On a humid August night off the coast of Sicily, British billionaire, Mike Lynch, along with 21 other passengers, were sleeping soundly on Lynch’s luxury yacht, the Bayesian. Then, all of a sudden, a surging storm hammered the vessel. Shockingly, within minutes the Bayesian had capsized, tragically sending Lynch, and 7 others down with her.
You’d presume this was just an unlucky case of nature’s brutality. However, some theorists out there believe that somehow, Lynch was deliberately targeted that night! If you are intrigued, get your trench coat and magnifying glass, as we re-open the case files on this, and plenty more supposedly solved mysteries!
Mike Lynch's Yacht Mystery
October 2011 was a pretty big month for Mike Lynch. His software company, Autonomy, was bought by American tech company Hewlett-Packard, or HP, for a sum over $10 billion! However, the deal was dogged from the start, with HP accusing Autonomy of artificially inflating its profits ahead of the sale.
Fast forward to 2018 and US prosecutors brought multiple charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy against Lynch and Autonomy’s former financial executive, Stephen Chamberlain. It’s fair to say things weren’t looking good. If found guilty, they faced the prospect of more than 20 years in prison. And, considering less than 0.5% of federal criminal cases end in acquittal, they may as well have started saying their goodbyes. Yet, in June 2024,
both Lynch and Chamberlain were acquitted of all charges by a jury, as it was ruled that HP were at fault for failing to properly vet the deal. Unsurprisingly, Lynch was in a celebratory mood. Keen to make up for all the time he’d lost on the trial, the tech entrepreneur organized a yacht trip around the Mediterranean for friends and family. Yet, for many onboard it’d be a fatal voyage. In the early hours of August 19th,
the Bayesian, Lynch’s giant 184-foot long superyacht, was anchored to the sea bed outside the harbor of Porticello in Sicily, Italy.
Then, at around 5AM, a violent storm fierce enough to whirl up waterspouts headed straight for the vessel. At first, the boat started to rock. Before long, the windows of the yacht shattered, as water poured into the vessel. Within minutes the Bayesian had completely capsized, and Lynch had sunk with it. Normally you’d presume such a freak weather event was pure accident, but not everyone was so sure.
According to Giovanni Costantino, the CEO of company that made the Bayesian, the vessel was unsinkable. So, how exactly does an unsinkable yacht go down in just 16 minutes? Stranger still, Lynch’s wife, Angela, who was also on-board at the time, claimed to have be woken up by a slight tilt. But surely a slight tilt, isn’t enough to send down a supposedly unsinkable superyacht? Similarly, Karsten Borner, the captain of a nearby vessel claimed that in a moment, the Bayesian suddenly sunk. It’s possible the Bayesian’s size could’ve resulted in its downfall. At 237 feet-tall, this yacht’s aluminum mast was one of the tallest in the world. The massive mast likely increased the surface area exposed to the wind, making it more susceptible to tip in such stormy conditions.
Despite that, some people claim the Bayesian’s sinking may’ve been a deliberate disaster. But, how could the yacht’s captain or crew know what was going to happen? No weather forecasts predicted such a severe storm, while the direction of the wicked waterspout would’ve been completely unpredictable. Well, there are some strangely suspicious incidents that contributed to the
Bayesian’s sinking. Yachting experts have suggested that open hatches and doors could’ve contributed to the rapid sinking of the vessel. Could crewmembers have deliberately ‘forgot’ to close hatches before the storm struck, allowing the Bayesian to quickly fill with water and sink?
Of the 22 people on-board the Bayesian, seven tragically passed away. Interestingly, of the fatalities, all but one were closely connected to Lynch. Firstly, there was Mike Lynch himself, as well as his daughter, Hannah. Then, there was Jonathan and Judy Bloomer, with Jonathan giving evidence as a defense witness for Lynch during his trial. Finally, there were Chris and Neda Morvillo, with Chris being a partner at a law firm that represented Lynch during the prolonged court case.
Not only did many of Lynch’s inner circle perish, but of the 10 crew members on-board, all but one survived. In fairness, Stephen Askins, a partner at a law firm specializing in maritime law, claimed the emergence of the storm likely meant the crew were up and working on the upper deck, trying their best to navigate the vessel through the storm. Meanwhile, it’s likely the passengers remained sleeping below deck, unaware the ship was soon to sink.
Still, would the crew members not evacuate, or at least notify, all of the passengers, including the billionaire owner of the yacht, off before leaving the ship themselves? If that wasn’t head-scratching enough, five of the six passengers that passed away, were all discovered in the same room, the first cabin on the left-hand side of the Bayesian. In a dark twist, some online users even claim it’s possible the crew members not only failed to evacuate passengers off the Bayesian, but deliberately trapped Lynch and his allies inside the ship! It seems some doors were forced shut. After all, rescue divers had to smash through a porthole to gain access to a room in the wrecked vessel containing five of the victims, as the door had been blocked in by furniture. That’s right, five passengers that never made it out were all found in the same room with a sealed entrance.
Suspicious as that sounds, local fire service commander, Bentivoglio Fiandra, has a different theory. As the Bayesian sank, it settled on its right-hand side. He believes it’s possible those five passengers headed for the first cabin on the ship’s left-hand side, as it was the higher side of the ship, where there may’ve been air bubbles. That means it’s possible the cabin door was blocked with furniture by the passengers themselves, in an attempt to prevent more water coming in and allowing the air bubble to last longer. So, why did these passengers head for the same cabin room and not escape via the yacht’s top deck? Well, as the passenger cabins were found on the lower deck, they would’ve likely had to clamber through cabin rooms and the engine room, before climbing up two flights of stairs to reach the top deck. And, with the ship at 90 degrees, and fast filling with water, they likely thought they’d have a greater chance of survival using the first cabin on the left-hand side’s air bubble.
Who knows for sure what exactly happened onboard the Bayesian? One thing’s for sure it’s got my Spidey-senses tingling! Given the circumstances, it’s no surprise Bayesian’s captain, James Cutfield was put under investigation by Italian authorities for manslaughter and shipwreck. As well as that, ship engineer, Tim Parker Eaton was suspected of having failed to protect the yacht’s engine rooms and operating systems, while sailor, Matthew Griffith is accused of being inattentive during his watch duty on the night of the sinking. Though the investigation will go on for some time, Italian prosecutor, Ambrogio Cartosio said it was plausible crimes of multiple manslaughter had been committed. Despite all that it was ultimately deemed that Lynch was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But there’s more to this story! Remember Lynch’s co-defendant, Stephen Chamberlain, who was also acquitted of all charges in June 2024? Remarkably, just like Lynch, he was involved in a freak accident following the verdict. Early on an August morning, just days before the Bayesian capsized, Chamberlain left his home near Cambridge, England to go out on a morning run. Then, at around 10AM, while crossing the road, he was struck by a car. The 49 year-old woman driver, remained at the scene, assisting with police enquiries as the former Autonomy employee was sent to hospital. Tragically, he passed away a few days later.
Yet, coincidental and downright suspicious as Chamberlain’s passing seemed, British police said there was no evidence of anything suspicious or untoward. First Mike Lynch, then Stephen Chamberlain. What are the chances they were both wiped out in bizarre unrelated disasters just days apart?
But strap in, because the mystery doesn’t end there. In 2013, Lynch founded another company,
Darktrace, a shady cyber security firm. Ever since it’s founding, the company has been known and used by international secret services. In March 2022, the company even teamed up with the U.S Department of Defense, protecting the country from cyber attacks. Sounds like Darktrace might’ve annoyed some people they really didn’t want to. And, with Lynch as Darktrace’s founder, and Stephen Chamberlain as chief financial officer, it’s not too outlandish to think these two would’ve been wanted men. For many people online, these two cases are about as suspicious and untoward as you can get!
The Somerton Man
Mike Lynch isn’t the only man to meet his end in mysterious circumstances. On 1st December 1948, beachgoers visiting the Somerton Park beach near Adelaide, Australia, made a spine-chilling discovery. Lying against the sea wall was a body of a deceased man.
While that sight alone would be jaw-dropping enough, there was something strange about the Somerton Man that made it even eerier. He was fully dressed in a suit and trousers, though the name tags on his clothes were all meticulously cut off. His clothes were dry, and there was nothing to indicate he’d washed up on shore. In his pockets were bus and train tickets, chewing gum, some matches, two combs and a pack of cigarettes. Yet puzzlingly, there was no wallet, no cash and no ID. But most mysteriously of all, a scrap of paper with the printed words "tamám shud", meaning "the end" in Persian, was found in his trouser pocket.
This scrap was later found to be taken from a copy of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, a 12th-century book of Persian poetry, left in the back of car near where the body was found. To thicken the plot further, investigators found perplexing, seemingly-coded messages written on the book’s inside cover. Experts weren’t able to pinpoint a cause of death, but medical witnesses testifying during the inquest agreed the death wasn’t natural, and likely resulted from poisoning!
As for his identity, the Somerton Man’s fingerprints were sent around the world, but still no-one could identify him. It wasn’t until 2022, when forensic genealogists analyzed some of the Somerton Man’s hair samples, that they finally thought they cracked the code. They matched the DNA to a
Carl Webb. Supposedly, Webb was born in 1905 near Melbourne, Australia. In October 1941, he married Dorothy Robertson. Yet, it appears the couple separated 6 years later in 1947. Some have theorized that Webb went looking for Robertson, who’s believed to have lived near Somerton Park beach at the time. Seemingly things went south, resulting in either Robertson poisoning her ex, or Webb consuming the stuff of his own accord.
Not everyone’s convinced, though. Whether it’s the lack of identification, the curious scrap of paper reading tamám shud, or the nearby copy of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám filled with creepy codes, some people are convinced the Somerton Man was actually a spy. With the Cold War commencing just months before the mystery man’s passing, perhaps he got caught a little too deep in the espionage game, paying for it by being permanently decommissioned and dumped on Somerton Park beach. Considering the complexity of this case, it's "un-shore" we’ll ever get to the bottom of it!
The Disappearance Of Frederick Valentich
While we’re on the topic of Australian obscurities, that brings us to the curious case of Frederick Valentich. Born in 1958, Valentich was an aspiring pilot, with dreams of enlisting with the Royal Australian Air Force. He held a private pilot’s license and routinely went on flights in order to help his dream come true.
On October 21st 1978, Valentich embarked on one such training flight. Flying in a Cessna 182L, he was making the short journey from Melbourne to King Island, off the coast of south Australia. Things started smoothly. However, around an hour into the flight, the young pilot noticed something strange.
He radioed Melbourne Air Flight Service, to report an unidentified aircraft following him. Though he was told there was no known air traffic at that level, Valentich claimed to see a large, long, fast-moving, metallic aircraft, illuminated with four bright lights behind him. Then the pilot reported the aircraft was approaching him. Looking up, he could see it had a shiny metal surface and a green lights on it.
Sounds awfully UFO-like, doesn’t it?
Valentich noted that it seemed to be playing a "game" with him, flying past and around his plane at high speeds. And here’s the spookiest part. Asked to identify the aircraft, Valentich radioed: "
It’s hovering… and it’s not an aircraft", before his transmission cut out. It’d be the last time anyone heard from him. A sea and air search surrounding an area over 1,000 square miles found nothing. So, had he just vanished? Investigators concluded that Valentich was likely the victim of a pilot error. Considering he was still an inexperienced pilot, the young Australian may’ve become disorientated with the altitude and direction of travel. Amid the confusion, Valentich may’ve mistaken his own lights, reflected by clouds, for those of a UFO while flying upside down, before crashing down into the sea, where his plane sank.
The only trace attributed to the craft was a small fragment of a Cessna 182L’s exterior which washed ashore months later. Valentich’s father claimed his son was an ardent believer in UFOs and often worried about being attacked by one. Could Valentich have been taken out by the very thing he feared? Maybe Valentich is in a galaxy far, far away right this very second?
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370
36 years after Frederick Valentich’s final flight, the world was witness to more plane puzzlement. In March 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, heading for Beijing, China. The Boeing 777 aircraft was filled with 12 crew members, as well as 227 passengers excited to reach their destination. Yet tragically, they’d never make it to China.
Flight 370 took off at 12:41 AM. Around 40 minutes later the plane’s transponder, which pings electronic messages to radar systems about the plane’s altitude and speed cut out. Yet strangely, no distress calls were made. After the plane failed to reach Beijing, an official investigation was opened. Military radar showed the plane changing course, making a sharp turn westward toward the Indian Ocean, before disappearing off the radar at 2:22 AM.
Despite extensive search and rescue operations, no traces of the plane were found. In fact, in the years since, only a few pieces of debris washed ashore on western Indian Ocean islands have been confirmed as belonging to the MH370. So, what happened to the plane, and where did it end up? In 2015, Malaysia officially
declared the disappearance accidental, concluding the aircraft exhausted its fuel over the southern Indian Ocean. Not everyone’s bought the no blame story, though. Sceptics believe the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, deliberately turned off the aircraft’s transponder, so it couldn’t be tracked. Similarly, Australian researcher, Vincent Lyne, claims the disappearance of the MH370 was down to act of unbelievable, malicious insanity by the plane’s pilot, who he suggests deliberately crashed the Boeing 777 somewhere there’d be no chance of rescue or discovery, a 20,000 foot-deep underwater trench in the south-eastern Indian Ocean.
Lyne’s suggestion is in part based on the fact that Shah, at his home less than a month earlier, conducted a simulated flight deep into the remote southern Indian Ocean, the same area the MH370 went missing! Now that would be some coincidence! Some out there still won’t blame Shah, though. It’s even been suggested that the sudden loss of MH370 from radar, as well as the lack of debris and distress signals weren’t down to sabotage. Instead, they’re proof the plane disappeared into a wormhole through time and space. Of course, that’s not the most evidence-based assumption, but it’s a little less bleak to think about, right?
Mary Celeste
Not all cases of mysterious voyages take place up in the sky. In fact, one of the most puzzling of all occurred in the middle of the deep blue. The mystery of the Mary Celeste is a terrifying ghost ship tale that’s puzzled the world for over 150 years.
In November 1872, the 282-ton brigantine ship set sail from New York harbor to Genoa, Italy. Onboard were the ship’s captain, Benjamin Briggs, along with his wife, Sarah, their 2 year old daughter and eight other crew members. Yet the ship never reached Italy. On December 5th, it was discovered by a passing British ship floating east of the Azores, a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. With no sign of life, two crewmembers from the British ship climbed aboard to check what was going on. They were shocked at what they saw. The crew’s personal belongings were untouched, their cargo was intact and the vessel was loaded with six months worth of food and water. Yet, not a soul was onboard. So, where had they gone?
Some speculated whether a group of rowdy pirates had thrown them overboard. Yet, the ship’s cargo was left untouched. The ship’s lifeboat was missing, along with some navigational tools, indicating that some or all of the passengers abandoned ship, via the lifeboat. But why would they abandon a ship fully stocked and seemingly seaworthy ship? It’s been suggested the crew staged a mutiny, throwing the captain and his family overboard before life-boating themselves to safety. It’s also possible those onboard were startled by extreme weather. In their panic, they may’ve boarded the lifeboat in hope of sailing to safety, but sunk before reaching their destination, all while the Mary Celeste survived. Though, the most accepted theory is that waterlogging occurred onboard, convincing Briggs the ship was sinking. After all, more than 3 feet of water were found on the lower deck. As a result, he and the rest of the crew likely fled on the life-boat, where they succumbed to the sea.
On the wilder side of theories, some have even speculated the crew were pulled from the ship by some colossal Kraken-like creature. Thinking about it, all that commotion could cause the waterlogging. And as for the missing crew, well no prizes for guessing where they would’ve ended up!
It’s certainly a crazy, and seemingly unlikely, theory, but with the
mystery having no official solution to this day, your guess is as good as anyone's!
The Mysterious Sleeping Sickness Of Kalachi, Kazakhstan
It’s fair to say the tiny village of Kalachi in Kazakhstan isn’t the most well-known place in the world. But that didn’t stop this little location from hitting the headlines.
Between 2013 and 2016, around a quarter of Kalachi’s residents were plagued by a mystifying ailment. The townspeople would suddenly fall asleep, remaining in their slumber for days at a time. The sickness affected young and old, with some even reporting nightmarish hallucinations too. When the victims woke up again they’d experience headaches, grogginess, and failed to remember what had happened. As the cases increased, authorities began to look into the matter. Immediately, their attention turned to the nearby deserted uranium mines. Obvious an answer as it may’ve been, experts pointed out that exposure to uranium usually causes cancer and organ damage, not sleepiness. So, the Kazakhstan authorities put forward the explanation that carbon monoxide was leaking out of the mines.
Blood tests from those suffering with the sickness showed higher than normal levels of carbon monoxide. This stuff binds to the blood 200 times more effectively than oxygen. So, when the levels get too high, it can starve the brain of oxygen, triggering it to shut down, hence the uncontrollable fatigue. Believable as that sounds, there’s one problem. The uranium mines were inactive since the early 1990s, and carbon monoxide would only typically be released in significant enough quantities to cause these symptoms during active blasting operations. So, how would they still be releasing enough carbon monoxide to send the town to sleep? What’s more, only some of those reporting sleeping sickness had elevated levels of carbon monoxide in their blood. So, rather than gassy mines, some have proposed a more sinister explanation. Whether it’s Kalachi’s isolated nature, or the slow, unconvincing response of the authorities, some online theorists suggest this place was used as some sort of trial town for experimental forms of biological or psychological weaponry.
But could a government really be trying to send its own people to sleep at the push of a button? Well, governments, including the USA’s, have infamously carried out secret biological tests on their own populations–so it wouldn’t be unheard of.
But there’s also the possibility that the effects are accidental by-products of government tests. It wouldn’t be the first time. Throughout the late-20th-century, the then-Soviet Kazakhstan government performed secret nuclear tests at the
Semipalatinsk Test Site, which left the totally-unaware, surrounding towns dangerously irradiated. It was only once the Soviet Union collapsed that this information was leaked.
Titan Submersible Implosion
On the topic of sea-based head-scratchers, let's dive into the infamous case of the Titan submersible. At around 9:00 AM on June 18th, 2023, the 22 foot-long, five-person sub, operated by American tourism company OceanGate, was launched from the Canadian vessel, Polar Prince.
The submersible was descending down to the Titanic, allowing those onboard to get a view of the wreck. An hour and 45 minutes into the dive, while at a depth over 12,000 feet down, the Titan sub lost contact with the Polar Prince. Then, when the Titan sub failed to resurface at its allotted time of 4:30 PM, panic started to grow, as search and rescue efforts began. Sadly, days later, the wrecked Titan was discovered by a robotic deep-sea vessel on the seafloor of the North Atlantic.
A few hours after the Titan submerged, a U.S Navy acoustic detection system identified an acoustic signal consistent with an implosion. Experts concluded that shortly after it lost contact with the Polar Prince, the
Titan imploded under immense pressure, almost 400 times more than at the ocean’s surface. So, what caused it? Usually submersible vessels are made from titanium or steel. However, OceanGate’s CEO, Stockton Rush, decided to go with a carbon-fiber made hull to save money, even though experts warned it was susceptible to folding under deep ocean pressure. Rush even went on record saying he’d broken the rule of sub design. Safe to say that ‘rule-breaking’ didn’t end too well! Despite the belief that the Titan imploded due to design faults, rumors swirled that the submersible may’ve encountered some other natural disaster down there! Perhaps it was an
abyssal eddy, a type of deep-sea water-vortex that could’ve caused severe turbulence and destroyed the Titan?
Others have proposed the Titan’s demise was down to a ravenous giant squid. But that’s unlikely. Even though they’re deep-sea creatures, giant squids are only typically known to live as far as 2,000 feet down. Still, 80% of our oceans are still unexplored, so who can say for sure?
The Dyatlov Pass Incident
In the northern Ural Mountains is the site of another malevolent mystery, known as the Dyatlov Pass incident. In January 1959, a group of experienced hikers were embarking on a daring 16 day voyage across the Ural mountains. They’d planned to send a telegram back to their sports club around 3 weeks after taking off, so when the club heard nothing from the hikers, a search party was sent out to find them.
Before too long the hiker’s tent was found, yet no-one was inside. The tent was partly collapsed and largely buried in snow. After pulling it out, the search party were shocked to see that it’d been slashed in several places from the inside. Around 100 feet downhill from the tent, the search party found footprints of 8 or 9 people walking toward the tree line.
Over the next few days they uncovered the remains of five of the hikers. All the expired-hikers were covered with bruises, cuts and scratches, while some were shoeless and dressed in only underwear. It appeared that these five hikers passed from hypothermia. This can cause erratic behavior, like paradoxical undressing, a phenomenon where people undress because they feel hot even though they’re freezing to death. While that explains the lack of clothing, why had the hikers cut their way out of the tent and fled into the forest? Months later, after the snow began to melt, investigators discovered the remaining four expired hikers lying in a stream under 13 feet of snow. They had even more harrowing injuries. One had a fractured skull, two had crushed chests. Plus, one was missing eyes, while another was missing its eyes, tongue and upper lip. To make things weirder, an investigation revealed some of these victims emitted unnaturally high levels of radiation.
Those looking into the
Dyatlov Pass Incident were so stumped, the investigation was called off after just a few months. It wasn’t until 2019 when Russian authorities reopened the case, concluding that an avalanche was the likely culprit. The thinking was that a sudden avalanche could’ve caused the hikers to panic, and quickly cut their way out of the tent, fearing a larger avalanche was imminent. In fairness, the crushing trauma of the avalanche could explain some of the injuries sustained by the hikers. Still, that doesn’t answer why some of the facial injuries were so particular. Some theorists have a wild explanation for this, though: they suggest a yeti was responsible! Basing their theories on the traditions of local, indigenous Mansi people, who’ve historically shared legends of ape-like creatures dwelling in the tundra, supporters suggest such beasts would be capable of producing these destructive, yet precise injuries. A pack of wolves, rather obviously, or a bear could also cause similar injuries. However, intriguingly, one hiker’s final photograph shows this dark, hunched figure advancing through the snowy forest.
Chances are, this was just a blurred snap of a fellow hiker. But yeti or not, that still doesn’t explain the traces of radiation found on some of the bodies. Though the levels of radiation weren’t extremely high, some theorists argue that the hikers accidentally ventured into an area where the Soviet military were conducting radioactive weapon tests. It could explain why the government were keen to close the investigation so quickly. And as we’ve seen, honesty was rarely the policy of the Soviet government! With so much strangeness at play, the Dyatlov Pass Incident still raises some big questions, questions which may never be answered.
Patomskiy Crater
In southeastern Siberia, swathes of green forestry dominate the landscape, well, most of the landscape. The vast forest is interrupted by a massive mound, known as the Patomskiy Crater. Made up of shattered limestone, it stretches across 520 feet and reaches up 130 feet! The question is, what is it?
Until 1949, it was known only to locals who called it the “Fire Eagle’s Nest”. They believed it was a bad place and avoided it at all costs, citing tales of people and even animals who dared to venture too close to the crater vanishing under mysterious circumstances. Initially it was believed to have been formed by a chunk of the famous Tunguska meteorite, that descended down on the region in 1908. Yet, no meteorite fragments have been found in the area. Researchers have proposed this thing formed around 350 years ago, way before the Tunguska meteorite crashed down. The strange shape of the Patomskiy Crater have led to suggestions that it’s a volcano. However, no evidence of volcanic activity have been recorded in the area either! Intrigued by the mystery, experienced geologist, Eugeny Vorobiev, wanted to solve the Patomskiy puzzle for himself in 2005. Yet, as he neared the crater he suddenly collapsed and died of a heart-attack, continuing to fuel suspicions that the place is cursed.
To this day, Patomskiy Crater’s origins are still officially unknown. But with all these strange happenings, who knows, maybe it is home to something strange, be it from space or from the unseen bowels of the Earth itself. One thing’s for sure, you’ll do well to stay as far away from it as possible! If you were amazed at these "solved" mysteries debunked you might want to read about more mysteries
here! Thanks for reading.
