Nigel Blythe-Tinker, 72, former head of legal at William Hill, died after plunging to his death from the world's first cruise liner to boast 'all suite, all balcony' cabins, the High Court heard
A top lawyer who vanished last year while on a Mediterranean cruise plunged to his death after falling from the balcony of his cabin into the sea, a judge has found.
Nigel Blythe-Tinker, 72, former head of legal at William Hill, went missing whilst on board the luxury cruise ship Seven Seas Mariner - the world's first cruise liner to boast "all suite, all balcony" cabins, in July last year. London's High Court heard that the alarm was raised when Mr Blythe-Tinker - who also had a stint as chairman of Ladbrokes' multibillion-pound parent company GVC Holdings - did not leave the ship at Barcelona, having been on board when it departed Marseilles the previous day.
His family made "desperate attempts" to make contact with him after staff onboard the ship found his cabin empty, with his "clothes folded neatly on the bed". After hearing evidence from the lawyer's daughters, High Court judge Chief Master Karen Shuman declared that Mr Blythe-Tinker met his death after falling feet first into the sea from his cabin balcony in the early hours of the morning.
The court heard that Mr Blythe-Tinker, who was originally from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, had been married three times and has two adult daughters Sophie and Claire Blythe-Tinker. He had been in the process of moving back to England after a period living in Australia when he vanished. At the time he was undertaking a luxury cruise of the Mediterranean on 709-foot, 48075 ton ship Seven Seas Mariner, hailed online as "one of the world's best all-inclusive cruise ships," with individual balconies attached each cabin onboard.
The cruise liner, which carries 700 passengers and 445 crew, was en-route from Marseilles to Barcelona on 21 July 2023 when Mr Blythe-Tinker, who had been in "constant contact" with his family began to display unusual behaviour and send messages in which he "wasn't himself." He had been renovating a house in England he had bought near to the home of his "close" cousin Andrew Gilling and had told Mr Gilling that he had been worried in relation to having enough money to complete the project.
He told his cousin that he'd had "a suicidal thought" and also seemed confused in messages with other family members, his London-based history and politics teacher daughter Sophie told the judge. His alarmed family contacted staff on the cruise ship and the onboard doctor was dispatched to check on the lawyer, who said he had "no suicidal thoughts" and was physically well apart from back pain. But when the ship docked in Barcelona on the morning of July 22 2023, Mr Blythe-Tinker did not disembark and his cabin was found to be empty. Subsequent interrogation of the ship's CCTV records revealed footage of an object - which appeared to be a person "feet first" - falling from the ship near to Mr Blythe-Tinker's cabin balcony and hitting the water.
Sophie Blythe-Tinker, who brought the case to court looking for clarity over her dad's death, told the judge that he had seemed "strange" in his responses to messages and emails shortly before his disappearance. When he failed to turn up at Heathrow airport - where he had been due to fly after leaving the ship in Barcelona - his family panicked and made "desperate attempts" to find out where he was.
They eventually learned from the cruise company that he had never disembarked at Barcelona and afterwards investigations by security staff revealed the CCTV video footage. Giving judgment in the case and declaring the missing lawyer officially dead, the judge said Mr Blythe-Tinker had been "an active 72-year-old" who "travelled extensively".
However, he "wasn't himself" and had became "increasingly abnormal" during his time on the ship, she said. "I have viewed the video evidence. Something descends from the ship at 4.28am. I'm prepared to accept that that was a body and the direction is consistent with it coming from the suite Mr Blythe-Tinker was in. The ship was miles from any port or land at the time." Reaching her conclusion, Chief Master Karen Shuman said: "I'm satisfied on the evidence before me that Mr Blythe-Tinker died at 4.28 central European time by falling to his death from the ship that he was on."
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