Dianne Brimble, Death Onboard A Cruise Ship

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Here is a very interesting case involving the death of Dianne Brimble (we will continually update this case)which took place aboard a cruise liner while she was on holiday.

What took place will shock you, The case has been ongoing for a long time (6 years) as there was an inquest about the death and about how she died.

I will try to find some older articles related to the inquest and the findings, at the moment The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions is recommending criminal charges be laid against three of the men of interest.

It will be an interesting case and I will try to follow all the proceeding's.

Here is a brief article about what happened

For two years, Dianne had saved to take a cruise around the South Pacific. Although she was the mother of three, she was only able to save enough to take her youngest daughter, Tahlia, with her on the trip of a lifetime….


On September 23rd, 2002, the P&O Pacific Sky departed Sydney, Australia. Dianne and Tahlia boarded the ship, along with Dianne’s sister, Alma Wood, and Alma’s daughter, Kari Ann. All four had planned to share a cabin for the 10-day/9-night cruise.

As they embarked on their cruise, Dianne and her accompanying family members enjoyed a “sail-away” party, which gave them a chance to relax, have a couple of cocktails, and watch the sun go down. Following the party, they decided to have dinner and talk about their plans for the following day. After dinner, Alma, Kari Ann, and Tahlia decided to head back to the cabin and call it an early night. Dianne accompanied them back to the cabin to kiss Tahlia “goodnight”, and later left for the nightclub.



The following morning, Alma realized that Dianne had not returned to their cabin. At breakfast-time, Alma had her paged, but was later called to the ship’s Medical Centre, where she was told that Dianne had passed away. Her naked body had been found on the floor of a cabin, occupied by four unknown men.



As the cruise continued on to Noumea, Dianne’s daughter, sister, and niece, were forced to endure an additional two days on the ship, before they could disembark and fly back home to Australia. At the same time, remaining family members in Australia had been provided with no other details, other than the fact that Dianne had died.



It wasn’t until detectives boarded the ship in Noumea and continued on the cruise that her family members become suspicious about the circumstances surrounding Dianne’s demise.



After a number of weeks, the family finally learned that Dianne had consumed a large amount of GHB or GBH (Great Bodily Harm – A date-rape drug also known as Liquid Fantasy), which contributed to her death. This “so-called” fact, combined with a litany of delays and excuses, made it extremely difficult for the family to comprehend exactly what had taken place.



A Coroner's inquestonly began in Sydney, Australia, in March 2006. The investigation into Dianne’s cause of death is still underway, which has currently uncovered a number of dreadful circumstances surrounding her death. There is no doubt that something happened to Dianne over which she had no control. The cruise operator has a number of questions that still need to be answered. Hopefully, those answers will be presented when the inquest resumes on June 13th, 2006.



The family’s reasons for posting this story are to...



Highlight the circumstances, surrounding Dianne’s assault and death.

Stop this same tragedy from happening to other cruise passengers.

Contribute to changing current cruise line security procedures.

Ensure that any individuals responsible, who may have had an involvement or the ability to have prevented Dianne’s death, be helld.

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More information, facts and photographs related to the case are in this file

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The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions is recommending criminal charges be laid against three of the men of interest in the death on a cruise ship of Dianne Brimble.


In an unexpected move, the DPP recommended Mark Wilhelm be charged with manslaughter.


He will also face a charge of supplying fantasy to Mrs Brimble.
Two of his friends, Letterio "Leo" Silvestri and Ryan Kuchel will be charged with perverting the course of justice.


"Ex officio indictments for these charges have been filed in NSW with the District Court [Silvestri and Kuchel] and will be sought in the Supreme Court [Wilhelm]," the statement from the DPP says.


The family of Mrs Brimble, who died on a Pacific Sky cruise six years ago, had been told an announcement about the case was imminent.
Mrs Brimble's ex-husband Mark Brimble said the family had been contacted today by the DPP.


Today's decision comes six years after Mrs Brimble died in cabin D182 on board the P&O cruise ship Pacific Sky on September 24, 2002, from a combination of fantasy and alcohol.


A coronial inquest heard that Mrs Brimble had died after having sex with Wilhelm, and her naked body was found on the floor of the cabin he shared with Silvestri, Kuchel and Matthew Slade.


The other men named as persons of interest were Dragan Losic, Petar Pantic, Luigi Vitale and Charlie Kambouris.


Pantic, 31, left Australia on a one-way ticket to Serbia in December last year, facing charges of importing six pornographic DVDs and failing to declare them when he arrived from Singapore.


Pantic was convicted in his absence but last month a magistrate ruled that the case should be reheard because Pantic's lawyer, David Edwardson, QC, admitted he forgot to show up in court.


It was revealed last month that Pantic had engaged a real-estate agent to sell his luxury Adelaide home while he remained overseas.


In July the Brimble inquest was terminated when the coroner found that two "known persons" should be charged over her death.


At the time, Mr Brimble said the family was relieved that the truth had finally been revealed.


"What will happen to it is in the hands of others. The family will sleep a lot easier this evening knowing that we have now got the information out and somebody is about to do something with it," he said.


Criticisms of the time taken to assess the case last month prompted NSW DPP Nicholas Cowdery to reveal his office would be "in a position to give advice in the Brimble matter before the end of August".


Mr Brimble said he had called a press conference for 10.30am (AEST) tomorrow in Melbourne after being contacted by the NSW DPP today.
Mr Brimble, who is in Melbourne on business, said he would be joined by other family members at tomorrow's press conference.






Dianne Brimble and, inset from top, Mark Wilhelm, Letterio "Leo" Silvestri and Ryan Kuchel.

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Brimble suspect 'had rape guide inside house'



August 30, 2008 12:00am


INSTRUCTIONS on using designer drugs to date-rape women were found inside a house owned by the man who had sex with cruise ship passenger Dianne Brimble before she died, a court has heard.

Detectives who raided the Salisbury North property in Adelaide owned by Mark Wilhelm in September 2005, also found $32,500 in cash, a mature eight-plant hydroponic cannabis crop, methamphetamine, LSD and electronic scales.


The Adelaide District Court yesterday heard that hundreds of documents downloaded from the internet involving the designer drug fantasy, or GHB, were found in a folder in the main bedroom of the Witonga Ave house owned by Wilhelm.


Police arrested a former ambulance officer who was sleeping at the property, Scott Glen Woods, 34, who denied any involvement with the marijuana crop, cash and other drugs seized during the raid, conducted as part of Operation Mantle, which targeted drug trafficking.


During legal argument before Woods' trial began this month, his lawyers stopped prosecutors from tendering the internet GHB documentation as evidence, arguing it would be unfairly incriminating.


Revealing that the house was owned by Wilhelm, Woods' lawyer, Andrew Moffa, told Judge David Smith that the documents were downloaded from the internet between 2002 to 2004 and were "all about the effects of GHB".


Mr Moffa said one five-page document "talks about the effects of GHB - dosage, low dosage, medium dosage, overdose, poisoning, after-effects".
"On one page it talks about drug-facilitated rapes," he said.


"There has been an ongoing matter in Sydney, the P&O cruise boat matter, that relates to South Australia and an allegation of GHB and date rape. I can indicate to your honour that the registered proprietor of this property is the same Mark Wilhelm, the subject of the inquiry in Sydney."


Describing the internet material about GHB as "a heavy whack of documents", Judge Smith said the house contained "a delicatessen of drugs available to anyone who wants to come along".


Woods later told a jury he had only been staying at the house for two nights after a domestic dispute over a pet dog forced him to sleep in his car next to the Henley Sailing Club and a friend offered him temporary accommodation.


Police confirmed there were no fingerprints, DNA or any other evidence which linked Woods to hydroponic crops and the other drugs found inside the house.


Yesterday's court case comes as the NSW DPP prepares to next week reveal its decision on charges arising from the long-running inquest into Mrs Brimble's death.


Mrs Brimble, 42, died from a lethal combination of fantasy and alcohol aboard the P&O Pacific Sky in September 2002.

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September 12, 2008

The ex-husband of Dianne Brimble has expressed anger that it has taken six years for charges to be recommended over her death on a cruise ship in 2002.


The NSW Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) yesterday recommended three men should be charged over the death of the Brisbane mother-of-three from a toxic combination of alcohol and date rape drug fantasy.


Mark Brimble said it had taken far too long to get to this stage but he knows his family still has a long way to go until they finally see justice.


"No person in this world will want to have to get up every day for six years and have to answer to their own children how their mother may or may not have died," Mr Brimble told reporters.


"That would make you angry."
Adelaide man Mark Wilhelm, who had sex with 42-year-old Ms Brimble hours before she died on board the P&O liner Pacific Sky, should be charged with manslaughter and supplying a prohibited drug, the DPP said.


It also recommended Leo Silvestri and Ryan Kuchel, the two men who shared Wilhelm's cabin where Ms Brimble died, should be charged with perverting the course of justice.


"We have had to deal with some appalling things that have come out of the inquest," Mr Brimble said.


"We've had to deal with it knowing that every piece of this will help us know what happened on that night. That's all we want.


"How long do people have to wait for justice?"
The DPP's recommendation came 14 months after the conclusion of the 66-day coronial inquest into Ms Brimble's death which found there was enough evidence to lay charges.

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31st October 2008

A man accused of lying to police over the death of Dianne Brimble has been granted bail to return to his new home in Dubai.

Ryan Kuchel faces two charges of perverting the course of justice, after being interviewed in relation to Mrs Brimble, who died on board a P&O cruise ship in 2002.

He has appeared in a Sydney court today in person along with Letterio Silvestri who's also accused of the same offence.

The men had been staying the cruise ship cabin where Mrs Brimble's body was found in 2002.

Both have been granted bail. Silvestri has been ordered to report once a week to South Australian police, while Kuchel must report to the Australian Consulate General in Dubai.


3.00 PM A man accused over the death of Dianne Brimble has refused to say if he will fight charges of perverting the course of justice.

As Letterio Silvestri left court he said nothing, his barrister shaking his head not to answer questions from the media.

Mrs Brimble died on board a P&O cruise ship in 2002.

Today Silvestri has been granted bail in a Sydney court today, along with his co-accused Ryan Kuchel.

Both are facing perverting the course of justice charges, as well as back-up charges of hinder a police investigation.

11:00 AM

Two men charged over the cruise ship death of Dianne Brimble have faced a Sydney court for the first time.

The Brisbane mother’s body was found in a cabin on the P&O cruiser in 2002.

An inquest into her death heard she had been given a date rape drug, commonly known as fantasy.

Two men whose cabin it was, where Mrs Brimble’s body was found have faced court today.

Letterio Silvestri and Ryan Kuchel have been charged with perverting the course of justice, and hindering a police investigation.

Both men have been granted bail.

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A JURY at the trial of a man accused of Dianne Brimble's manslaughter on a cruise ship has been told to ignore the findings of an inquest into her death.

Dianne Brimble death inquiry 'irrelevant', jury told

September 14, 2009

Ms Brimble, 42, died 100 nautical miles out to sea aboard the P&O liner Pacific Sky on September 24, 2002.


Mark Wilhelm, 37, of Adelaide, has pleaded not guilty to her manslaughter and to supplying the drug GHB, also known as fantasy.


As his trial began in the NSW Supreme Court today, Justice Roderick Howie told the jury to ignore anything they had heard about an inquest into Ms Brimble's death, which concluded in 2007.


In the interests of the trial, the findings were "irrelevant'', he said.
"You shouldn't be concerned about that, or the findings made by the coroner,'' he told the jury of five men and seven women.


"The trial starts when the Crown presents an indictment to the court.''
The Crown is expected to open its case this afternoon.

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Brimble didn't have to die, court told



IF Mark Wilhelm had called for help as soon as he saw Dianne Brimble unconscious in his cabin, she would most likely still be alive, a NSW Supreme Court jury has been told.


Instead, he was wandering between his cabin and a nearby one full of young women, wearing nothing but a life-jacket and joking that he had just "f..ked a fat chick''.


Ms Brimble, a 42-year-old Brisbane mother, died 100 nautical miles out to sea on board the P&O liner Pacific Sky in the early hours of September 24, 2002.


Hours earlier she had boarded the ship in Sydney with her daughter, some friends and about 1600 other guests - including Mark Wilhelm and seven of his friends.


The pair met in the ship's disco later that night and by 4am they were in the cabin Mr Wilhelm shared with three other men.


There, he allegedly gave her a water-bottle capful of the drug GHB, otherwise known as fantasy or liquid ecstasy.


Mr Wilhelm, 37, from Adelaide, has pleaded not guilty to Ms Brimble's manslaughter and to supplying the drug.


As his trial began today, Crown prosecutor Mark Hobart, SC, told the jury of five men and seven women that Mr Wilhelm had seen Ms Brimble unconscious on the floor and had left her for up to three hours instead of calling for help.


"The Crown says if Ms Brimble had been treated earlier, if she had been assisted to breathe, it is likely she would have survived,'' Mr Hobart said.
By the time the ship's nurse was called to the cabin at 8.43am, Ms Brimble was "blue in the face, not breathing and had no pulse'', he told the court.
The trial before Justice Roderick Howie is continuing.

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Dianne Brimble's sister tells of panic on cruise ship


ON TRIAL: Mark Wilhelm, above, on trial for manslaughter over the death of cruise ship passenger Dianne Brimble.


THE sister of Dianne Brimble has told a jury she felt panic when she heard an emergency signal on board a cruise ship on the morning her sister died.

Alma Wood had been planning the 10-day cruise trip with her sister for two years before they boarded the P&O liner Pacific Sky in Sydney on September 23, 2002, with two of their children and some family friends.

Ms Brimble, 42, died in the early hours of the next morning after allegedly being given the drug GHB, also known as fantasy or liquid ecstasy, by a man in a nearby cabin.

That man, Mark Wilhelm, 37, from Adelaide, is on trial in the NSW Supreme Court charged with manslaughter and supplying the drug.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Ms Wood said she had been with her sister until about 11.30pm the night before she died.

Ms Brimble did not appear to be affected by alcohol, she said.

The next morning, when she noticed Ms Brimble had not returned to the cabin, Ms Wood joked with friends at breakfast that it must be because she got too intoxicated and ``fell asleep in a deck chair''.

It wasn't until she heard an emergency call on the ship's loudspeaker a short time later that she thought something was wrong.

``When that occurred were you a bit shocked?'' crown prosecutor Mark Hobart SC asked.

``Yes,'' Ms Wood replied.

``Did your stomach drop a bit?'' he asked.

``Yes,'' she said.

``Did you start to panic a bit because it was near to your room and Dianne hadn't come home?'' he said.

``Yes,'' she responded.

Security officers prevented Ms Wood accessing the nearby cabin to which medical staff were rushing, but a short time later a medic approached her and asked if she knew Dianne Brimble and if Ms Brimble had any medical problems.

Ms Wood said she had asked a security officer: ``Would you take it that Dianne was in there?''

``It certainly sounded like it,'' he replied.

Eventually a nurse came and told Ms Wood and her family that Ms Brimble was dead, but there was still an air of disbelief, she said.

The trial before Justice Roderick Howie is continuing.

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MARK Wilhelm has been living a nightmare since Dianne Brimble died in his cabin on board a cruise ship seven years ago, a court has heard



The 42-year-old Brisbane mother died from a toxic combination of alcohol and the drug GHB, otherwise known as fantasy or liquid ecstasy, hours after boarding the P&O liner Pacific Sky on September 24, 2002.

She was found on the floor of a cabin belonging to Wilhelm, whom she had sex with hours earlier.

Wilhelm, 37, from Adelaide, has pleaded not guilty to her manslaughter and to supplying her with drugs.

At his trial in the NSW Supreme Court, the jury was played intercepts of telephone conversations between him and his friends around the time of a coronial inquest into Ms Brimble's death.

In one conversation he tells a friend he has been living a nightmare since she died.

``Let me tell you, I know all about nightmares,'' he says.

``I'm not a bad bloke. I'm not an evil bloke, that's for sure.

``I'm a bit of a joker, a bit of a clown.

``At least in the last few days people are starting to understand that ... I was shattered, mate, I was devastated.

``I did nothing wrong and I don't see why (I should be) changing my name and running away for something I didn't do.''

In another conversation, he tells a friend how sorry he was about Ms Brimble's death.

``I want to go up there and say I'm sorry for your loss - it was a tragic accident that happened and I wish I could relive that day every day of my life,'' he said.

``I can't believe that this happened.''

The trial before Justice Roderick Howie is continuing.