Macabre Twist in Shock Sinking of Missing Tech Billionaire’s Yacht

Mysterious circumstances that preceded the sinking of billionaire Mike Lynch’s yacht on Monday morning have left the internet abuzz with conspiracies.

That’s because Lynch’s ex-colleague and c0-defendant in a recently-closed U.S. fraud trial was fatally struck by a car on Saturday—two days before authorities say a tornado abruptly sunk Lynch’s yacht off the coast of Sicily. Both men were acquitted following the trial.

Stephen Chamberlain, the financial vice president of Autonomy during Lynch’s reign as CEO, was critically injured by a car that crashed into him as he was out for a jog on Saturday. He was placed on life support but succumbed to his injuries on Monday, his attorney Gary Lincenberg confirmed.

Police in Cambridgeshire said a blue Vauxhall Corsa struck a man in his 50s, now known to be Chamberlain, ultimately killing him. Officers said the unnamed woman who struck him, aged 49, remained at the crash site.

“He was a courageous man with unparalleled integrity,” said Lincenberg of Chamberlain. “We deeply miss him. Steve fought successfully to clear his good name at trial earlier this year, and his good name now lives on through his wonderful family.”

Chamberlain stood trial alongside Lynch, 59, as they were charged with fraud in connection with the $11 billion sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011—a case that ended with a San Francisco jury acquitting the men in June.

They faced more than 20 years in federal lock up had they been convicted.

Aboard Lynch’s ill-fated trip in his 184-foot sailing vessel Bayesian were the attorneys who’d led his defense against U.S. prosecutors. He’s now feared to be dead, along with five others who remained missing on Monday night.

That tally includes Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, as well as one of his attorneys. Two Americans are also reportedly among the missing and another British national. Italian authorities said they’re still searching for those unaccounted for and that dive teams have been dispatched. The body of a Canadian chef has already been recovered from the vessel.

A lawyer aboard the Bayesian’s ill fated trip was the 36-year-old Ayla Ronald, the The Telegraph reported. Her father, Lin Ronald, said the trip was to celebrate Lynch’s acquittal.

Among the survivors of Monday’s tragedy was Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares. She told La Repubblica that she sustained abrasions to her feet during the chaos and is now unable to walk.

Witnesses of the Mediterranean storm told Italian news agency ANSA that the ship was anchored in front of the port of Porticello when a tornadic waterspout formed and struck the Bayesian. The vessel sank shortly after.

“I was at home when the tornado hit,” Pietro Asciutto, a local fisherman, told ANSA. “I immediately closed all the windows. Then I saw the boat, it had only one mast, it was very large. I saw it sink suddenly.”

Fabio Cefalù, a trawler captain who was nearby, told the BBC that he went to where the Bayesian sunk not long after the waterspout passed. Within 10 minutes, all that remained of the vessel was a series of floating items from its deck. He said he saw no survivors in the water.

Loved ones of Lynch largely haven’t spoken out since his disappearance, possibly in hopes that he may miraculously reappear. Some reports have described the tech billionaire, who didn’t maintain a public social media presence, as admiring James Bond, building model railways, and breeding koi carp. He had a second daughter, aged 21, and six dogs, reported The Daily Mail.

“At the companies he ran, Lynch is said to have put his own personal stamp, indulging his penchant for James Bond,” reported The Guardian on Monday. “Conference rooms were reportedly named after Bond enemies, such as Dr No and Goldfinger, and Autonomy even had a piranha tank in the atrium, in a nod to the 007 caper You Only Live Twice.”