A New York City lawyer and his spouse, both of whom tragically lost their lives in the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian last month off the coast of Sicily, have been identified by coroners as drowning victims. Autopsies confirmed the cause of death for Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, while further autopsies are scheduled for other victims including Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy.

The superyacht, carrying 22 individuals—12 passengers and 10 crew members—capsized and sank just minutes after being struck by a violent storm on August 19. Civil protection officials suspect the vessel may have been hit by a waterspout, which is a tornado over water, in the vicinity of Porticello, where the yacht was anchored at the time.

Pending autopsies are set to take place for several others involved in the tragedy, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who organized the trip to commemorate a legal victory, alongside his daughter Hannah and the yacht's cook Recaldo Thomas. Morvillo was one of the U.S. attorneys representing Lynch in a significant fraud case related to the controversial sale of the search engine company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard.

Authorities are reportedly looking into the captain and two crew members for potential negligence concerning the yacht's sinking. During the incident, 15 individuals, including Lynch's wife, were rescued from the 184-foot luxury yacht.

The CEO of the company that built the yacht has attributed the sinking to "indescribable, unreasonable errors" by the crew, highlighting their failure to prepare adequately for the storm, despite it being included in shipping forecasts. The CEO criticized the crew's significant oversight in not alerting the passengers and executing safety measures in response to the impending weather threat.