February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The plea bargain surrounding that guilty plea, however, has left some courtroom observers questioning the apparent leniency of the sentence that may be imposed on the boat’s negligent crew members, 65-year-old Joseph Shore and his 39-year-old son, Cord Shore.
In his press release of June 10, U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan stated that the Shores had admitted to “negligently causing the drowning death of Catherine Kinsella” and could “each face up to 10 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.”
Missing from the release was information that a plea agreement had been reached days earlier that, in effect, may allow the guilty crew members to avoid any jail time.
Under the deal, the U.S. Attorney’s office is recommending a sentence of up to 6 months for both Shores. Court documents reveal that prosecutors agreed to the plea agreement “based on each Defendant’s prompt acceptance of personal responsibility for the offenses . . . and information known to the U.S. Attorney at this time.”
Kinsella had come to Cape Cod for the summer of 2001 from her home in Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow. She joined a group of Irish friends for a Sunday evening cruise in Hyannis Harbor in July. She fell from the deck of the boat and drowned.
Prosecutors concluded that the pilot of the boat, Cord Shore, operated the boat in a negligent manner and failed to notify the Coast Guard about the drowning victim for about 50 minutes. Passengers were prepared to testify that the Shores were more concerned about unloading evidence of underage drinking than they were about rescuing Kinsella. In addition, testimony had been provided to prosecutors that crew members had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana during the cruise. In April 2002, a Town of Barnstable hearing officer upheld the revocation of the boat owner’s use of the boat slip after concluding: “It can be reasonably inferred that had the pilot of the boat [Cord Shore] not used drugs and consumed alcohol, his responses and the time of response might have been different, and the drowning might not have occurred.” The hearing officer, James Lampke, concluded that the conduct of the Shores on the night of the drowning was “reprehensible.”
A Cape Cod resident testified at that hearing that he smoked marijuana with Cord Shore during the cruise. David Crosbie testified that he could hear the screams of Kinsella in the pitch-black waters for about a half hour as the crew scurried about in confusion. He said that Cord Shore belatedly and only reluctantly called the Coast Guard because a female passenger was crying and screaming at him to do so. Soon thereafter, Kinsella’s cries for help could no longer be heard.
Crosbie also testified that Cord Shore was upset to learn that some of the passengers, particularly the young Irish, were pointing fingers at him during the police interrogations. He said that Shore described the developing criminal probe as “a fight between the Irish and America.”
The elder Shore was also sharply criticized in Lampke’s report for serving alcohol to minors despite the fact that the state’s Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission had recently refused to grant him a liquor license. More than 30 of the 56 passengers were under the legal drinking age of 21.
Kinsella, who was 20, had recently completed her first year of college in Dun Laoghaire, where she was training to become an elementary school teacher.
Federal prosecutors were expected to call about 20 witnesses, many of whom were the Irish passengers. The U.S. Attorney’s office is not commenting on its rationale in reaching the plea agreement.
Christina D’Orio-Sterling , a spokesperson for that office, told the Echo Monday that the Kinsella family has been in communication with the federal prosecution team during the pre-trial process. She said that family members have a right to attend the Sept. 9 sentencing hearing before Judge Rya Zobel, but she is not sure if they will be present. She also said they can express their sentencing views to the judge in writing.
Judge Zobel is not bound by the plea agreement, and may issue a much stiffer sentence.
Attempts by the Echo to contact the Kinsellas in Baltinglass were unsuccessful, with a party at the residence saying on Monday that the parents are not talking to reporters about the case.
Lt. David Cameron of the Barnstable police, who interviewed some of the passengers right after the drowning, said Monday that evidence will be presented at the sentencing hearing that will suggest that crew members, who had tested negative for drugs in the aftermath of the incident, had taken measures to conceal the marijuana in their systems during the drug testing.
Barnstable Town Counsel Robert Smith, who has been following the case since Kinsella’s lifeless body was pulled from the harbor, said that he is withholding comment on the sentencing until Judge Zobel makes her decision. “Six months in jail is one thing, but no jail time at all for criminal negligence like this is something different altogether,” he said. “Let’s see what happens.”