The Survival Story of Heidi and Christine Notes:

Header Image Source: Photo by Matt Hardy on Unsplash

Other Image Sources: Express Samina 2000 from Wikipedia Commons

"MS Express Samina (Greek: Εξπρές Σαμίνα) was a French-built RoPax ferry that collided with a rock off the coast of Paros island in the central Aegean Sea on 26 September 2000. The accident resulted in 81 deaths[3] and the loss of the ship. The cause of the accident was crew negligence, for which several members were found criminally liable.

On the evening of Tuesday 26 September 2000, MS Express Samina left the Port of Piraeus with 473 passengers and 61 crew members. At 22:12 local time (20:12 UTC), 2 nmi off the port of Parikia, Paros, the ship hit the reef of Portes islets at 18 knots. The wind at the time was 8 on the Beaufort scale. The ship sank close to the islets at 23:02, resulting in the deaths of 82 people from a total of 533 on board. The first responders to the distress call were fishing boats from the nearby port, followed by the port authorities and Royal Navy vessels, which were in the area carrying out a NATO exercise. The fact that some of the crew did not help the passengers evacuate the sinking ferry contributed to the death toll.

The crew had placed the ship on autopilot and there were no crew members watching the ship. Even with autopilot on, standard practice calls for one crew member to watch the controls, for example to avoid collisions with other vessels. The crew had deployed the fin stabilizers system to decrease the motions in bad weather; normally both stabilizer fins would deploy, but in this case the port stabilizer fin failed to extend, causing the ship to drift and therefore not travel in a straight line. A crew member discovered the problem and tried to steer the ship to port, but this action occurred too late and at 22:12 local time (20:12 UTC), the ship struck the east face of the taller Portes pinnacle. The rocks tore a six-meter long and one-meter wide hole above the water line. After the impact, the rocks bent the stabilizer fin backwards, and the fin cut through the side of the hull, below the waterline and next to the engine room. The water from the three-meter gash destroyed the main generators and cut off electrical power. The water spread beyond the engine room, and the operators could not remotely shut the doors due to a lack of electrical power.

Professor David Molyneaux, a ship safety expert[citation needed][vague], said that the damage sustained by the MS Express Samina should not normally sink such a ship. The ship sank because nine of its eleven watertight compartment doors were open even though safety laws require ship operators to close and lock the safety doors. Molyneaux described the open watertight doors as the most significant aspect of the sinking..."

— Source: MS Express Samina Wikipedia

The Murder of Linda Bailey Brown Notes:

Header Image Source: Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

Other Image Sources:

Linda Brown from NYDailyNews.com

Cinnamon Brown giving tearful testimony from NYDailyNews.com

David Brown gets life in prison from NYDailyNews.com

Patti Bailey (younger sister of Linda) who married David Brown after sister was killed from NYDailyNews.com

"Linda Brown was shot to death while she slept in the early morning hours of March 19, 1985 by her stepdaughter Cinnamon Brown as part of a plot hatched by David Brown, Linda's husband and Cinnamon's father, and Patti Bailey, Linda's sister, to collect almost one million dollars in insurance money. David had convinced the girls that Linda was trying to kill him and if they really loved him, they would get rid of Linda for him. He had also convinced Cinnamon to take full responsibility for the crime so he could avoid going to jail. Cinnamon finally confessed the murder plot after finding out that David had married Patti Bailey, whom he had been molesting since she was eleven and had a child with her. David and Patti were eventually jailed for their participation in the murder, with David getting additional time for attempting hiring a hit man to murder Patti Bailey before she could testify. Ann Rule wrote a book about the case If You Really Loved Me..."

— Source: Find A Grave