Newlywed disappears while on Mediterranean honeymoon cruise | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] You can't look at the water and at the sea without remembering what happened to
George. It's got too many bad memories for me now. Oh, I miss him. Miss him every day. I
miss his voice. I miss his phone calls. He called me all the time. I just miss him as a son.
Pretty much every night I go to bed, I see his face. No parent should have to lose their son
that way. Gentlemen, this is Captain Michael. May I have your attention, please? A person
may have gone overboard last night. I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that my son was murdered on that cruise
ship. There's so much evidence. It's overwhelming. It's just been a complete and awful
nightmare for my family and we still do not have justice for George. The first suspect is the surviving
spouse. She said she couldn't remember anything. Eyebrows started to go up about what
exactly did Jennifer know. But the FBI soon turned its attention from George Smith's widow to a group of
young men, the last people to see George alive. There were sounds of a a fight, a
struggle inside my brother's room. I heard some males arguing on the balcony. [Music]
What we're trying to do is sort through the facts and figure out what happened that night because unfortunately this
has become pretty much a cold case. While on the cruise, did you meet George Smith IVth?
There was a series of questions that I asked in each of the depositions of each of the boys. Do you know what happened
to George Smith? Were you present when George Smith went overboard? Did you kill George Smith?
Something crazy went down that night, and I hope one day that they find out the truth.
A 48 hours investigation has uncovered failed polygraphs, questionable alibis, and a provocative video made by some of
the men just hours after George Smith disappeared. On the videotape, you've got them joking
about George's death. very callous and at one point incriminating. I just can't comprehend that someone
could snatch my brother from a cruise ship, throw him on an overhang, and dies alone in the water, and then
nothing's done about it. The evidence is huge. Why hasn't someone been arrested?
[Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] Sometimes you still think, "Ah, he might
be still out there cuz we don't have a body. We don't have a body. It doesn't get any easier. And you know
what? If we had our answers for George and know what happened, maybe. We don't know.
For 10 years, Morin and George Smith have been tormented. They don't know what happened to their 26-year-old son
aboard that cruise ship. We have to just keep pushing the buttons and we won't let it go. It's our son. It
wasn't supposed to be this way. George Smith IV had seemed destined to have it all.
Fine young man, handsome, hardworking. He was just an all round great kid. He was the funniest guy, you know. I
would sit and have a couple beers with him and he'd make me laugh for the whole night. And besides, he was so
good-looking the girls just fell all over him. It was it was a lot of fun. He was just a great guy.
George was about to take over his father's liquor store in Greenwich, Connecticut.
George made the store. He was much more of a lively guy than I and loved to talk
and uh he had that gusto in him and he really wanted to take the store and build it.
Stop by today. This is George working alongside his father in a local commercial.
He always called me the old man because I wasn't into modern tools and techniques like he was. So, I was the
old man. I was the dinosaur that he had to deal with. George's future seemed even brighter
when he met Jennifer Hegel, an aspiring school teacher. I was overwhelmed with her because she
had this dynamic personality. She was very fun-loving like him, very attractive, and he was very happy with
her with this ring. After a three-year courtship, I the win. George and Jennifer were
married in a ceremony overlooking the sea. It was a really lavish affair in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a
storybook wedding. It was absolutely beautiful. George's older sister, Bri, remembers
the day very well and how excited they were to go on their honeymoon. They were so excited to be starting
their life together and they couldn't wait to start their cruise. I can remember shaking his hand in the
street and saying goodbye to him. No one could ever imagine that just less than two weeks later, George would be
missing. In late June 2005, Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas set sail from
Barcelona. The footage you see is from a sister ship. Fellow Honeymooners Paul and
Galina Kitnitzki were on board with the Smiths. We sat down next to one another and uh since the first day we we we
became acquainted. The couples hit it off immediately. They were really great. I mean, they
were just very normal, down to earth, happy people. I would say we spent a lot of time
together. They loved the sights. I remember they were taking a lot of pictures. Like
everywhere they went, they were like always with the camera. And back on the ship, they socialized
into the early morning hours. I think he enjoyed himself a lot, you know, um having a drink or two.
He didn't have a good tolerance for alcohol. like you could see he would have like four beers and you know you
could see that he was pretty much drunk. Around midnight on July 5th, the two couples headed for the casino.
[Music] It would be the last night of George's life. Jennifer, who's seen here on casino
security cameras, spent much of her time at the blackjack table. And George, who
was also captured on tape, headed for his usual spot at the craps table. He was just having fun at the table and
uh you could see that right away. George was soon joined at the table by another
shipboard acquaintance, California college student Josh Asin. 48 hours spoke to Josh in 2006.
Hung out with them for a little bit. Nothing too indepth. Jennifer played a little blackjack, played a little crafts
with George. There were a lot of other people around as well who we'd met on the cruise so far.
And a group of Russian American students were also making the rounds that night.
Cousins Zachary and Greg Rosenberg and their friend Rusty Kaufman. Josh had met them on the cruise as well.
Everyone who was over 18 pretty much congregated in the casino. Everyone was in high spirits
and George and Jennifer were high rolling. At one point, George, who's seen here at the casino with Josh, went
back to his own cabin to get extra cash for Jennifer. I think George looked prosperous.
Additionally, had a really nice watch, which was a Brightling watch. Was worth a bit of money.
And Brie Smith wonders if someone on the ship was getting the wrong idea about her brother. People may have made
assumptions that George was a millionaire even though he wasn't. And one thing that was clear to Paul
that night was that by the time the casino closed, both Jennifer and George were already drunk.
And I just remember telling him, "It's time to call it a night. It's time to call it a night."
Paul wishes his new friend had listened. Two hours later, George Smith would be gone.
As the sun rose over Kusadasi, Turkey on July 5th, 2005, 16-year-old Emily Roush
stepped onto her balcony to snap some photos. It was around 7:30 in the morning and I noticed something on the
overhang of the lifeboats. Instead of a spectacular sunrise, Emily's camera captured this. A huge
blood stain on the lifeboat canopy. This is Emily's account from back then. I just assumed that someone had died
there. Security quickly determined the occupants of room 9062 were unaccounted for and snapped these
pictures of the room. And then they began paging the Smiths. I had a state room attendant outside my
room and I said, "You know, you should probably go into that guy's room and wake him up because he's not going to
hear that page because he was probably still sleeping." In another cabin, Paul and Galina were
startled by a visit from ship personnel. And that's when the guy came in and he said, "Have you seen George?" And I'm
like, "What do you mean, have I have seen George?" And we said, "What's going on?" And he
kind of told us, "He's missing." We're like, "Missing?" By now, they had been summoned to guest
relations. Jennifer was also there. She'd been located at the ship's spa getting a scheduled massage. The crew
soon delivered the crushing news that her new husband, George, was presumed overboard.
She just kept saying that she doesn't remember what happened. I can't remember. I can't understand. I don't
remember. Jennifer said she had almost no memory after leaving the casino and that when
she had awakened in the cabin, George wasn't there. She had just assumed George stayed with Paul and Galina.
She's shocked and panicked and she doesn't understand what's going on. She just kept saying that, "I want to call
my dad. I want to call my dad." Half a world away in Connecticut, the Smiths were trying to absorb the shock
from the call from Jennifer's dad. It's disbelief. You know, we just couldn't believe it.
He's got to be on the boat. But the Smiths had not yet been told about that blood stain or the
investigation now underway on the brilliance of the seas. Turkish police had boarded the ship. Royal Caribbean
documented the forensic investigation. And in the ship's lobby, they rounded up Josh Asin and the group of Russian
Americans, Rusty Kaufman and Zach and Greg Rosenberg. They had all partied with George the night before.
I just didn't know what was going on. I knew I did nothing wrong, and that's all
that mattered to me. This video secretly recorded by Josh's father shows the police interview. Rusty Kaufman on the
right appears to be shocked when he hears about the blood. The wife was crazy. The video only captures snippets of what
has emerged over the years as a very complex story. A story and a timeline that would be dissected and debated for
years. After we dropped him off, we closed the door. We never saw him again. Never saw him again.
Never saw him again. The young man's account begins at 2:30 a.m. after the casino closed. It was on
an elevator to the disco where Josh says he noticed some odd behavior from casino
manager Lloyd Boa. There was maybe a time when Lloyd, the casino manager, put his arm around
Jennifer and we thought a little awkward moment. It was just a little awkward for
a second. At the disco, the party was in full swing and the guys smuggled in a bottle
of a potent liquor called Absin. They were having shots of absin. They were having shots.
Albert Diane represents Rusty Kaufman. We spoke to him in 2006 and Diane says there was tension between George and
Jennifer at the disco. Rusty does not hear what is being said, but he does observe Jennifer kick George
in in his groin. Jennifer stormed out of the disco. And according to Zack, Rusty, and Josh, the
casino manager followed after her. Josh would emphatically make this point when questioned by Turkish police later.
She has no idea what happened. She was with another man, the casino manager, Lloyd. You need to get him in here.
The men claimed they didn't know where Lloyd and Jennifer went. But by 3:30 a.m., the disco was closing and George
was in bad shape. George just kind of slumped over in a chair. I asked my buddies, we help me
take him home real quick. When they are walking to the cabin, they are literally
carrying George. At 3:52 a.m., the guys entered the Smith's cabin. The ship's key entry log
records the time, but Jennifer is not there. Seat belt expresses a wish to go search for his
wife. And at this time, the boys are having a a loud discussion, debate about whether they should go and assist
George. The group heads out again, and after a brief search of the ship's solarium,
they return George to his cabin at 4:01 a.m. I went to the restroom right when we
went in. I probably saw him for like a minute, 30 seconds. They actually lay George on his bed, take off his shoes,
and he displays a tremendous gratitude towards these young men. In fact, he hugs and kisses one or two of these
young men. And that was the end of just remember not not at one point or no time did he
ever seem angry or anything at all. But shortly after 4:00 a.m., passenger Cleman, a vacationing deputy police
chief, hears a disturbance next door. My wife and I were awakened by yelling coming from the Smith cabin. This
yelling sounded what I would liken to a drinking game. A few minutes later, suddenly though, there was an argument
out on the Smith balcony. This argument appeared to be uh between three maybe four male individuals.
But Rusty's lawyer insists that the men never went out on the balcony. After about two minutes of the argument, uh,
we heard one lone male voice uh, repeatedly say, "Good night. Good night." Like they were ushering someone
out of the room. I looked out and saw three male individuals walking away from the room.
Three males walking away. Then where was the fourth man? Diane insists all four men left together.
Rusty is a pretty wide type of young man. I believe that the witness just failed to observe the fourth one.
What Cleat Heyman hears next would become the subject of endless speculation. Was George alone in the
room? At this point, we heard just a lone male voice in the room. We heard what sounded
like the cupboard doors being uh closed uh loudly uh and also sounded like furniture being moved. Greg and Pat
Lawyer in the cabin on the other side of the Smiths hear something similar. There was uh what I call trashing of the
room sounds. I thought somebody was throwing furniture around either either mad or having a good time. So, we
dismissed it at that at that point. After about 2 minutes of total silence, however, there was a large what I would
call a horrific thud. That thud is believed to be the sound of George Smith hitting the metal canopy at around 4:30
a.m. About that same time, Jennifer is found passed out in a hallway. As for the men, they say they were all back in
their cabin ordering a lion's share of room service. We have room service. We ordered room
service. They were definitely in their own cabin in Zach's and Rusty's cabin ordering
food at that time. But as it would turn out, the young men's alibi would be called into question.
Doesn't hold up at all. As the details surrounding George Smith's disappearance emerged, so had
speculation about his bride, Jennifer. Was George murdered? Was Jennifer somehow involved?
The widow went on Oprah to defend herself. Not only to lose your memory, but then
to have nobody believe you. I don't know what happened. And Jennifer wasn't the only one in the
spotlight. What about the Ruskies in this story? The Russians. What are these three guys
hanging around a honeymoon couple? I mean, obviously, did he fall overboard? Was he pushed overboard? They found this
big blood stain. It's a CSI story that keeps unfolding by the day. The FBI would begin an investigation
that would span 9 and a half years. At the time, the ship's captain described it as a likely accident, theorizing that
an intoxicated George sat on the railing and simply fell off. The Smiths never bought the accident
theory. The blood is compelling evidence. There was blood in the room. Photographs taken
by Royal Caribbean inside the Smith cabin revealed two small lines of blood on the bed sheets. The Smiths say it was
George's blood and another sign pointing to foul play. In addition to the blood, there were
sounds of a a fight, a struggle inside my brother's room. The Smiths hoped that getting access to
Royal Caribbean's investigative case files would provide some answers. So that shows the room
and they brought on attorney Mike Jones to help them. Then you got the blood spot. What it's
not about is an accident and what it's not about is a suicide. It's about a murder.
Jones immediately got to work setting his sights on the ship's documents and the four men last seen with George.
I took Josh Asin's deposition first. Do you know if George Smith was murdered? Invoke my fifth amendment. Right.
Do you know who killed George Smith? Invoke my fifth amendment. Right. That's a yes or no answer.
Josh Asin took the fifth. I invoked my fifth amendment right on everything. My fifth amendment right. My fifth
amendment right. My fifth amendment right. In late June of 2005. Did you go on a
Royal Caribbean cruise with your family? I invoke my fifth amendment right. I had him take the fifth as to his date
of birth. His name. Attorney Keith Greer represents Josh Asin. And so I told him the only way we're
going to do this Josh is if every single question you're asked you plead the fifth. Greer says that Josh has always
been cooperative, speaking freely to everyone. But there came a point when he had to shut him down because the feds
were getting aggressive. And they have told us that if Josh ever says anything that is different than
what he said before in the grand jury, anything, they will fly him back to Connecticut on perjury charges. I
couldn't have that happen. Attorney Albert Diane says Rusty Kaufman got the same treatment and has stopped
cooperating with the FBI. And the more he wanted to speak with them, the more he wanted to tell him
what happened, the more they accused him of foul play. You think about the truth?
I do. During his deposition, Rusty Kaufman didn't plead the fifth, but his memory
on a lot of things seemed a bit rusty. When you say we put him to bed, who put him in the bed?
I don't have a recollection of that right now. Josh said that he was he actually used
the bathroom at that point. Do you remember that? I don't have a recollection of that.
Okay. When Zachary, my name is Michael Jones. Zachary Rosenberg also invoked his right
against self-inccrimination. Was there any commotion in the room? I'd like to invoke my fifth amendment
right. The only one who appeared forthcoming was Greg Rosenberg. In 2010, Mike Jones
found him in a Florida prison. Why are you here in prison? Trafficking. Greg was serving three years for
trafficking in Oxycodone. He says to support his expensive taste. I'm a fanatic of clothes, jewelry,
watches. That's why I'm in here, man. Murder is a different deal. Murder is a different deal, man. I ain't
I don't have it in my heart to kill nobody, man. Did you have anything to do with
George's death? No. Never did. Never will. Never thought about it. No, Greg brought up that room service party.
All right. What'd you eat? Tuna fish sandwiches. I know that we had like tuna fish sandwiches and
I think cheeseburgers. I know we had something that that fast food type. We were infatuated with the fact that we
could order whatever we want. They ordered so much food and they couldn't have killed George because they
were in the room eating the room service. I mean, it's a nice story, but it doesn't work.
In 2010, Mike Jones finally got his hands on those Royal Caribbean internal documents.
The room service party is pretty much blown by the information we got from Royal Caribbean. I mean, that's a big
fact. The ship's records show that although several short calls were made from Zach
and Rusty's cabin to room service after 4:13 a.m., there is no record of any order of any kind.
The handwritten records show that the room service was never delivered. Was it human error? They didn't write it
down. Keith Greer insists the room service party did take place, but it was never really an alibi to begin with
since the food would have been delivered after George went missing. The food service itself doesn't prove
that they were in a certain place at the time George went over because George goes over about 4:20 in the morning. So,
at that point in time, really the only alibi they have is each other. If the ship's records raise some questions
about where the men say they were that night, they also cast doubt on where they implied Jennifer was. Remember the
casino manager the guys said she left with at the disco? She was with another man.
The casino manager, Lloyd, and that didn't happen. That just didn't happen. Other witnesses say Lloyd did
not leave with Jennifer and key records show that he entered his girlfriend's cabin at 3:25 a.m. while the Smiths were
still in the disco. And he had gone to his girlfriend's room and she was able to corroborate that. So
I think Lloyd became the victim of this attempt by the Russians and by Josh Asin
to deflect attention from themselves. As for Jennifer, several witnesses saw her leave the
disco alone and unsteady at 3:30 a.m. There are some witnesses from the cruise ship, cruise ship employees that
actually escorted her uh onto the elevator and tried to help her get off the elevator on her floor
before she ended up going the wrong way on on deck 9. An hour later, Jennifer was found passed
out in that hallway around the time George went overboard. Lloyd Boa and Jennifer both passed FBI
polygraphs. People that the Russians and Josh were pointing fingers at both came through.
They very cleanly on their polygraphs. The four men are still on the FBI's radar. And the discovery of a homemade
videotape only raises more suspicion. It's ridiculously provocative. Unfortunately, obviously, after 8 years,
this has become pretty much a cold case. For the last few years, Mike Jones has been trying to reignite a case he
believes has gone cold in the Connecticut FBI office. If you talk to the FBI, they'll say it's active and
open, but um I I don't really believe that. And Jones also doesn't believe the account of the four young men last seen
with George Smith. When you left George in his bed, all you guys left? No one stayed.
Nobody stayed behind. We all left. There's a lot of evidence to suggest that that it was not as simple as as the
Russian men and as Josh have said. You look at the behavior of these young men. They're not good boys or good
Samaritans. Royal Caribbean documents show complaints were made against some of the men for smoking, sneaking liquor,
and verbally abusing ship employees. They were dropping fbombs on the room service people.
And 2 days after George Smith went overboard, an 18-year-old passenger came forward with a major allegation of
sexual assault. She stated that she was in one of the Russians rooms and that there was group sex with her with some
of the Russians. In the woman's statement, she says she was completely intoxicated and in
between blackouts remembers having nonconsentual sex with Greg Rosenberg, Rusty Kaufman, and Jeffrey Rosenberg,
Zack Rosenberg's younger brother. And they actually videotaped the group sex. And the fact that they videotaped
themselves doing this, I mean, who does that? Rusty's lawyer says the sex was consensual.
That whole escapade was noncriminal in nature. Uh, the tape itself revealed that
Josh's lawyer, Keith Greer, says Josh did not have sex with the young woman, but he was there.
Josh walks into the room and there's one of the Russian boys having sex on the bed with the girl and another one of the
boys filming it. And Josh was concerned. It became clear to him very quickly that
the boys weren't taking advantage of her. The girl was taking advantage of the boys.
Before he left CBS News to rejoin the New York City Police Department, John Miller investigated the case for 48
hours. People who have seen that videotape have told me that the person holding the camera is doing kind of a
narration and asking her questions and she's responding to them. But as this continues, she's crying. I haven't heard
anything about any crying from anyone. Royal Caribbean had had enough and rounded up all of the young men and
their families for a tense meeting with the ship's lawyer. Josh Asin's father was again recording.
The FBI has asked us to detain your sons. We're going to have to ask you to put your have your sons go to their
cabins and they're going to have to remain there. The group angrily denied the allegations.
They're ready for the lawsuit. Quiet. Everything is lie. The four men and their families were then removed from
the ship in Naples, where Italian police looked into the rape allegation and washed their hands of it, saying they
had no jurisdiction. No one has ever been charged in the sexual incident, and lawyers for the men believe the tape
saved them. But for that tape, they could have been charged for something that uh they did
not commit. But that tape may come back to haunt them. The tape in the FBI's possession
contained something else. A lunch meeting filmed by the Russianameans just hours after George went overboard. Josh
Asin was not present. They pass a video camera around filming themselves commenting about George's
death in a very callous way. And they're laughing and joking very callously about
him being wealthy. And certainly the way they were talking, they either knew or they had a pretty good sense of what had
happened. A source close to the investigation has told CBS News that on the tape, one of
the men, Rusty Kaufman, refers to George going parachute riding off his balcony.
It is not an admission, but it is at the very least provocative. And there's more. The really sort of
incriminating statement is one of them stands up at the end of the tape and sort of hunches his shoulders and
flashes gang signs and says, "Told you I was gangster." And that's in the context
of the discussion about George's death. Almost as if he's bragging about having done something to George.
Jones says that young man was Greg Rosenberg. I just don't understand how the FBI could have had this tape in
their possession and still we sit here, get the guys in there, question them. Lawyers for Zack Rosenberg and Rusty
Kaufman declined to comment on the video. In the spring of 2013, John Miller tried to see if Rusty himself
could provide any more answers. There's a statement made on videotape where you say
George went parachute riding off his balcony. I have no comment. Please, please contact my lawyer and then we can
arrange a time to speak. Greg Rosenberg's lawyer says Greg didn't know George was dead at that point and
that his client was just making a stupid comment. I don't think they're kidding around.
That's just not something you would just come out and say you're kidding around because if you didn't do it, why would
you be saying it? But if George was murdered, the question has always been why. Mike Jones believes
there is finally enough evidence to piece it all together. The first thing you look at is motive.
Okay, George and Jennifer dressed well. George had a very expensive Brightling watch. They sort of flashed the money at
the in the casino. What's more, witnesses heard George and Jennifer saying they had thousands of dollars in
their cabin. And this got around because there were other passengers not within the circle
of the Russians and Josh who heard the rumors about the money in the cabin. We don't believe it was true, but
perception is everything. Jones believes that perception fueled a robbery attempt, one that was hatched
when they put George to bed and Josh had gone into the bathroom. The theory would
be that they were arguing about whether or not one of them or or two of them should stay behind and see if they could
find the money and take the watch because George was in no position to argue or to put up a fight.
That arguing, Mike believes is what Cleat Heyman heard on the balcony. Jones also believes his theory fits with what
Heyman saw just three men leaving and one of them stays behind, starts to rifle through the drawers and the
cabinets. He has a possible explanation for the blood stain. The blood is on the sheets. The blood is
in two sort of centimeter long splashes and almost looks like if you were taking
off a watch and you pinched your skin, it would be compatible with the the blood splatter that was on the bed.
While they're doing that, George wakes up, says, "What are you doing?" Fight ensues, which is consistent with the
noises that people on both sides of the cabin heard. And George goes overboard. Other people hear the loud thud.
Josh Asin's lawyer, Keith Greer, argues that is all nothing more than speculation. Even Cleat Heyman, he even
said that he did not hear the sounds that you would expect if there was a fight. You know, you dirty so and so,
the smacking, the the kicking and stumbling and yelling of two guys going at each other in a in a fist fight. I
just don't think it makes sense. Greer thinks that there's a simpler explanation for all that took place
aboard the brilliance of the seas. The sex assault claim and George going overboard.
I don't know why everybody's missing the theme here cuz there's one common element and it's too much alcohol and we
can go and, you know, blame it on murder and blame it on aggressive sexual behavior here. You know what? It's just
everybody drinking too much and stupid stuff happening. That fits. But does it fit with what Josh Asin was
heard saying on an elevator? Mike Jones is a persistent man and he believes his persistence will one day
pay off. It's just a question of pulling together enough evidence to get an indictment and
a conviction. Jones and the Smiths maintain the key to solving the case lies in California.
Our theory is that Josh Asin knows what happened, but we don't believe that Josh
was involved in the actual, you know, tossing of George overboard. To support his theory, Jones is pointing
to an intriguing clue uncovered by Royal Caribbean. A ship employee overheard Josh Asin speaking to a friend on an
elevator. He said, "I know more than they think I know. Those almost got me arrested in Turkey."
Keith Greer argues the comments were taken out of context and Josh has nothing to hide.
Do you think that Josh Asin has told you everything he knows? Absolutely. No doubt.
But Greer admits the FBI told Josh he failed the polygraph. Greer questions the test and the result. I think it's
another rubber hose ploy, you know, where just to freak Josh out and upset him more. I think it was just the
psychological war that they were waging on him and his family or they didn't take the time to do it right. One or the
other. Sources tell CBS News Rusty Kaufman also was tested and he too failed. Yes, ma'am.
Greg Rosenberg was administered a private polygraph test. I took a polygraph. You did take one?
Yeah. It was inconclusive because I'm I'm ADHD. As you could tell, I like to move a lot. It was inconclusive. Ain't
no lies that I need to tell. Generally, it's much easier to tell the actual lie on your own.
48 Hours decided to bring in Phil Houston, a former CIA case officer who for more than two decades specialized in
detecting deception. We asked him to take a closer look at those depositions. Is there anybody of the group that
particularly jumps out? That's the honest truth. Greg stands out above and beyond
everyone. There was just a ton of deceptive behaviors. You can't judge a book by its cover.
In Houston's opinion, it's not what Greg Rosenberg says that seems deceptive. It
is often what he doesn't say. What we should hear and see his focus on is I didn't do it. It wasn't me. You got
the wrong guy. Instead, we don't. Where we hear his focus so many times are reasons why he wouldn't do this.
But in no way, shape, or form would I ever do anything like that to an individuals? No reason. That's not me.
And it appears some questions are more difficult for Greg than others. Did they find anything in either room
that that was connected to George's disappearance? He hesitates. He's clearly thinking. The
question has thrown him for a loop. It's almost what could they have found that that
would have connected someone to the disappearance. No. Okay. Did he say and then it's like
as he thinks through it, he realizes I've got to answer the question. So he goes, "Well,
no. No." So he's thinking about something that is not going to come out in his answer.
That's correct. That's correct. Something he's not sharing. But Greg doesn't hold back on the one thing the
Smiths would agree with. He says George's death was no accident. George Allen Smith did not disappear or
kill himself or hurt himself or or slip and fall of Bo at 6'4 or however tall he
is and just dive off. I I know that didn't happen. Something crazy went down that night and I hope one day that they
find out the truth. In the years following George's death, Jennifer has remarried and tried to move
on. But for the Smiths, it's not so easy. In 2014, they announced they are offering a reward, $100,000
for information that leads directly to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible. We're hoping with this
$100,000 reward, this might just be the thing that we need to get the arrest, to
get the convictions. Until the day this case is solved, the Smiths vow not to let George's memory
die on that ship. That's right. There you go, Georgie. We'll get justice. We'll get justice
somehow. Somehow we'll get justice for George. Somebody will talk. And shame on them that don't.
Shame on the people that have put us through this hell. [Music] [Laughter] [Music]
On January 9th, 2015, the Smith family suffered yet another blow. The FBI announced they were officially closing
the case on George Smith. FBI has determined that there is not sufficient evidence to continue the
investigation. When we were called in for the meeting that finally closed the case down, it
was it was just devastating to my family. How do you collect 97,000 pages of an investigation to determine
after almost 10 years that an accident may have occurred? Still, the family stands by that $100,000 reward, and they
still believe it was murder. The money that was going to be left to George, we thought that uh
since he wasn't going to be here to uh get that money, somebody else could use it to help our family.
We're hoping to generate more leads with the reward and um we're hoping the FBI will reopen the investigation.
But the toll is great. I never expected to be 67 and still sitting here uh trying to get answers
from my son. It's It's sad. We should be on with our life, but we're not. They could say there's no conclusive
evidence. They could shut down the investigation, but they're not going to shut down me. And I'm going to continue
until there is answers and justice for George. [Music]

Devastated after the FBI bows out of the case, the family of missing cruise ship honeymooner George Smith vows to fight for answers. "48 Hours" correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports in this July 2015 broadcast of "Murder at Sea?" Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

Anyone with information related to George Smith’s disappearance is asked to call 1-844-651-1936 or send an email to georgesmithtipline@gmail.com.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

The episode covers George Smith IV's mysterious disappearance during his honeymoon cruise, the investigation, and his family's quest for justice.

Key points

A Mother's Grief. George's mother shares her heart-wrenching feelings about losing her son.
The Disappearance of George Smith. George Smith IV goes missing during his honeymoon cruise, sparking a complex investigation.
The Night of the Casino. George and Jennifer enjoy their last night together at the casino before tragedy strikes.
The Room Service Alibi. The supposed room service party raises questions about the men's alibi during George's disappearance.
Incriminating Videotape. A homemade videotape surfaces, raising more suspicion about the four men involved.
The Case Closed. The FBI officially closes the case on George Smith, leaving the family devastated.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

No parent should have to lose their son that way.

A grieving parent reflects on their loss.

0:40WatchJul 10, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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