PORTICELLO, Italy (AP) — A British-flagged luxury superyacht that sank off Sicily last year, killing U.K. tech magnate Mike Lynch and six others, was lifted from the water Saturday as salvage recovery crews completed the complex operation to bring it ashore for further investigation.
The white top and blue hull of the 56-meter (184-foot) Bayesian, covered with algae and mud, was visibly clear of the sea in a holding area of a yellow floating crane barge off the Sicilian port of Porticello.
“The hull of the superyacht Bayesian has today been successfully and safely recovered from the sea off the coast of northern Sicily," said TMC Maritime, the company conducting the recovery. “This follows a delicate lifting procedure that began early today.”
TMC added that the hull will continue to be held “in an elevated position to allow expert salvage personnel to complete checks and preparations” ahead of its transportation into the Sicilian port of Termini Imerese on Sunday.
The floating crane platform will move the Bayesian to the port, where a special steel cradle is waiting for it. The vessel will be then made available for investigators to help determine the cause of the sinking.
The Bayesian sank Aug. 19 off Porticello, near Palermo, during a violent storm as Lynch was treating friends to a cruise to celebrate his acquittal two months earlier in the U.S. on fraud charges. Lynch, his daughter and five others died. Fifteen people survived, including the captain and all crew members except the chef.
Italian authorities are conducting a full criminal investigation.
The vessel has been slowly raised from the seabed, 50 meters (165-feet) down, over the past three days to allow the steel lifting straps, slings and harnesses to be secured under the keel.
Eight steel lifting straps were used to put the hull upright and to form part of a steel wire lifting system that began raising the vessel out of the water Saturday. As the superyacht was raised, seawater was pumped out of the hull.
The Bayesian is missing its 72-meter (236-foot) mast, which was cut off and left on the seabed for future removal. The mast had to be detached to allow the hull to be brought to a nearly upright position that would allow the craft to be raised.
British investigators said in an interim report issued last month that the yacht was knocked over by “extreme wind” and couldn’t recover.
The report said the crew of the Bayesian had chosen the site where it sank as shelter from forecast thunderstorms. Wind speeds exceeded 70 knots (81 mph) at the time of the sinking and “violently” knocked the vessel over to a 90-degree angle in under 15 seconds.
Lynch, who sold Autonomy, a software maker he founded in 1996, to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011, had been acquitted of fraud charges in June 2024 by a federal court jury in San Francisco.
The hull of the superyacht Bayesian, which sank near Palermo, Sicily, on August 19, 2024, is lifted by cranes during salvage operations off the village of Porticciolo Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
The hull of the superyacht Bayesian, which sank near Palermo, Sicily, on August 19, 2024, is lifted by cranes during salvage operations off the village of Porticciolo Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The high-profile private attorney for Nick Reiner was granted a request to be removed from his case Wednesday, but later told reporters that according to California law his client is not guilty of murder in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
“Circumstances beyond our control and more importantly circumstances beyond Nick's control have dictated that, sadly, it's made it impossible to continue our representation of Nick,” lawyer Alan Jackson said as he stood with his team outside a Los Angeles courthouse.
But, Jackson added, after weeks of investigation, “what we’ve learned, and you can take this to the bank, is that pursuant to the laws of this state, pursuant to the law of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder. Print that.”
Jackson would not specify what he meant and took no questions at the brief news conference.
He spoke after a hearing where Nick Reiner was supposed to be arraigned and enter a plea to two charges of first-degree murder. Instead, after meeting with the Judge Theresa McGonigle in chambers, Jackson was replaced by a public defender and Reiner’s plea hearing was postponed to Feb. 23.
Jackson said that for legal and ethical reasons, he could not reveal why he had to leave the case. He first appeared in court representing Reiner at a hearing a few days after the beloved actor-director and his wife of 36 years were found dead with stab wounds in their home in the upscale Brentwood section of Los Angeles. Jackson did not say how he was hired — or who hired him. Generally, defendants use public defenders when they can't pay for a private attorney.
Jackson has become one of the most prominent defense attorneys in the nation in recent years after defending clients including Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and Karen Read at her intensely followed trials in Massachusetts.
After the judge granted Jackson's request to leave the case, Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene took over as Reiner’s attorney.
“The Public Defender’s Office recognizes what an unimaginable tragedy this is for the Reiner family and the Los Angeles community,” Deputy Public Defender Ricardo D. Garcia said in a rare public statement on a case from the office. “Our hearts go out to the Reiner family as they navigate this difficult time. We ask for your patience and compassion as the case moves through the legal process.”
During Wednesday's hearing, Reiner stood behind glass in a custody area of the courtroom wearing brown jail garb and with his hair shaved. Two deputies stood behind him. Jackson and his team stood in front of him on the other side of the glass. At one point, Reiner stood on his tiptoes to peer over the lawyers’ heads to look at the audience. He spoke only to agree to the delayed arraignment.
McGonigle approved the use of cameras inside the courtroom but said pictures could not be taken of the defendant. At Wednesday’s hearing, Reiner did not wear the suicide prevention smock he had on at his initial court appearance on Dec. 17.
Reiner, 32, the third of Rob Reiner's four children, has been held without bail since his arrest hours after his parents were found dead on Dec. 14.
A Reiner family spokesperson said in a statement after Wednesday's hearing that “They have the utmost trust in the legal process and will not comment further on matters related to the legal proceedings.”
Jackson, a former LA County prosecutor, had given no indication of the plans for his defense.
He said that just hours after Nick Reiner’s arrest, he and his team got a call about representing him. He did not say who called him.
“We dropped everything,” Jackson said. “For the last three weeks, we have devoted literally every waking hour to protecting Nick and his interests. We’ve investigated this matter top to bottom, back to front.”
He said they remain “deeply, deeply committed” to him and said, “We’re not just convinced; we know that the legal process will reveal the true facts.”
Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were killed early on the morning of Dec. 14, and they were found in the late afternoon, authorities said. The LA County Medical Examiner said in initial findings that they died from “multiple sharp force injuries,” but released no other details, and police have said nothing about possible motives.
Prosecutors have said they have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty for Nick Reiner.
Rob Reiner was a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable movies of the 1980s and ’90s. His credits included “This is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” “A Few Good Men,” and “When Harry Met Sally,” during whose production he met Michele Singer, a photographer, and married her soon after.
A decade ago, Nick Reiner publicly discussed his struggles with addiction and mental health after making a movie with his father, “Being Charlie,” that was very loosely based on their lives.
This story has been corrected to reflect that Nick Reiner is the third of Rob Reiner’s four children, not the youngest.
Judge Theresa R. McGonigle presides over the arraignment for Nick Reiner on murder charges for the deaths of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)
Alan Jackson, the attorney for Nick Reiner, speaks during Reiner's arraignment on murder charges for the deaths of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool)
Alan Jackson, the attorney for Nick Reiner, arrives in court for Reiner's arraignment on murder charges for the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Alan Jackson, the attorney for Nick Reiner, arrives in court for Reiner's arraignment on murder charges for the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Alan Jackson, the attorney for Nick Reiner, arrives in court for Reiner's arraignment on murder charges for the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
