48 Hours - Dark Voyage

In 2005, aspiring actress Ashley Barnett took a cruise vacation with friends and her boyfriend to celebrate her upcoming 25th birthday. By the time the ship returned to its home port, Ashley was dead, and the questions of what happened were only multiplying. “48 Hours" Correspondent Bill Lagattuta reports. This classic "48 Hours" episode last aired on 6/9/2007. Watch all-new episodes of “48 Hours” on Saturdays, and stream on demand on Paramount+.

Duration: 41m
Broadcast on: 20 Nov 2025
Audio Format: other

[MUSIC] She was just one of these kinds of people that literally, the minute she walked into the room, she filled the room up. You know what was wonderful about her was that she was refreshingly unaware of how pretty she was.

She was a gorgeous, gorgeous young woman. My name is Jamie Barnett. I'm the mother of Ashley Barnett. She wanted to be an actress. She didn't want to just make a living being an actress. She wanted to be a very successful actress. She wanted to be on that red carpet one time. That girl had talent, and she had the looks, she had the personality. My name is Ally Twist, and I'm Ashley's best friend. She had the professionalism, she had all of it. She was a good little package.

Probably one of the reasons anyone likes to go on a cruise is because there's nothing that enters our minds that could harm us. The story is about the All-American girl, 24 years old, beautiful, smart, who goes on a pleasure cruise to celebrate a birthday. There's our boat right there.

She loved to lay out and swim, and she would be with him. I told her let's get away, you know, it'll be nice, you know, and we'll have a good time. She goes our cruise, and 24 hours after getting on this boat, she's gone. I thought it was a cruel, cruel joke. What do you mean my daughter passed away? We still don't have clear answers of how Ashley died. My name is John Debney. I am a film composer here in Hollywood, California. I sit here today as part of Ashley's Army. We are here today to demand answers into the mysterious death of Ashley Barnett. On October 15, 2005, Ashley's boyfriend ran into the hallway, screaming for help. And I yelled down the hall, "Help, help, my girlfriend's not breathing." The first thing that came out of my mouth, it was, "Well, what did he do to her?" Honestly, like, accident, like, I don't know. It was the worst day of my life. It was the worst day of my life. Does he know what happened? Does he not know what happened? Was he involved in what happened? You believe he knows. What happened? I believe he knows. We all think that you're so safe on a cruise ship.

But we're not. On October 14, 2005, Ashley sailed out of Los Angeles to celebrate her upcoming 25th birthday. And one day, into that cruise, she was dead.

What happened? I'm her mother. I need to know. I can't go through the rest of my life, not knowing. I have to know. Jamie Barnett has made a promise to herself and to her daughter. Wherever that truth is, we're going to find it. One way or another, you're going to find out how and why your daughter died. Yes, I am. Jamie knows this much is true. Her daughter sailed off with her boyfriend, Jeff Ginsburg. She was very alive. I left that room. But Jeff came back alone. After he left the room, we just don't know what happened in that cabin. That's the mystery. That's it, right there.

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