Family of publishing executive killed in Italian boat incident urges full probe

The family of a US publishing executive killed in a boating incident in southern Italy is urging Italian authorities to fully investigate her death.

The husband of Adrienne Vaughan, who was killed in the accident on August 3, said: “We are cooperating with the Italian authorities in their investigations, and will continue to do so until they conclude.”

Ms Vaughan, the 45-year-old president of Bloomsbury Publishing’s US branch, was killed when the rented motorboat her family had hired collided with a chartered sailing boat off the Amalfi Coast.

The motorboat’s skipper is under investigation for suspected manslaughter and causing a shipwreck, prosecutors have said. No charges have yet been announced.

Salerno prosecutor Giuseppe Borrelli said on August 5 that Ms Vaughan was sunning herself on the boat’s bow and was bounced into the water at the moment of impact.

Two doctors who were among the passengers on the sailing boat dived into the sea to try to help and a nearby vessel brought her to shore, but Ms Vaughan died before she could be taken to hospital.

Ms Vaughan’s husband Mike White and the motorboat’s skipper were injured; the family’s two children were unharmed.

In the statement issued by a spokesman, Mr White said Ms Vaughan’s death had devastated the family.

“Her absence from our lives and the terrible circumstances of her death are impossible to comprehend,” he said.

“We look to the Italian authorities to fully investigate the circumstances leading to Adrienne’s death, to ascertain where responsibility for this lies, and to ensure that any person who is found to bear responsibility is held accountable under the Italian criminal justice system.”

Mr White also requested privacy for the family.