The mother of an aspiring actress who died suddenly on a cruise ship says more needs to be done to solve crimes at sea.
Ashley Barnett died in October 2005 on a cruise while celebrating her 25th birthday with her boyfriend and friends.
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Nearly 20 years later, Ashley’s heartbroken mother, Jamie, still has no answers.
She told The Sun: “She had a post-mortem and before she could return to the US her body had to be embalmed.
“So when her body came back, any forensic pathologist had very little to figure out what happened.
“It was a long and dangerous journey, which in the end had no real answers.
“I will never have all the answers. That’s one of the most painful aspects of all… losing someone like that on a cruise ship.
“It’s all different when it happens at sea, and people don’t even realize it.”
Less than 24 hours after boarding the cruise ship, Ashley was found dead in her cabin.
According to her boyfriend, he and Ashley went to a casino and put on a show before returning to their cabin.
After an alleged disagreement, Ashley’s boyfriend returned and she stayed at home.
After returning to the cabin in the early hours of the morning, he claims he went to to sleep next for Ashley.
The next day, he woke up and went upstairs to join his friends – leaving Ashley, who he believed was still asleep.
After returning to the cabin, he was unable to wake her and she was tragically pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
The boat docked in Ensenada, on the Pacific coast of Mexico and authorities boarded the ship to determine if there were any suspicious circumstances.
The FBI was also notified.
While Ashley remained at the Mexican morgue, her boyfriend and the rest of the group remained on the ship and returned to California.
Two decades later, Jamie is still outraged by the decision.
“They just left her body there,” she said.
“Not the boyfriend, not one of those other people, not a representative from the cruise company.”
Jamie said she didn’t hear from her boyfriend until the day after her daughter’s death.
He claimed he didn’t know what had happened to her – but said some of her medication was missing.
Don’t get on a ship and think nothing could happen to you
Jamie Barnett
It was later concluded that Ashley died from a methadone overdose – but her friends and family insist she was very anti-drugs.
Methadone is a drug called a “legal high” used to help addicts stop using heroin.
When Ashley was discovered, there were reportedly few defibrillators on the ship and no opioid overdose inhibitors.
Unsure of Ashley’s cause of death, Jamie and her family hired a private pathologist to perform a forensic autopsy.
Here it was indicated that his organs were supposedly healthy, as was his body, with some evidence of alcohol consumption.
There were also no signs of trauma.
Still perplexed by the pain, the family requested a test on Ashley’s hair follicles.
The result was negative – confirming that there were no signs of habitual drug use.
For Jamie, Ashley’s death still remains a heartbreaking mystery.
Despite the nightmare he has endured over the past two decades, Jamie’s trauma has awakened the need to help others going through similar situations.
After Ashley’s death, Jamie joined the lobby group International Cruise Victims – of which he is now president.
Jamie has been instrumental in developing stricter laws around crimes and deaths on cruises.
The grieving mother believes cruise passengers are often “lulled into a false sense of security”.
She said: “Don’t get on a ship and think nothing could happen to you.
“It’s like a small town where anything can happen.
“You can’t let your guard down. You still need to be aware and keep your eyes open.”
She described how difficult it is to access the usual investigative authorities when at sea.
It means the right to continue the investigation and gather more information and evidence after the crime is more challenging, she said.
I will never get all the answers. And that’s one of the most painful aspects of losing someone like that on a cruise ship.
Jamie Barnett
And this means that many cases may remain unsolved – or with unanswered questions.
Jamie told The Sun how campaigns on international cruises, victims benefited many.
She said: “We are there to help people who have been victims of some type of crime at sea or some type of neglect or traumatic event at sea.
“When this happens to people, because the laws are so wishy-washy, if they exist on the high seas, they don’t know who to turn to or what to do.
“And most of us who lead this organization remember that vividly and what that felt like.
“We do everything we can to hold someone’s hand and walk them through all of these things if they are a victim in any way.”
In 2019, Forbes reported that the chances of dying on a cruise ship were approximately 1 in 6.25 million – suggesting it is one of the safest ways to travel and enjoy a vacation.
But this statistic does not include crimes committed on ships – or missing people.
Jamie said that some cruises like to throw out “a catchphrase” that “immediately plants in your head” about missing people on board – and what might have happened to them.
She said families are often told that the person was “depressed” or that “this person had a fight with their partner.”
She added: “So immediately you’re thinking it was intentional, when it’s very important for us hearing these reports to remain neutral, to wait.
“How do you know? What makes you say that?
“They invest all kinds of money to make sure you have a good time on their ship.
“But we are stepping back and saying, yes, but where is all the protection?”
Advocates claim that due to the nature of reported crimes on cruises, ships have a “patchy” record, making it difficult to determine true statistics.
However, through International Cruise Victims, Jamie aims to change this situation and at the same time protect future cruise passengers on their holidays.
She continued: “The cruise industry loves to say that ‘passenger safety is our number one priority.’
“We’re here saying, so put your money where your mouth is.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
