Kriti Mehrotra
With Netflix’s ‘Amy Bradley is Missing’ delving into how the titular 23-year-old disappeared without a trace during a family cruise in March 1998, we get a docuseries unlike any other. That’s because this original not only revisits the events leading up to the fateful incident and its aftermath, but also the way cruises are like cities in their own right and need better regulations. Amongst those to explicitly point this out was Jamie Barnett, who actually lost her young daughter, Ashley Barnett, on one such vessel while on a 3-day adventure to celebrate her 25th birthday.
Ashley Barnett Was Found Dead in Her Cabin
Born on October 21, 1980, in Southern California, to Jamie Barnett and her then-husband as one of their four loving children, Ashley Barnett grew up in the shadows of Hollywood Studios in Burbank. The truth is her mother was a behind-the-scenes professional at CBS Studios for most of her life, so her entire environment led her to develop a passion for the entertainment industry early on. In fact, this was to such an extent that she landed a job in the same lot on her own merit at the age of 20 before spreading her wings to become a production assistant and later a music coordinator.
Ashley’s entire family was unwaveringly supportive – be it her divorced yet cordial parents, her three brothers, her two half-brothers, or her two half-sisters. All of them stood by her side and encouraged her to pursue her dreams. They saw her innate spark, which shone brighter in their eyes owing to her sheer morality in terms of being anti-drugs or any other heavy substances. She even had an anti-drug rap song. That’s why it was a little surprising for some when she began dating Geoff Ginsburg in her early 20s, because while they had known each other since they were 9, he had openly struggled with drug addiction.
However, as per those close to her, Ashley looked past Geoff’s past and fell in love with the real him after he got clean. Thus, they lived their lives like any other couple for years. When she was about to turn 25, she decided to celebrate her birthday on a 3-day cruise to Mexico and back on Carnival Cruise Line’s Paradise alongside her partner as well as two other couples. It was on October 14, 2005, when all six of them boarded the ship in Long Beach, and less than 24 hours later, the 24-year-old was found unresponsive in her cabin. She was formally pronounced dead by the ship’s doctor at 2:45 pm, and her autopsy reports later ascertained her cause of death as a methadone overdose.
Ashley Barnett Died Under Mysterious Circumstances
According to records, it was around 2 pm on October 15, 2005, when Geoff realized something was terribly wrong with Ashley and began raising the alarms, following which he even dialed 911. Within a few minutes, a nurse had arrived at their personal cabin and was attempting to resuscitate the young woman, only for an emergency announcement for the ship’s doctor to be made at 2:10 pm. Unfortunately, although the doctor did arrive mere moments later to take over, even going as far as to use defibrillators starting at 2:31 pm, it was already too late – Ashley could not be revived.
It was not long after that the ship docked in Ensenada, Mexico, enabling the Mexican authorities to begin investigating the matter, while the FBI was also informed of the tragic incident. That same evening, Ashley was left behind in a local morgue all alone while every single one of her companions set sail back to California, but it turns out they had no other choice – the officials wanted them to return. This is when it also came to light that Geoff had actually relapsed and snuck Vicodin as well as Methadone on board, the latter of which he was using to self-withdraw after hearing it helps.
As per Geoff’s own statements, he and Ashley had had a great time at the ship’s casino and a concert the previous evening before returning to their cabin, where they had an argument. He claimed that while his girlfriend subsequently retired for the evening, he decided to return to the casino, and he came back at around 4 am to see her still allegedly peacefully sleeping. He then asserted that when he awoke in the early afternoon after a night of cuddling the aspiring actress, he went upstairs to join their friends alone under the belief she was quite tired. “My baby doll’s still snoring,” he reportedly told friends. “Let’s let her sleep a little bit longer, and we’ll wake her up in a little bit.” Yet, when he did try doing so at 2 pm, she was unresponsive.
There Have Been Several Theories Behind Ashley Barnett’s Death
Geoff was extensively questioned by agents since he was likely one of the last people to see Ashley alive, and he maintained he had no hand in her demise while giving unchanging statements. However, he almost immediately mentioned that five of his Vicodin and some of his Methadone pills were missing, which he had snuck onboard in bottles of over-the-counter cold medicine. It turns out he had mentioned these missing drugs to the ship’s nurse and doctor while they were still working on Ashley that afternoon, but to no avail – they did not administer anti-overdose medication.
Geoff was ultimately relieved from questioning, yet the cloud of suspicion has remained over his head, especially as he reportedly did not contact his late girlfriend’s family until a day later. They had been informed of the incident around 6 pm on the fateful day itself by the authorities, but they didn’t hear from Ashley’s partner until much later, which bothered them. As per the boyfriend, the 24-year-old knew of his relapse as well as him sneaking pills on board, so while he has to live with what happened, he does not “feel responsible for” it. In other words, Geoff has faced his fair share of ups and downs when it comes to this tragic incident, not only because of the drugs but also because no part of his timeline could ever be corroborated. After all, on this particular weekend, the key lock of the cabin he shared with Ashley malfunctioned, which means that no key card entry — to step inside, alongside a timestamp — was ever recorded.
It’s imperative to note that it was weeks after the fateful day that Ashley’s official autopsy and the independent one her family paid for actually confirmed that she had died of a methadone overdose. This is when the topic of a possible suicide was raised, but her family has vehemently maintained that she would never knowingly take her own life since she was happy and had a lot to look forward to. Then, to validate that she was so anti-drug, she never would have consumed the pills herself, they even ordered a test of Ashley’s hair, which did clarify she was not a habitual user at all. However, doubt remained in the air because it came to light that the 24-year-old had had an abortion three weeks before the cruise and was “quite depressed at times” because of the same. It was also noted that she was apparently not feeling too well in the days leading up to them boarding, so she could have possibly taken the pills from the bottle by accident, thinking it was real cold medicine.
But alas, with Ashley’s anti-drug beliefs, Geoff’s assertion that she knew of the drugs being in the medicine bottles, his claims of innocence, and no other clear leads, the young woman’s death sadly remains a mystery. The only possible silver lining to all this is that Ashley’s mother has since evolved into a Cruise Safety Advocate in the hopes that one day, no one else will have to go through what she did. In fact, her hard work has led to the Cruise Vessel Safety and Security Act. We should mention Jamie Barnett has since also received a settlement from Carnival Cruise Lines after suing them for negligence and violation of the Death on the High Seas Act for not having the proper medical equipment on board and failing to administer the anti-drug medication.
Read More: Jamie Barnett: Where is the Cruise Safety Advocate Now?
