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An Italian yacht owner and his captain have been cleared of killing the wife of a millionaire London investment banker following a horrific holiday accident.
Alexandra Ciardi, 48, suffered fatal head injuries after being struck by the propeller of the boat which was taking a journalist to interview Formula One ty**** Flavio Briatore on his super-yacht.
The accident happened in front of Mrs Ciardi's Italian husband Giuseppe, 52, and the couple's three children, Olivia, Francesca and Frederico at the resort of Porto Cervo in Sardinia in August 2005.
Yacht owner Giovanni Mahler and Turkish skipper Suleiman Salvtak had been charged with negligence leading to manslaughter but Judge Riccardo De Vito cleared both men at the hearing in Olbia.
Judge De Vito said: "This was an extraordinary event, unpredictable and unavoidable."
The court had heard how Mrs Ciardi - herself a successful City fund manager - had just dived into the sea from a smaller boat and was swimming towards her family on board a British-registered yacht called Magalus III.
As she headed towards it she was hit by the 15ft open-topped speedboat - which had just left the Cala di Volpe hotel - with Mr Mahler, Mr Salvtak and an Italian journalist.
A passing motorboat picked her up and took her to shore where paramedics fought to save her life. Among the first to try to help was Briatore, who had witnessed the accident from his yacht. A helicopter was called but before it landed Mrs Ciardi was declared dead. Mrs Ciardi, an American citizen living in London, worked for GLG Partners LP in London. She was also vice-chairman of the NSPCC's Full Stop campaign against child abuse.
She had been married to her husband for 22 years and the family lived in Chelsea. At the time of her death, Mr Ciardi, the founder and executive director of Park Place Capital, a hedge fund management company, paid tribute to a "wonderful and devoted mother" who was deeply committed to working for children's charities.
In a statement, he said: "[We are] immensely saddened and grief-stricken after the tragic events. Alex was a loving wife, an extraordinarily generous friend to many and deeply committed to children's charities. She brought sunshine into our lives and will live in our hearts forever."
Mr Ciardi is also a major investor in restaurants group Signature, which sold assets including The Ivy for £30million.
Porto Cervo is a popular venue for the rich and famous - Tony Blair stayed there at the villa of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Mr Lewis will be mad he missed this one
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