Mother Calls for Scrutiny into Unsolved Maritime Deaths After Aspiring Actress’s Tragic End

The tragedy of an aspiring actress whose life ended on the open sea has left her mother calling for sharper scrutiny into unsolved maritime deaths.

Ashley Barnett’s 25th birthday celebration turned to sorrow aboard a cruise when she was found deceased in her cabin on October 14, 2005. Her devastated mother, Jamie, confided to The US Sun that years have passed without clarity about Ashley’s untimely demise.

Explaining the hardships in seeking truth, Jamie revealed: “She was autopsied, and before she could come back to the United States, her body had to be embalmed,” adding, “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.”

With palpable grief, Jamie lamented, “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 realize that at all.”

Less than a full day after boarding Carnival Cruise Line’s Paradise, Ashley’s lifeless body was discovered, notes the International Cruise Victims Association.

Her boyfriend’s account includes that after visiting a casino and a concert together, they returned to their cabin. Following a purported dispute around 2:30am, he left for the casino again, leaving Ashley alone in the room. The boyfriend claimed he returned to the cabin less than two hours later and went to sleep with Ashley.

Ashley’s boyfriend then woke up the next afternoon and went upstairs to join his friends, leaving Ashley whom he believed was still sleeping. He then returned to the cabin, where he was unable to wake her up and notified the authorities that she was not breathing.

Despite life-saving measures by first responders, Ashley was pronounced deceased not long after.

While Ashley remained in a morgue in Mexico, her boyfriend and the rest of their group stayed on the ship and returned to California, according to her mother.

Even though the medical examiner concluded that Ashley had died of a methadone overdose, her loved ones believed otherwise. After Jamie and her family were left in the dark about Ashley’s cause of death, they decided to hire a private pathologist to conduct a forensic autopsy.

It was said that her organs and physique were supposedly in good condition, and there were no signs of trauma, although there was some indication of alcohol abuse.

Ashley’s death still remains a mystery to her grieving family. “I wake up every morning, wishing I could hold my daughter just one more time. And I pray that no other mother ever has to live this nightmare,” Jamie said.

More Articles, Lady Gaga Reveals Engagement to Michael Polansky at 2024 Olympics

Lauren Brant and Barry Hall Criticized Over Revealing Home Birth Photos of Fourth Child

Bianca Censori, Kanye West and North Movie Date Outing