Woman Widowed on Honeymoon Cruise Dares to Love Again
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (CBS/AP) The last time that Jennifer Hagel Smith went on a honeymoon, her husband wound up dead. Or at least he is presumed dead. George Smith, of Greenwich, CT, disappeared during the couple's 2005 honeymoon cruise, in the Aegean Sea.
The FBI investigated the case, and while Hagel Smith and others on the Meditteranean cruise have come under suspicion, no one was charged with a crime. But George Smith's family believes he was murdered.
Now Hagel Smith, the 29-year-old widow, plans to remarry-- to financial analyst Jeff Agne in the fall.
"We couldn't be happier," her father, John Hagel said Monday. "We're just thrilled she's been able to move on with her life and start a new life with Jeff. We couldn't be prouder for both of them."
The cruise line said his wife was found passed out on a floor on the other side of the ship.
There was a huge stain on a metal canopy some 20 feet below couple's balcony the morning after the disappearance. A photo of the stain was captured by 16-year-old passenger Emilie Rausch, before cruise staff quickly washed it away.
Less than 10 days before they set sail, George Allen Smith IV and Jennifer Hagel married in a picture-perfect wedding on a hilltop overlooking the bay in Newport, Rhode Island.
Asked to describe his son, George Smith says he was very devoted and a family person. Speaking about his daughter-in-law, Smith says Jennifer was very outgoing, very pretty and had a great personality.
The Smith family and Hagel grew apart after she reached a $1.1 million settlement with Royal Caribbean Cruises in 2007. She has said that while George may have been murdered, he also could have fallen.
Smith's family is appealing the settlement in Stamford Superior Court in Connecticut.
48 Hours Mystery Reported On The Case, Read More Here.