Four investigated over speedboat death of Harry Potter publisher

Telegraph

16-04-2025

Four Italians are being investigated over the death of a Bloomsbury USA executive in a boating accident off the Amalfi Coast.
Adrienne Vaughan, 45, was a passenger in a speedboat when it smashed into a large sailing boat that was hosting a wedding party in August 2023.
Ms Vaughan, who was the president of the US publisher of the Harry Potter series, was hurled into the water and hit by the boat's propellers.
Mike White, her husband, was injured in the collision and taken to hospital in Ravello. Their children, Leanna, 14, and Mason, 11, escaped unharmed.
Italian prosecutors announced on Wednesday that four people were under investigation for the accident: Elio Persico, the skipper of the Saint Tropez, the speedboat on which Ms Vaughan and her family were passengers; Rosa Caputo and Beniamino Mellino, the owners of the boat hire company Daily Luxury Boat; and Enrico Staiano, the administrator of the company.
They face charges including manslaughter and interfering with the investigation by trying to manipulate key evidence.
Those under investigation are accused of removing the identifying number plate of the speedboat and replacing it with the identifying plate of a twin vessel, the Capriccio.
They are also accused of employing a diver to recover the rudder of the speedboat after it sank, in an alleged attempt to steer the outcome of the investigation.
Mr Persico, the skipper of the 30ft-long speedboat, was allegedly under the influence of cocaine and alcohol when the collision happened, according to Italian media reports on Wednesday.
The speedboat was travelling fast, at 15 knots, when it collided with a sailing vessel, the 130ft-long Tortuga, off the Amalfi Coast, a picturesque tourist region south of Naples.
Judges will now have to decide whether to send the matter to trial.
'Terrible' collision
Video footage that emerged at the time showed shocked tourists on the larger vessel. Guests rushed to the side of the boat and flung inflatables into the water to try to help the victims of the accident.
Pietro Iuzzolino, a barman who was making cocktails on the large boat, told Italian media: 'The sailing ship was heading straight ahead, as was the speedboat. Then [the speedboat] suddenly turned 180 degrees. There was a collision, and I heard a very loud crash. I saw the woman in the water being supported by her daughters and husband. She was missing an arm. Her neck was white, as if the blood was not flowing. It was terrible.'
The tourists were hauled on board the sailing boat. 'The skipper was vomiting, we had the impression that he was maybe drunk. But the investigators will be able to ascertain whether that is true,' said Mr Iuzzolino.
Ms Vaughan was rushed to land where medical staff made frantic attempts to save her life. They called an air ambulance but by the time it arrived she was dead.
The captain of the Tortuga tested negative for drugs and alcohol and is not accused of wrongdoing.
'The investigation has confirmed what we have said from the start – that the captain of the Tortuga fully respected all navigation regulations,' said Daniele Varini, the lawyer for Antonio Gallo, the Tortuga's skipper.
'The Tortuga had precedence and was not obliged to undertake a manoeuvre. Responsibility for the collision rests solely with the speedboat.'
Ms Vaughan attended New York University and the Stern School of Business. She was director of finance at Oxford University Press in New York between 2014 and 2015 and then a director in the publishing arm of Disney from 2015 to 2018.
She was appointed president of Bloomsbury US in 2021.
A day before the accident she toured the sights of Rome with her family, including the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain.