I've been wiffle waffling my opinion of what happened since last night. So far today's news hasn't changed that stance. If they have video tape of hubby off elsewhere when she went overboard then it's a no brainer. If not, it'll turn out to be another George Smith disappearance with no one really knowing what happened...but lots of lingering suspicions.

The family's letter is contradictory and suspect. Why would they surmise it to be a suicide, when Jennifer had not shown any signs of emotional distress during the trip? And why would then even have a need to explain how the death happened, and so soon? I would think that a normal family response would be for them to to want to hunt down every possibility of foul play. This could be classic perpetrator–codependent victim behavior: it is plausible that the husband pushed the victim overboard (probably without the mother’s knowledge), and then back home today bullied the mother into agreeing to such a statement (they do live in the same house, and he has a record of domestic violence with the family). What better way for the FBI and public attention to go away than to lie and explain it away as a suicide? I hope the FBI is getting to know this guy, his relations and his background very well.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with all the conspiracy theorists. How sad that a suicide needs to become a media circus. We've seen a rash of them in my small town in recent weeks, for all sorts of reasons. 'Tis the season, after all.

The only reason i can see her doing herself in is if the hubby were having sex with someone on the ship and she found out about it, hence his behavior. Otherwise she never planned on doing herself in, she was going to NY for new years eve..and had already packed. Now where was the mom on the trip and why did he wait 8 hours and not report her missing, and mom also. Sounds weird for sure! They were only married a year, and they were in their late 30s or so, so again, she made it all that long and did not do herself in, unless she was broke from investments, was loosing everything,or he was cheating, i dont get any connection to suicide she would have had for any reason.

This case is remarkably similar to the case of Elizabeth Galeana. http://safecruise.blogspot.com/2006/08/cover-up-alleged-in-threatening-emails.html
http://www.cruisebruise.com/Elizabeth_Galeana.html
She was from a prominent family in Detroit. Her uncle planned the big auto show. As car dealers they spent a lot of advertising dollars and thus the detroit TV and print media failed to ask questions or investigate. Another unsolved death. The problem is we need independent law enforcement on each ship. http://www.projectsafecruise.blogspot.com/ I think a member of the crew is probably responsible for some foul play. They work under sweat shop conditions and are way underpaid. There have been many uder reported robberies and rapes. http://www.cruiserape.com/links.php
I would not travel anywhere that only had private security guards for enforcement. If anyone would like a copy I have proof that a major US newspaper stopped a story on cruise deaths since the editor was afraid of losing ad revenues. The cruise industry use their ad money as leverage and they spend more money on lobbying in DC than Walmart.

I totally agree with Kylie. People say WE are the ones jumping to conclusions, yet the family has already issued a statement that they think it may have been suicide? Unless they have a handwritten suicide note in Jennifer's provable handrwriting, it seems implausible that they would make such a statement.
The thought had also occurred to me that Mr. Wonderful, the husband, may be intimidating the mother perhaps through some kind of blackmail into making the suicide statements. She may be afraid of meeting the same fate.

Jennifer's brother gave an interview on GMA this morning, indicating she was bipolar. Some interesting comments in this article. Sorry about the long link. http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Travel/story?id=6547401&page=1

People commit suicide every day and the families/friends left behind are bewildered by it. A lot of folks are saying suicide seems unlikely, because Jennifer was "upbeat" and "happy" before the cruise and on the cruise. This means NOTHING. It is very common for persons who commit suicide to have a period of happiness just before they do the deed. Maybe it is because they have made up their minds and they know their "suffering" is to end soon. We don't know - we'll never know. I believe we cannot chalk Jennifer's situation up to foul play, especially in light of what her own family says. So Jennifer didn't get onto the boat weeping and crying "woe is me, I'm going to off myself". This is still most likely a suicide by a very desperate, emotionally unstable woman who was able to hide that unstability from many people in her life. But her family knew......

Her family commented on all the nice things happening in her life and that she had been happy lately, and yet THEY are the ones saying she committed suicide? I would be interested to see if anyone had an insurance policy on her, particularly her MOTHER and woman beating Hubby. I dont get why anyone would get close to a rail on a cruise ship anyway... too scary for me. My condolences to the ones who loved her, cuz i dont think her mother or hubby did.

Whoa!!
It was NOT a white-clad woman filmed going overboard.
It was an infra-red camera where all images of heat appear as white against a dark background. It merely shows her falling through the camera's field of view, it neither shows the start of her fall or any splash into the sea.

Are we jumping to conclusions? Yes. Is that bad? Not always. Look at the very much intended conclusion of the wife having been the victim of the domestic violence incident. It was at their home, but the report does not reveal her to be the victim. We are clearly being driven to a certain conclusion. Is it then appropriate to say 'don't jump to conclusions' regarding the cruise?

Bipolar perhaps. Prior suicide ideation seems lacking. There seems to have been post-new year plans that were made. The resume indicates a wide range of hobbies and interests. She was not a morose person who sits around all day contemplating suicide. Is it possible? Sure. Want to place your bets? Surely you don't expect to get good odds betting on suicide?

I read her diaries and she was so happy to be a size 10. She had plastic surgery (very painful). Hard to believe she went through all this, seemed to have found happiness, then offs herself?

I am feeling more sorry for this woman by the hour. Now, not only the mother is calling it suicide, so is the brother, the brother also referring to her husband as "devoted". Devoted to what???!!! What kind of "family" is this? Do they have a handwritten suicide note in Jennifer's own writing? If not why would they immediately start calling it a suicide?
It is getting really old that people keep using the term bipolar as a coat rack to hang everything on including suicide. Bipolar does not equal suicide!!
I hope they interview the former husband, he may have some answers. I would be interested to know what caused their divorce.

People have mentioned the chair pushed up against the balcony, that it may indicate that Jennifer pushed it there in order to purposefully go over the balcony. However, it looks to me (in the pics on the Bound and Bitten blog) more like someone put the chair there to give that impression. The arms of the chair are somewhat high, and would definitely make it more awkward to step from the balcony onto the chair. If I were going to use that chair for a step stool, I would have been more likely to have turned it so that the back of the chair was up against the balcony, or up against the wall that divided the balcony next door. Either way I wouldn't have to step over the arms of the chair, and it would be more sturdy. Just a little thing, but it definitely stood out to me.

A similar thing happened to an acquaintance of mine around 15 years ago. He was on a honeymoon cruise with his new wife when they both went to bed extremely drunk. He woke up after a very short nap and went for a walk around the ship. While relieving himself over the side he fell off the ship, he said he watched the ships lights speeding away while thinking "I'm dead".
His wife woke hours later and upon finding her husband gone she reported it to staff. After searching the ship, the Captain alerted authorities and then turned the ship back to search.
He was found 8 HOURS LATER. Apparently the ocean was freezing but the doctors think he survived due to the large amount of alcohol in his blood.
I'd say this woman has jumped or just fallen over the side. I'm sure that if my mate wasn't found people would be asking the same questions about his wife. I think losing your partner and then being implicated in their disappearance would be horrifying. I feel very sorry for the husband at the moment.

More posts, more posts Steve. How dare you have a life while I'm hungry for crime stories. Love it!

Hope you had a merry Chritmas and have a wicked New Year.

Tam is exactly right - a sign of suicide is when a depressed person suddenly acts happy.

Native Texan said: It is getting really old that people keep using the term bipolar as a coat rack to hang everything on including suicide. Bipolar does not equal suicide!!
******
I so aggree with you. And having Bipolar does not mean someone ran off when they turn up missing. This is a big pet peeve of mine. People with mental illness become crime victims like the rest of us do. In fact, having a mental illness makes one more likely to become a victim of a crime.

I feel so sad for Jennifer. What bothers me is that her husband said something about his luck changing and going to a casino with a bag of quarters. I don't know if that is hearsay but something is just off about this whole thing.

For the family to posit a possible suicide scenario suggests to me that she might have had a previous history of failed attempts when she was (much) younger. Who knows what could serve as a trigger? For all we know she was starting to gain weight again. Those lap-band surgeries, just like gastric by-passes, don't kept the weight off forever, and the severe physical/biological changes they bring can be emotionally debilitating as well.

Well, clearly, more info is needed before any conclusions are made. Suicide is almost always a surprise. Oftentimes it's impulsive -- if the "not quite Newlywed Show" was humiliating, and her husband was rude to her, and she was feeling bad because she was watching her weight/gaining weight... and had a history of depression, she might have impulsively jumped.

But I certainly hope there's a good investigation. Her husband is a mystery figure here, and I'd like to know more.

If there's any truth that the couple admitted to having sex on cruise ship balconies during the not so newlywed game then that is surely something to scrutinize further. If a couple liked that sort of risqué behavior on cruise ships, surely they wouldn't miss out on the opportunity to do it on their anniversary.

As for the family issuing a statement calling it suicide. I have only two theories on that. 1) The have conclusive evidence she jumped - video, note, etc. 2) Most insurance policies will not pay out on suicide and they're trying to smoke out the husband.

I have left my name anonymous because i do not want to get involved with the situation at all and not accusing anyone of anything just saying my opinion and what i had seen, what i dont understand is the news says there was an infrared camera on the outter decks looking at the ship so why cant they see if there was a second person involved, her cimbing over the rail or her falling over the rail. I only say this cause if she was put over the edge, a second body would appear, if she jumped over then it would show her climbing up and having a stiff body jumping into the water and if she fell then it would show her falling in an odd manner into the water by herself and no one has ruled out any of these factors yet which is very wierd in my opinion. also whats doesnt make sense is that most suicides are indiviual things and people dont often do it in public and do it in a selfish act where they want to be found. I had personally saw these two in Senor Frogs (Cozumel) just 4 and a half hours before Jennifers disappearence and had talked to Raymond where he had immited to me that he was drunk and really needed to get back on the boat that day. Also i saw him and his wife in a arguement as i was leaving the bar(i was with my 2 brothers and 1 other man). This was not my first incounter/talking with Raymond.

I've been to Senor Frogs and Carlos and Charlie's in Cozumel, and man, those are definitely not places you should go if you've had too much to drink. They have all these "drinking games" where they practically force tequila down you. They are quite popular with the college crowd.
I think we can pretty much safely say these two had a troubled marriage. The alcohol sure doesn't help. I will say this once and for all, if in fact Jennifer did go over that balconey she was helped along. And I don't even mean physically. Classic abuser behavior is to "taunt" the significant other with flirtations with other women, making her the butt of jokes, then calling her crazy or hinting at it when she tries to fight back. This is a woman who clearly already had some issues. The husband's callous behavior about the quarters and the casino after she went missing is indicative of how he behaved during the marriage---with callous disgregard of his wife's feelings. I know I have harped on this way too much but so many women get into these types of relationships completely unaware of what is about to happen. The God's honest truth is, I had to go on the internet and put in the words "signs of an abusive relationship" in order to even find out what was happening to me, and I was in my 40's! There were 10. 8 of them fit. I began to look at it in a whole new light then.
These men keep upping the ante until things start getting physical and then out of control. Many women don't leave because of financial need or codependency. If there are children involved it is even harder.

The 911 tape of Raymond's assault on Jennifer was just released: http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2008/12/31/missing_cruise_passengers_911_call_from_april_released.html

On the tape, Jennifer says that when she was going to bed on that April evening, a drunken Raymond came up to her and headbutted her. He then broke her phone on the ground when she said she was going to call the police, and when she persisted, he told her that she was going to regret it. On the phone with dispatcher, Jennifer cowers and says don't send any help. She also says she doesn't want him to leave, as he is "mental" and too drunk to drive.

Is there still a question that he is a perpetrator and that she was an abused spouse? This had to have been a regular pattern. The sad part is, I bet the 911 tape will not be admissable evidence since she dropped the charges, as such victims often do (thinking that they caused the problem).

I bet even more money that it comes out in the investigation that he had been drinking heavily that night, and that he had her alone in the room to himself before 8 pm. Perhaps again he quickly snapped as she was again retiring to bed (remember the bathrobe). He likely acted out violently and attacked her, and finding that he went too far when she went unconscious, dumped her body over the balcony and set up the scene to look like a suicide.

Damn I hope the FBI and cruise ship security got all the evidence that was in that room the next morning.

Notice too how on the tape with the dispatcher, Raymond is completely calm and in control of the situation--moments after attacking her--which sounds exactly like how he acted on the boat in the days after her disappearance.

In the weeks for the investigation to come a conclusion, Raymond should be under 24 hour watch!

Thanks for that Kylie. Didn't someone mention that this woman's mother lived in the same house with them?? Then she goes on the cruise with them also. You cannot tell me she doesn't suspect this guy. He probably did a number on good ole mom too, telling her how troubled her daughter is. It is also classic abuser behavior to enlist friends,neighbors, coworkers and family members in their effort to paint themselves as an innocent victim of their out of control spouse (OJ??!! Drew Peterson??!!) when we know just the opposite is true.
I remember when cops used to consider this a "private family matter" and wouldn't get involved. It's just that the body count got too high for them to ignore it anymore.

I find it sad everyone here is so convinced right away that foul play must have occurred. I hate to say it, but you lot are immediately looking to blame the "abusive husband". Sure sounds like stereotyping to me.

Now the Mom is in it too? The family couldn't possibly know Jennifer better then what we can figure from the little info we sleuth?

We all like crime drama, hence we read these blogs and forums. But do give the family the benefit of the doubt, there is so far nothing indicating that the husband was somehow the perpetrator, prior 911 calls withstanding. Authorities seem to agree with that interpretation too.

The family's denial reminds me of the Lacy Peterson case... remember when her family at first defended Scott in the media?! http://www.courttv.com/news/2003/0103/missing_ap.html

Sorry Curious, but the body count is just getting too high. Now a woman fell 11 stories to her death off a hotel balcony in Orlando. It happened at about midnight several nights ago. She was staying there with her boyfriend. I am not accusing a soul on this one.
About 7 years ago, this happened to a Houston woman while on a convention in Los Angeles. A co-worker said they were having sex on the balconey and it was an accident. The police never bought the story as the woman had never had a relationship with this man. As it turns out, she rejected his advances, and he threw her off in anger. He was tried, convicted, and is now serving a life sentence.
It's not suspicion or noseyness that makes us come to these conclusions, it is precedent.

Well of course. I still feel those hypothesis are way off the mark in this case.

Just my opinion.

Why are all my comments deleted. lol

NOTE FROM STEVE: They aren't. I've approved and published every one of them.

Okay thanks Steve, just wondering why I dont see them.

NOTE FROM STEVE: I checked. You've been commenting on two different posts about the same subject, but probably didn't realize it. People do that on a fairly regular basis. Click the name "Jennifer Seitz" that appears in blue and underlined at the bottom of any blog post about this and you'll get a list of all the entries about Ms. Seitz's disappearance.

my opinion is she is not alone wherever she is. she must be live bait for those tweeked out homeboys on the "south train" (General Good) . COney CAldo is the writer.