A bizarre and sad postscript is developing where it appears several people associated with the Autonomy case have met with tragedy in the past week.

As reported by MarketWatch, Mike Lynch, who was acquitted in June of federal fraud charges stemming from the $11 billion sale of his data-analysis company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard, along with his defense attorney and a former Autonomy board member who testified in his defense, went missing after a superyacht they were on sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily.

As reported by Newser, Lynch’s yacht, the 184-foot-long Bayesian was carrying 12 guests and 10 crew members when it was caught in an unexpected storm around 4am. Nearby boats helped rescue 15 people from the water. Another person, described as the on-board chef, was pronounced dead, per the AP.

That leaves six people missing. The missing have been identified as billionaire tech entrepreneur Lynch; his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah; Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer; Bloomer’s wife, Judy, who worked with the cancer research charity Eve Appeal; Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at major firm Clifford Chance; and Morvillo’s wife, Neda.

Bloomer, who served on Autonomy’s board before the company was sold to HP in 2011, testified earlier this year on Lynch’s behalf during his fraud trial.

Morvillo, a partner in New York for the law firm Clifford Chance, served as co-lead defense counsel for Lynch and played a key role in his victory in court.

After difficulties in getting to the superyacht’s sunken cabins, The Independent has now reported that five bodies have been found inside the boat. Four have been recovered, with searches called off for the night. While there were originally hopes that the missing could be trapped in air pockets, sadly, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

People magazine reports that the trip was a celebration of Lynch’s acquittal just over two months ago.

That’s not the only tragedy that has befallen those involved in the Autonomy fraud trial. Two days before the yacht sank, Stephen Chamberlain, a former Autonomy executive and Lynch’s co-defendant in the case, was killed after being hit by a car while jogging in England, his attorney said in a statement. Chamberlain had also been acquitted in June.

Wow.

I’ve been covering the Autonomy case since 2012, back when I was writing for my old blog. This is the last post I wrote, during the fraud trial before Lynch and Chamberlain were found not guilty. It appears now that the story has a bizarre and sad postscript to it.

My hearts and prayers go out to the families of the victims.

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.