By Seamus McGraw
(Crime Library) Continued
Questions have also been raised about the way the cruise line handled the Smith's room in the hours after the man's disappearance. Royal Caribbean has said that the room, which reportedly was also blood stained, was immediately sealed after Jennifer Hagel-Smith was put ashore, accompanied by a ship officer, where she was quizzed by Turkish investigators and met with US Consular and FBI officials. The room remained sealed for six days, the cruise line has said. But the cruise line concedes that the couple's personal items were removed from the room and placed on the dock before the ship sailed off, leaving the widow behind. That has raised eyebrows among some pundits who speculate that the actions may have compromised the investigation.
But Martenstein insists that the ship acted with the explicit authority of the FBI and Turkish investigators. "It was sealed immediately," Martenstein said. Jennifer Hagel-Smith "was not allowed back inside the cabin," Martenstein said. Instead, a team of ship officials, among them a supervisor, packed the Smith's belongings and shuttled them to shore. "The FBI and the US consulate were thereon the dock," and they had given permission to retrieve the belongings from the sealed room, Martenstein said. "It is our understanding that we had the explicit authority to do so, even to the point thatJennifer gave her safe card to the FBI agent who gave it to us."
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