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"Did you have anything to do with George's death?" asked an interrogator. In videotaped depositions obtained by INSIDE EDITION, two of the passengers who carried George to his room repeatedly took the fifth when asked about George Smith's death. Mike Jones believes there is finally enough evidence to piece it all together. The video only captures snippets of what has emerged over the years as a very complex story -- a story and a timeline that would be dissected and debated for years. As a group they tell Turkish police, "After we dropped him off, the second time, we closed the door, we never saw him again ... Never saw him again."
ACCIDENT OR FOUL PLAY?
"George and Jennifer dressed well. George had a very expensive Breitling watch. They, sort of, flashed the money at the -- in the casino." In the spring of 2013, John Miller tried to see if Kofman himself could provide any more answers. "There's a lotta evidence to suggest that that was not as simple as -- as the Russian men and as Josh have said," Jones said. "You know, they ordered so much food, and they couldn't have killed George because they were in the room eating the room service," Jones told "48 Hours".
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Jones also believes his theory fits with what the witness saw... The four men and their families were then removed from the ship in Naples, where Italian police looked into the rape allegation and washed their hands of it saying they had no jurisdiction. No one has ever been charged in the sexual incident and lawyers for the men believe the tape saved them. "Josh walks into the room and there's one of the Russian boys having sex on the bed with the girl and another one of the boys filming it. And Josh was concerned," Greer explained. "It became clear to him very quickly that the boys weren't ... taking advantage of her. The girl was taking advantage of the boys." And two days after George Smith went overboard, an 18-year-old passenger came forward with a major allegation of sexual assault.
PROVOCATIVE VIDEOTAPE
And until the day the case is solved, they vow to not let George's memory die on that ship. That arguing, Jones believes, is what ear-witness Clete Hyman heard on the balcony. "And this got around because there were other passengers not within the circle of the Russians and Josh who heard the rumors about the money in the cabin. We don't believe it was true, but perception is everything," said Jones. "There's a statement made on videotape where you say George went parachute riding off his balcony," Miller confronted Kofman. The four men and their families were then ejected from the ship in Naples, where Italian police looked into the rape allegation and washed their hands of it saying they had no jurisdiction.
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"I was overwhelmed with her because she had this dynamic personality," Maureen explained. "She was very fun-loving like him. Very attractive. ... And he was really happy with her." None of the men in the video have been charged and all say they had nothing to do with George Smith's death. “They claim they just left the room, but the evidence revealed afterward was that it was an attempted robbery gone wrong,” Jones said. After she stormed off, Smith kept partying with a group of guys that he had met on the ship.
NBC News
And now, new evidence suggests there may be some truth to the allegations. A video tape created by the same men, and which has been in the hands of the FBI for some time, shows there may in fact have been a murder at sea all those years ago. "We are disappointed that she didn't fight for George how we fought for George," said Bree, George's sister. Bree and Maureen believe George was murdered in a robbery that got out of control. "I want to know who took my son away from me. He wasn't a Dixie cup that you throw over the side of a ship," said Maureen.
Timeline: The disappearance of George Smith
No one has ever been charged in connection with George Smith's disappearance. Rumors and theories surrounding George Smith's disappearance began almost immediately. According to the young men, shortly after 4 a.m., they had brought George back to his cabin and while Josh went to the bathroom, the other guys had taken off George's shoes and put a drunken George to bed. This is a photo of the Smith cabin showing one of George's shoes on the floor. That arguing, Jones believes, is what Clete Hyman heard on the balcony.
Cruise Ship Law Blog
"They loved the sites. I remember they were talking a lot of pictures. Like, everywhere they went they were, like, always with the camera," Galina recalled. "Do you believe that George knows that you've been fighting -- that the family's been fighting this whole time?" Miller asked Bree. "Our theory is that Josh Askin knows what happened," Mike Jones said. "But we don't believe that Josh was involved in the actual, you know, tossing of George overboard."
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"I don't know why anybody's missin' the theme here. 'Cause there's one common element ... and it's too much alcohol!" he said. "And we can go and, you know, blame it on murder and - and -- and blame it on aggressive sexual behavior here. You know what? It's just everybody drinkin' too much and stupid stuff happening. That fits." A source close to the investigation has told CBS News that on the tape, one of the men -- Rusty Kofman -- refers to George going "parachute riding" off his balcony. It is not an admission, but it's at the very least provocative -- and there's more. "What it's not about is an accident, and what it's not about is a suicide," Jones told "48 Hours". Jennifer said she had almost no memory after leaving the casino.
Maureen Smith described her son as a "Fine young man. Handsome ... Hard working. He was just an all-around great kid." "This is a case that should be solved. It's a case that -- frankly, I think it is solved. It's just a question of pulling together enough evidence to get an indictment and a conviction," he said. "And one of them stays behind, starts to rifle through the drawers and the cabinets," said Jones. Jones believes that perception fueled a robbery attempt -- one that was hatched when they put George to bed and Askin had gone into the bathroom.
The FBI would begin an investigation that would span eight years and remains open to this day. At the time, the ship's captain described it as a likely accident ... A balcony chair had been found with its back against the railing.
Royal Caribbean documents show complaints were made against some of the men for smoking, sneaking liquor and verbally abusing ship employees. "...Unfortunately, obviously, after eight years, this has become, pretty much, a cold case," he told CBS News senior correspondent John Miller. And the discovery of a homemade videotape only raises more suspicion. "You know, they ordered so much food, and they couldn't have killed George because they were in the room eating the room service," Jones told Miller. "In addition to the blood, there were sounds of -- a fight, a struggle inside my brother's room," said Bree Smith. "...Came up with the theory that after a long night of enjoying himself in the casino and the disco, George sat up on the railing ...and simply fell off," John Miller commented to Bree Smith.
They say they plan to fight for the case to be moved to another jurisdiction, such as New York. Davie police are hoping to find the truth behind his murder case now. And maybe help investigators solve the circumstances behind Smith’s death, too. In December of 2019, Rozenberg was murdered in front of his Davie home and police believe whoever murdered him had targeted him.
As a group, the men told Turkish police, "And that was the end of it. ... We were all together ... But just remember not at one point or at no time did he ever seem angry or anything at all." Jennifer said she had almost no memory after leaving the casino and that when she had awakened in the cabin, George wasn't there. This week, his family announced a $100,000 reward for information leading "to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible." On July 5, 2005, George Smith disappeared from his honeymoon cruise. In the years following George's death, Jennifer has remarried and tried to move on.
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