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Homicide: Life On The Ocean

Daily Star

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October 07, 2025

CABIN PRESSURE HAS LED TO MANY BLOODY ENDINGS ON HIGH SEAS

KEIRA Knightley ★ stars in a new murdermystery movie hitting screens this week... The Woman In Cabin 10. The Netflix drama sees her play a journalist covering the maiden voyage of a luxury yacht who is sure she's seen a passenger being thrown overboard, despite everyone seemingly accounted for. ★ The film, available to stream from Friday, costars Guy Pearce and Hannah Waddingham. But there have been some real-life incidences of homicide on the high seas. Here JAMES MOORE take a voyage through five gripping cases...

BLUDGEONED WITH A BUCKET...

Captain William Kidd became a notorious pirate in the late 17th century.

As well as famously plundering treasure, the Scottish-born buccaneer had reputation for a violent temper.

On October 30, 1697, when Kidd refused crew member William Moore's plea to attack a Dutch ship in the Indian Ocean, he hit him over the head with an ironclad bucket, calling him a "lousy dog, below.

It fractured the gunner's skull, and he died the next day.

Kidd would later attack and capture the ship Quedagh Merchant.

It was laden with luxuries then worth an eye-watering £70,000.

But the buccaneer was soon captured in America and taken back to Britain, where he was found guilty of piracy and Moore's murder. The 56-year-old was hanged at Execution Dock in Wapping on May 23, 1701.

SKIPPER SLAYS SEVEN...

On February 8, 1828, a ship called The Mary Russell set sail from Ireland carrying mules to the Caribbean, with experienced skipper William Stewart in charge.

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