Suspicious death on cruise ship: crew accused of sedating passenger after allowing him to drink too much
The girlfriend of a man who died on a cruise ship last year is suing Royal Caribbean. He accuses the crew of manslaughter because they allegedly gave the passenger 33 glasses of alcohol to drink, then used force to calm him down and administered a sedative.
Michael Virgil, the man who died and his girlfriend, Connie Aguilar PHOTO CBS News
What are the charges
The couple were on a cruise from Los Angeles to Mexico with other family members, including their son, when the tragedy happened. Michael Aguilar died in December 2024, and now the family has sued the company that organized the cruise.
His girlfriend, Connie Aguilar, accuses the crew members of serving the man 33 alcoholic drinks, although the signs of intoxication were clear. When he became agitated, trying to find his camera, crew members put him on the ground and impaired his breathing, the family's lawyers allege.
They also allege that, at the captain's request, the crew members also administered a sedative used for psychiatric conditions and sprayed him with irritant spray. All of this would have led to respiratory failure and Virgil's death, it is also stated in the submitted documents, cited by CBS News. .
The coroner's report states that Michael Virgil died from the combined effects of mechanical asphyxiation (when force or an object blocks breathing), obesity and alcohol intoxication.
What a passenger says
A video shot by another passenger showed the man in a narrow hallway on the ship kicking a door. The witness also claimed Virgil yelled obscenities and threatened to kill him and another crew member. To escape, the latter allegedly locked himself in a room with towels, which Virgil tried to break into. The video captures how the security guards finally restrain the man.
McHale, the threatened passenger, believes that the ship's crew did not do the right thing and stated that no one deserved to die the way Virgil did: “He just needed help.”
Lawyers: Crew members should not have served him alcohol
The family, through lawyers, claims that crew members should not have served alcohol to Virgil because he “showed obvious signs of visible intoxication” and that they were negligent when they did.
Maritime law requires carriers such as Royal Caribbean to “supervise and assist passengers likely to engage in behavior dangerous to themselves or others”it is mentioned in the process.
The company, the indictment adds, deliberately designs the ships so that there are bars “in every corner” and “does everything possible to encourage and facilitate the consumption of alcohol” on board.
