48 Hours Mystery: Love Lost

Although the four young men recall it was Lloyd who followed Jennifer out, Royal Caribbean says it was actually someone from the bar staff who escorted her out.

"He helped her to the elevator, got her to the ninth deck. She said she was OK," says McCrary. "Then this crewmember went back about their duties."

But an hour later, when the other crew member found Jennifer slumped over, she was not OK. "They got a wheelchair for Jennifer because she really had trouble walking. So they wheeled her back to the cabin," McCrary explains.

By now, it was 4:57 a.m.

Asked what the crew members saw when they returned Jennifer to her cabin, McCrary says all they saw was an empty cabin. "No one is there. Nothing is amiss. It looks like a normal cabin, nothing out of the ordinary. They left her in the clothes that she was in, laid her on the bed. She said she was OK and they departed."

What may be of some significance though is what crew members observed about the balcony doors. McCrary says the crew noticed that the balcony doors were closed and the curtains drawn.

It was just a half-hour earlier that neighbors had heard that thud, so if George had gone out on the balcony on his own, would he have taken the time to close the door and curtains behind him or did someone else bring him out there and then shut everything on the way out?

At 8:30 a.m., Jennifer headed to the spa for a massage appointment. "She told the masseuse she was hung over. She gave no indication to anyone that anything was wrong or out of the ordinary," says McCrary.

She was an hour and half early and still wearing her clothes from the night before. There was no sign of George.

"She did not act like a person who had woken up in the middle of a death fight crime scene," says Bryan Burrough. "The last thing, frankly, if you wake up in bed in the morning, after a bad night, and your spouse or significant other is not next to you, the last thing you think is foul play."

But had Jennifer looked out her balcony that morning she might have seen the blood stain.

"When she's going to the spa is about exactly the same time that the crew is being notified that there's a potential blood stain on a canopy," says McCrary.

The crew looked for - but couldn't find - George; Jennifer was finally located in the spa and, according to Royal Caribbean, had an explanation for where George might be.

"She had told them he had spent the night elsewhere before in the cruise as well. So she wasn't especially concerned that he wasn't in the cabin," says McCrary.

Asked if anyone found this unusual, McCrary said, "Well it's a judgment call but it's certainly, I think, seems unusual."

Jennifer adamantly denies saying any such thing to Royal Caribbean but the public scrutiny was tough.

It's been difficult for Jennifer Hagel Smith to defend herself. She says she cannot remember much from that evening and what she can recall, the FBI has asked her not to discuss. Either way, her attorney says she has nothing to hide.

"She has been given a polygraph test and she passed that test without any hint of deception. She passed it with flying colors," the attorney told reporters.

Jennifer declined 48 Hours' requests for an interview. The FBI has not named her, or anyone else, as a suspect.

And she's not the only one in the media spotlight — several TV programs also talked about the "Russians."

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[jamooreem]

Here is hoping that she treats her 2nd husband better than her first. The husband and wife made very poor choices but I watched 48 hours and I believe the 4 men definitely had something to do with it. That being said - her "public intoxication and going off with the casino manager. Also, what new bride gets drunk and kicks her new husband in the groin - not a stable one and one definitely that seems to have a substance abuse problem - not to mention an anger management. I still believe she had something to do with his disappearance.

[bananabear2000]

where is the video to this one?

[MrDurka]

@alenajoy Who said anything about rape?
If george hitting the canopy created the blood stain, where is the body? It's difficult to tell just from the pictures featured on this episode but the canopy looks like a flat surface. And wouldn't that suggest the body should have remained there? Otherwise, whoever pushed the body off the canopy and overboard is the killer. Very possible it was an accidental death, very possibly homicide, not enough info, and terribly investigated. The cruise liner are scumbags for not co-operating btw.

[77DarkHorse7]

It is obvious. It was a psychotic episode brought on by the consumption of absinthe. He probably jumped off the balcony thinking it was a trampoline. That stuff can make your own hand look like a lizard.

[AlenaJoy]

After studying this situation, here's what I feel is obvious, given eye witness accounts and the witness of the security official in the cabin next to the Smith's. The security officer heard the moving of furniture, he heard partying and felt and heard a loud thud. There was blood in the Smith cabin and that proves there was an injury. I believe George Smith was partly to blame for his own death because of very bad decisions on his part. He drank until he was publicly intoxicated and couldn't return to this room without help. But I also blame the male companions because they saw his state and continued to allow him to drink, or plowed him with alcohol. They clearly had a greater sense of their behavior than George did by that time. Therefore, they should be held more accountible than George. If they had left George's room immediately, George would most likely have gone to sleep. But it may be that their state by that time was distorted, having much to drink also. But George Smith couldn't get back to his room without help and they remained in George's room for some time, continuing to party. It seems fairly impossible by that time that George would have been capable of leaving the room on his own, after his male companions left. If he did, it's conceivable that he would fall overboard. But how would that be possible, since he had consumed more alcohol in his room? Therefore, his male companions are surely at fault. If George's cabin was empty when others returned his wife there, his male companions removed George from his room and pushed him overboard. There is no other possibility in my mind. It may be that George became beligerant in his room, creating aggression from his companions. In their state of mind, they may have killed him without intent. But I believe they must have removed him from his room and that they are to blame for second degree murder. They also need to come to trial for the rape. The victim hasn't followed through on that and she should. But overall, I don't feel Royal Carribean is at fault. I believe they were cooperative and did their duty. The ball dropped somewhere between the Smith's and their US investigators and the Turkish security. Follow through was not the duty of Royal Carribean. It was the duty of the Smith family to follow through and bring this to trial. It is high time that the Smiths press charges against all of George's male companions on that ship and it's high time the rape victim pressed charges and brought that to trial as well. All of the male companions need to serve time for second degree murder and rape in my opinion. They are all responsible for public disorder, public intoxication, criminal negligence, death and rape. They need to see prison for a long time because they were a critical part of both of those crimes.