Dianne Brimble

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Dianne Brimble

Dianne Elizabeth Brimble (April 10, 1960–September 24, 2002) was a 42-year-old mother of three from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She died within 24 hours of boarding the P&O Cruises cruise ship Pacific Sky on September 23, 2002, apparently due to ingesting a combination of alcohol and an overdose of the drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate, otherwise known as "GHB" or "fantasy". According to news reports, security staff on the cruise ship were initially told Mrs Brimble had died of a heart attack, but there were suspicious circumstances [1].

Toxicology reports later revealed that the amount of the sedative drug in her system was three times the amount that a recreational user would have used. Her body was found on the floor of cabin D182, which belonged to four of the men whom she had met at the ship's disco the previous night.^[1] Newspaper reports give differing accounts as to whether Mrs. Brimble was partially clothed or unclothed when she was found dead.

Eight men from Adelaide, South Australia who were traveling companions on the ship have been named by police investigators as "persons of interest" in the case.^[2] No charges have yet been filed against any of the men. An inquest was ordered and the eight men were subpoenaed to appear.

The inquest began in March 2006. An attempt by Wilhelm's attorney to challenge the inquest was rejected, and Wilhelm has been ordered by Deputy State Coroner Jacqueline Milledge to appear when called.[2] Mark Brimble, the ex-husband of Dianne Brimble, represented the family at the inquest and asked questions of witnesses. Other Pacific Sky passengers and personnel had already made statements.

Photographs were recovered from the memory card in a camera owned by one of the men, "Charlie" Kambouris. The camera's memory card had been reformatted but technical experts managed to recover the pictures for police. The photographs have not been released to the media because they are considered too graphic. They allegedly showed Dianne Brimble engaging in sexual activity with Mark Wilhelm and Letterio Silvestri. Wilhelm claimed that the sex was consensual. Other photographs allegedly showed Brimble later lying on the floor of the cabin in a semi-nude state, having lost control of her bodily functions.^[2]. At one point, the memory stick had been stolen by a P&O employee, who turned it into the police once he realised the pictures of Brimble and the men of interest were on it. IT experts were able to retrieve more than 150 deleted pictures from it, and by doing so found evidence important to the case.

According to several witnesses' testimonies, the men had spent most of the time on the cruise allegedly propositioning a number of female passengers of varying ages[3]. Among numerous acts of alleged sexual harassment were asking a 15-year-old to do an erotic dance in their cabin for cash, entering a cabin of four girls uninvited, asking if they were going to the disco where they 'could go down on them' and asking one woman if he could perform oral sex on her among others.

The inquest heard the initial interview that Silvestri had given police in New Caledonia. The interview was taken two days after Brimble's death. At that time, Silvestri denied any involvement with Brimble. During the interview, Silvestri spoke of Brimble in disparaging terms, saying "she smelt, she was black and she was ugly." Silvestri also described her as "desperate", "an ugly dog" and a "fat thing." Silvestri told the police interviewers he was angry because Brimble ruined his holiday by dying in his cabin. [4]. According to police witness statements, Silvestri allegedly said to another cruise passenger, Allison McKain, that "The bitch is dead, the fucking bitch is dead. Some shit went down last night, some top secret shit," and that a woman had died, naked on the floor of their cabin.^[2].

Silvestri told the coronial court that Kuchel told him that Mark Wilhelm had given Brimble the drug, and that she took it willingly with full informed consent. However, Wilhelm had written in a signed statement given to a P&O security chief that he had not given any drugs to anyone. In previous testimony given in March, Counsel assisting the coroner, Ron Hoenig, described Brimble as being "preyed upon" and asserted that she was impaired in such a way that she could not have given informed consent. At the first inquest in March, Hoenig read statements from family and friends of Brimble, citing that she was a "very moral woman" who did not approve of taking drugs or of casual sex [5]. Both Mark Brimble and David Mitchell, her partner of 14 years, gave evidence to the court pertaining to Dianne Brimble's character. However, evidence was tendered by Brimble's doctor that she had recently been prescribed the morning after pill and had previously had an HIV test for an indiscretion.

Dianne Brimble's family revealed the anguish of Brimble's drug-induced death aboard the Pacific Sky in interviews aired on Australian Story on ABC TV.

The case has prompted stricter security measures for Australian cruises with the introduction of security sniffer dogs and closed-circuit surveillance cameras throughout ships in the fleet.

The case also allegedly inspired the 2008 play Cruising (play).

[edit] Timeline

Monday, September 23, 2002, at approximately 1700 in Sydney, Australia, Dianne Brimble boards the Pacific Sky cruise ship for a 10-day/9-night cruise to Nouméa, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu. She is accompanied by her sister, Alma Wood, her daughter, Tahlia Marshall, and her niece. The eight "persons of interest" also board the ship. A total of 1500 passengers are on board.

Tuesday, September 24, 2002 at about 0400, Mrs Brimble is seen leaving the ship's disco with four of the eight "men of interest." At approximately 0830, the ship's emergency paramedics are called to cabin D182 when attempts by two of the men to revive Mrs Brimble fail. At 0903 she is pronounced dead.

Thursday, September 26, 2002 Detectives board the ship while in port in Nouméa and begin questioning various witnesses. Mrs Brimble's body is removed from the ship and transported back to Australia. Her family members also disembark.

Friday, October 4, 2002. Mrs Brimble's funeral is held in Brisbane. More than 250 people attend, including her former husband, Mark Brimble, and her partner, David Mitchell.

March 9, 2006. The inquest into her death opens at Glebe Coroners Court in Sydney. Statements are given by friends and family of Mrs Brimble, and Pacific Sky passengers and crew.

June 16, 2006 Letterio "Leo" Silvestri is the first of the "persons of interest" to take the stand at Glebe Coroners Court.

June 25, 2006 Mark Brimble, Mrs Brimble's former husband, becomes the Australian representative for the US-based group International Cruise Victims Organization.

July 28, 2006 Ryan Kuchel, the second "person of interest", testifies before the coroner.

September 11, 2006 The inquest resumes. Betty Wood and Alma Wood, the mother and sister of Mrs Brimble, fly in from Brisbane to attend the inquest. Ryan Kuchel continues to give evidence, as do several members of P&O's security staff. During the week, Petar Pantic and Dragan Losic also testify. Upon finishing his testimony, Pantic formally apologises to the family of Mrs Brimble.

November 6, 2006 The inquest resumes. Evidence is given by Dragan Losic, crew members and other witnesses. Mrs Brimble's family accuse police of covering up evidence.

February 16, 2007 The counsel assisting the inquest, Ron Hoenig, suggests to the coroner that Leo Silvestri and Mark Wilhelm could be charged with murder over Brimble's death.

February 22, 2007 P&O's chief executive, Peter Ratcliffe, apologises to the Brimble family for the company's failure to handle the situation properly following the death of Mrs Brimble. P&O offers a substantial payment to the family.

July 9, 2007 The inquest resumes.

July 10, 2007 Testimony is given by Luigi Vitale. He says he had never met Mrs Brimble, and does not believe her death was suspicious. He says he has no memory of the events leading up to her death.

July 13, 2007 Testimony is given by Matthew Slade. He sets himself apart from the other seven persons of interest, referring to them as "wankers" and "idiots." He says he had received death threats regarding the case, as had another of the persons of interest, Mark Wilhelm.

July 26, 2007 The coroner ends the inquest, saying there is enough evidence to charge "known persons" over the death of Mrs Brimble. The case is referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions. In previous days, the inquest heard secretly recorded telephone conversations in which several of the men of interest joke and make derogatory statements about Mrs Brimble, including claims that she "was no angel". Some discussed the possibility of selling their stories to the police and the media for millions of dollars. The last of the men of interest to take the stand, Mark Wilhelm, elects to exercise the right to remain silent during the inquest.

December 6, 2007, Person of Interest in Dianne Brimble's murder, Peter Pantic, fled Australia with a one way ticket for Serbia. He was discovered to have fled when police tried to serve an arrest warrant on him, in relation to the importation of pornography.