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 Mykonos 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'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 Jelena 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 Vinitskys and Josh. Jennifer takes a seat at the blackjack table while George heads to the craps table.

And there 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 Breitling watch that he got as a wedding gift. Two, other passengers overhear 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 Vinitskys 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 1.06 a.m., 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 Botha.

But at 2 a.m., the casino closes. So they move the party to the ship's nightclub, the Starquest Disco. That includes Jennifer, George, Josh, the casino manager Lloyd, and the three Russian-American guys George just befriended at the craps 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 room, so they're all passing that around. Okay.

But here's where things get weird. Can they not drink in the nightclub or something? I think you just have to get the alcohol from the ship. I don't know that for sure, but again, we've never been on a cruise. So a few passengers say they see Lloyd and Jennifer getting a little bit too cozy on a couch in the club. Remember, Lloyd is the manager. Which...

That seems interesting. They just got married. Right. And now she's getting cozy with the manager. But George is also, I mean, not that it's an excuse, but isn't he like piss 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 hussy.

Then Jennifer shoves George and kicks him in the groin before stumbling out of the club. Oh my gosh. Her brand new husband. 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. Okay. 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 stateroom, 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 4.01 a.m. 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, 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.

Cue to about three hours later. The sun is coming up over Kusudasa, Turkey, and a 16-year-old girl on board 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 bloodstain and a bloody handprint next to it.

At around the same time, Jennifer Smith is waking up in her room alone. Hola. ¿Cómo está? Hola, ¿cómo estamos? Want to learn a new language? Well, the best way is to uproot your entire life, move to Spain, and live there for the rest of your...

I made that up. I went off the ad. Let me go back to the ad read. The best way is to uproot your entire life. Drop your... Oh. You literally followed the ad. I didn't read the rest of that. Drop yourself in the middle of a new country and figure it out from there. I just want to let everyone know that's what I did. That's what I did. It worked. If you're not ready for that, you can still learn a new language the next best way, and that is with Babbel. See you.

Speak like a whole new you with Babbel, the science-backed language learning app that gets you talking. Wasting hundreds of dollars on private tutors is the old school way of learning a new language. Babbel's 10-minute lessons are quick and handcrafted by over 200 language experts, ready to get you talking your new language in three weeks because talking is the key to really knowing any language.

designed by real people for having real conversation Babbel gets you talking you guys I actually use Babbel to brush up on Spanish when we travel I love it it is so easy and then I can actually kind of keep up with what's going on and with over 16 million subscriptions sold Babbel's 14 award-winning language courses are backed by a 20-day money-back guarantee so

There's no pressure. Buy Babbel and travel. Here's a special limited time deal for our listeners right now. Get up to 60% off your Babbel subscription, but only for our listeners at babbel.com slash husband. Get up to 60% off at babbel.com slash husband spelled B-A-B-B-E-L.com slash husband. Rules and restrictions may apply. Okay, let me guess. Your medicine cabinet is crammed with stuff that does not work.

You still aren't sleeping, you still hurt, and you're stressed out. That's how it was for me, so I cleared out my cabinet and reset my health with CBD from CB Distillery. CBD Distillery's targeted formulations are made from the highest quality clean ingredients, no fluff, no fillers, just pure effective CBD solutions designed to help support your health.

In two non-clinical surveys, 81% of customers experienced more calm, 80% said CBD helped with pain after physical activity, and an impressive 90% actually said they slept better with CBD. I have personally used CBD before to help me sleep. I used to have a lot of trouble sleeping and I couldn't figure out what to do to help. And honestly, CBD did help. And if that's something you're struggling with, yeah.

Give it a try. Check it out. If you struggle with a health concern and haven't found relief, make the change like I did to CBD Distillery. And with over 2 million customers and a solid 100% money back guarantee, CBD Distillery is the source to trust. You guys, we have a 20% discount to get you started. So if you've ever wanted to do CBD, now is the time. Visit CBDistillery.com and use code husband for 20% off. That's CBDistillery.com.

.com code husband, cbdistillery.com code husband. 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's 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 then the friends went and helped George. So I don't know. You're going to 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 an hour and a 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 off in 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 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 dew. 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 bloodstains on the sheets, each only two centimeters long, shaped like a number 11. The bloodstains were shaped like the number 11? Yes, like just two bloodstains side by side. Okay. I thought someone drew 11 with the bloodstains. 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 friend 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 docks in kushudasa 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 to 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, insisting she has no idea what happened. He says she was with another man last night, Lloyd Botha, 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 a 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, thank goodness we have some cameras. Right. Just put those babies up and we'll know 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 Cuxudasa 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 seedier 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 7 p.m. that night and it's getting closer to that hour. She

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 and George'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 did 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 Georgia's tennis sneakers, and that's when it hits Jennifer.

Her husband is gone. And to pour salt in the wound, Jennifer's 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. I think there's got to be some protocol that they're not following because it doesn't seems wrong to just boop. Yeah. And this is why people say there is this huge conspiracy theories 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. That's nuts. 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 Hyman 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 at around 4 a.m. 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.

Cleet went to the peephole and saw three 20-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.

Cleet 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 Cleet heard an extremely loud thud. And Cleet 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 Cleet's 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 Smiths' door, 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. Okay. So is this not just turning into like a movie? It, it,

Yeah, it reminds me of that movie with Jennifer Aniston. Uh-huh. Murder Mystery. Yeah, Murder Mystery. Yep. It's like, well, two of the neighboring cabins heard commotion at 4.30. This is after everything we've learned. And they come forward and they're like, we heard this loud thud and we called security. And then security came up. It didn't actually go in the room. But there was three guys instead of four guys. And then the next morning she shows up to the spa an hour and a 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 George'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 claim the meal arrived by 4.45 a.m. and they even took pictures of their food with a digital camera, which was time-stamped.

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 Cleet 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. Wow.

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 out. 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 3.15 a.m. And he used his key card to access his girlfriend's cabin at 3.25 a.m.

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. Like it's,

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 all right. 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 Rosenbergs, Josh, and Rustys. 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 keycard 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. All right. Probably not expecting me to start this ad, but I'm going to start this ad. The Skims ad. And let me tell you about something that Peyton's been wearing. The Skims soft loungewear. It's amazing. Feels great.

- Payne wears it, she looks great, she feels great. - Okay, it has completely transformed my lounge wear game. I love everything I own from Skims, you guys know this, so does my husband, especially my new pieces from the Soft Lounge Collection. And I kid you not, you guys, it is soft. It is the softest fabric.

It makes me feel both confident and comfortable. And it's not just lounge wear. It's actually the first thing I reach for no matter what my plans are for the day. And my favorite piece is the soft lounge tank paired with the fold over pant. You guys, I have tried every ribbed tank on the market. Nothing beats this one. And it looks so adorable.

with the pants set. It is like just the most comfortable go-to outfit and the soft lounge sleep set. I have two of them and it is like sleeping on a cloud. It feels good. You feel put together at the end of the night. You guys, it is lightweight, comfortable, and stylish. I live in it. Also, if you're thinking about getting it for your significant other, just do it. They'll love it.

Shop the Skims Soft Lounge Collection at Skims.com. Now available in sizes extra, extra small to 4X. And if you haven't yet, guys, be sure to let them know that we sent you. So when you go to checkout, please don't skip this step. After you place your order, select Murder With My Husband in the survey and select our show. The drop-down menu that follows, it's a great way to support the show. It lets them know we sent you. Again, you guys, go get Skims.

The soft lounge from Skims. The entire collection is so good. And then let them know Murder With My Husband sent you. Okay, we love you. Bye.

Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. From the launch your online shop stage, to the first real life store stage, all the way to the did we just hit a million orders stage. Shopify is there to help you grow. Shopify helps you turn browsers into buyers with the internet's best converting checkout up to 36% better compared to other leading commerce platforms.

and sell more with less effort thanks to Shopify Magic, your AI-powered all-star. Peyton and I love Shopify. We have been using it for, I mean, I've been using it for six years now, so many years, and it's amazing. It just keeps getting better and better with more updates. It's easy to use. It's user-friendly. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US, and Shopify is the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklyn, and millions of other entrepreneurs of every size across 175 countries.

Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash husband, all lowercase. Go to shopify.com slash husband now to grow your business no matter what stage you're in. Shopify.com slash husband.

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. 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. Oh my gosh. 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

Greg and Rusty were accused of drugging and luring an 18-year-old female passenger back to their room. What is wrong with people? 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 8th, 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 in Naples, 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 that the Royal Caribbean just really loves to just boot the boot people. I mean, I'm sure you can. I guarantee you there's fine print that says...

We can kick you off anytime we want. Right. Italian police very briefly questioned 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 once do 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 once is 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. Imagine 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, if 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. But whose? I don't know how international waters works. I have 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. 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 mere 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 parachuting 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 case is picked up by the Connecticut FBI. They receive 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,

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. Now...

You trying to copy what I'm saying? No, but Gregory Rosenberg's polygraph test reads inconclusive. So we have another one. Okay. The FBI suspects that this might have been a robbery gone wrong, primarily because of the tiny blood stains left in Georgia's cabin. Remember the small marks that were shaped in 11? Well, police believe that might have been caused by someone trying to remove Georgia's very expensive Breitling 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 the men did the robbery. That would explain why Cleet Hyman heard a loud goodnight 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? Okay, wait, 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. I also 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. And her husband's gone now. Well, and worse than that, it's caused this huge divide between George's family and her. Yeah, I'm sure. In the weeks after her son's death, George's mother, Maureen, doesn't want to leave Jennifer's side. She says she feels like this is the last remaining piece she has of her son, George, but

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, 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 Georgia's wrongful death suit. Georgia'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.

That's actually a good point because George was the one that was super drunk.

Yeah. She wasn't. But 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 the result of an onboard 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, staff moved about the room, cleaning, vacuuming, and contaminating potential evidence before the FBI could come on board. 100%. That's what I was saying. They took all his stuff. They just didn't care. They were 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. 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. Brie 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. Okay.

There was also no law saying they had to report it to U.S. 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? What?

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've 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 Davie, 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,

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 844-651-1936 or email georgesmithtipline at gmail.com. And that is the case of George Smith, 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 one of them is dead now. Yes. But I think you have four suspects who most likely know what happened. Crazy. Also, I didn't realize that.

So do people still go missing on cruise ships like this all the time? Not as often because now they're forced to report it. But, I mean, you hear all the time. Like, I could make a whole series. I could probably make a whole podcast about people 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 Georgia's family too, obviously. I mean, she has an alibi. She didn't do it. She was passed out and her key card was never used. No, she didn't do it. And then Georgia 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? It had to have been about the money and Jennifer wasn't in there 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. 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. And I hate it. Goodbye.