THE mum of an aspiring actress who died suddenly on a cruise ship says more must be done to solve crimes at sea.
Ashley Barnett died in October 2005 on a cruise while celebrating her 25th birthday with her boyfriend and friends.
Nearly 20 years later, Ashley’s heartbroken mum, Jamie, still has no answers.
She told The Sun: “She was autopsied, and before she could come back to the United States, her body had to be embalmed.
“So by the time her body came back, any forensic pathologist had very little to go on to figure out what happened.
“It was a long, perilous journey, which had no real answers in the end.
“I’ll never get all the answers. That’s one of the most heartbreaking aspects of all… losing someone like that on a cruise ship.
“It’s just all different when it happens at sea, and people don’t realise that at all.”
Within less than 24 hours of being on the cruise ship, Ashley was found dead in her cabin.
According to her boyfriend, he and Ashley went to a casino and concert before returning to their cabin.
Following an alleged disagreement, Ashley’s boyfriend went back out and she stayed in.
After returning to the cabin in early hours, he claims he went to sleep next to Ashley.
The next day he woke and went upstairs to join friends – leaving Ashley who he believed was still asleep.
After returning to the cabin, he was unable to wake her up and she was tragically pronounced dead soon after.
The boat docked in Ensenada on the Pacific coast of Mexico and the authorities boarded the ship to determine if it there were any suspicious circumstances.
The FBI was also notified.
While Ashley remained in the Mexican morgue, her boyfriend and the rest of their group stayed on the ship and returned to California.
Two decades later, Jamie is still outraged by the decision.
“They just left her body there,” she said.
“Not the boyfriend, not one of those other folks, not a representative from the cruise line.”
Jamie said she did not hear from the boyfriend until the day after her daughter died.
He claimed he did not know what had happened to her – but said some of his medications was missing.
Don’t get on a ship and think nothing could happen to you
Jamie Barnett
It was later concluded that Ashley had died from a methadone drug overdose – but her friends and family insist she was very anti-drug.
Methadone is a so-called “legal high” drug, used to help addicts stop taking heroin.
When Ashley was discovered, there were allegedly few defibrillators on the ship and no opioid-overdose inhibitors.
With no understanding of Ashley’s cause of death, Jamie and her family hired a private pathologist to carry out a forensic autopsy.
Here it was indicated that her organs were reportedly healthy as was her body, with some evidence of alcohol consumption.
There were no signs of trauma either.
Still feeling bewildered by grief, the family requested a test of Ashley’s hair follicles.
This came back negative – confirming that there were no signs of habitual drug use.
For Jamie, Ashley’s death still remains a heart-wrenching mystery.
Despite the nightmare she has endured over the last two decades, Jamie’s trauma ignited a need to help others going through similar situations.
After Ashley’s death, Jamie joined the lobbying group International Cruise Victims – where she is now president.
Jamie has been pivotal in developing stricter laws surrounding crimes and deaths on cruises.
The grieving mum believes cruise-goers are often “lulled into a false sense of security”.
She said: “Don’t get on a ship and think nothing could happen to you.
“It’s like a small city where anything can happen.
“You can’t let your guard down. You have to still be mindful and keep your eyes open.”
She described how difficult it is to access the usual investigative authorities while at sea.
It means the right to continue the investigation and gather more information and evidence after the crime is more challenging, she said.
I’ll never get all the answers. And that’s one of the most heartbreaking aspects of all being losing someone like that on a cruise ship.
Jamie Barnett
And it means many cases may be left unsolved – or with unanswered questions.
Jamie told The Sun how campaigns at International Cruise Victims have benefited many.
She said: “We’re there to help folks who have found themselves victims of either some kind of crime at sea or some kind of negligence or traumatic event at sea.
“When that happens to people, because of laws being so wishy-washy, if they even existent on the high seas, they don’t know where to turn to or what to do.
“And most of us who are leading this organisation remember that vividly and how that feels.
“We do everything we can to take somebody’s hand and walk them through all of these things should they find themselves a victim in any way.”
In 2019, Forbes reported that the odds of dying on a cruise ship were roughly 1 in 6.25 million – suggesting it is one of the safest ways to travel and enjoy a holiday.
But this statistic does not include crimes committed on ships – or missing persons.
Jamie said some cruises like to put out “a soundbite” that “right away plants in your head” regarding missing persons on board – and what may have happened to them.
She said families are often told the person was “depressed” or “this person had a fight with their partner”.
She added: “So right away you’re thinking it was intentional when it’s very important for us hearing those reports to stay neutral, to wait.
“How do you know? What leads you to say that?
“They put all kinds of money into making sure you’re going to have fun on their ship.
“But we’re standing back and saying, yeah, but where’s all the protection?”
Advocates claim that due to the nature of cruise line crime reporting, vessels have a “spotty” record which makes actual statistics difficult to determine.
However, through International Cruise Victims, Jamie looks to change this while also protecting future cruise-goers on their holidays.
She continued: “The cruise industry loves to say ‘passenger safety is our number one priority’.
“We’re over here saying then put your money where your mouth is.”
