NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Student 'had sex with man moments before she vanished' onboard cruise ship

By Dave Burke for mail online
Daily Mail·
25 Jun, 2017 12:46 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

New information has emerged in the case of missing student Rebecca Coriam.

New information has emerged in the case of missing student Rebecca Coriam.

A British student who vanished from the Disney cruise ship she was working on six years ago had sex with a man in front of her lesbian lover moments before she disappeared, it has emerged.

Rebecca Coriam's parents believe she was raped and thrown overboard in 2011, and have hired a private investigator, report the Daily Mail.

Now case notes written by a police chief in the Bahamas reveals claims that the 24-year-old was caught up in a love triangle before she went missing.

She was reported as missing from the Disney Wonder vessel in March 2011 as it sailed near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Rebecca's family believe she did not consent to having sex with the male crew member, and was killed because she did not agree to a bisexual relationship with the man and the woman.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Disney claim the Liverpool student was swept overboard by a freak wave.

Notes made by Superintendent Paul Rolle, seen by the Liverpool Echo, suggested Rebecca had been involved in a threesome before her death.

The notes state: "(American woman in relationship with Rebecca) left to get more beer.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Came back and Rebecca and (male crew member who was in a relationship with the American woman) chatting.

"She came back and all 3 went to (male crew member's) room. (Male crew member) had sex with both. (American woman) left the room again to get beer. Came back and Rebecca and (male crew member) had sex."

The investigator also said the male had a "very nonchalant attitude" and was "laughing and joking" - to the point he was given a warning.

No stormy seas were recorded to support Disney's wave theory, and the Royal Bahamas Police probe has been condemned as 'appalling' by influential MPs.

Discover more

World

Escapees live it up 1100km away

22 Jun 07:51 PM
New Zealand|crime

Marriage scam fraudster fined $10k

22 Jun 11:16 PM
Technology

The feature Facebook didn't want to use

23 Jun 09:16 AM
World

How to punch a shark and other tips

25 Jun 02:50 AM

Mike and Ann Coriam, from Chester, along with maritime expert and family spokesman Bill Anderson, strongly suspect Rebecca was murdered following a sex attack.

They are convinced their daughter, who was working on the ship as a childminder, was victim of a sexual assault in the hours leading up to her disappearance.

Names of the potential suspects, one man and one woman, are known to private investigators.

Two of the Liverpool student's best friends visited the Coriam parents after she went missing, and said their friend had voiced fears of being raped or sexually attacked while on the ship.

Maritime expert Bill Anderson said: "What her best friends said to the Coriams sent a shiver down their spines.

"They told Mike and Ann and they then told the police. We are asking the UK government for an inquiry into Rebecca's disappearance, but also a probe into what the police in the Bahamas never did."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Another theory of suicide fails to fit, the Coriams believe, because the cruise ship worker had recently bought tickets for her parents to visit Disneyland Paris.

The family have the support of many senior politicians including ex-deputy Labour leader John Prescott who has previously alleged Rebecca was "thrown overboard".

Those tickets were found on a table in her cabin when her disappearance first emerged, and was a sign of a young woman looking forward to the future.

The Coriams, Mr Anderson, and Roy Ramm - the former Commander of Specialist Operations at Scotland Yard, and the family's private detective - recently visited policing minister Brandon Lewis at his Home Office HQ in London.

The family left the meeting optimistic, after being assured that the Tory politician would examine a dossier of new evidence about the case, handed to him by the Coriam campaigners.

After nine months, the investigating Bahamas police department declared the 24-year-old's disappearance as "not suspicious".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Disney insist Rebecca, who studied childhood studies, psychology and philosophy at Liverpool Hope University, was swept overboard.

But Rebecca's family think she was probably killed, and in November private investigators disclosed their belief that 'criminal activity' was behind her vanishing.

Chester MP Chris Matheson, who is coordinating the investigation, believes there is a real possibility that Rebecca was murdered.

And that train of events is supported by the allegations of rape or sexual assault, campaigners added.

In 2015 Mr Matheson said: "I believe there's sufficient evidence to indicate a crime may well have taken place.

"Whatever the circumstance, there's an obligation to investigate. My worst fear is Rebecca Coriam was murdered."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

- Daily Mail

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

Premium
World

How Trump won: Higher turnout would not have helped Harris

27 Jun 05:40 AM
World

'Worst climate conditions in 60 years': Syria's wheat supply in peril

27 Jun 05:32 AM
Premium
World

The lethal risk of seeking food in Gaza

27 Jun 04:30 AM

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Premium
How Trump won: Higher turnout would not have helped Harris

How Trump won: Higher turnout would not have helped Harris

27 Jun 05:40 AM

A Pew Centre US election study outlines how Trump gained an advantage across the board.

'Worst climate conditions in 60 years': Syria's wheat supply in peril

'Worst climate conditions in 60 years': Syria's wheat supply in peril

27 Jun 05:32 AM
Premium
The lethal risk of seeking food in Gaza

The lethal risk of seeking food in Gaza

27 Jun 04:30 AM
Premium
How a 'wind phone' in the desert helps people connect with lost loved ones

How a 'wind phone' in the desert helps people connect with lost loved ones

27 Jun 03:44 AM
Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style
sponsored

Engage and explore one of the most remote places on Earth in comfort and style

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP