‘I will forever be here for your widow and daughter’, Mike Lynch’s bodyguard vows

Mike Lynch and wife Angela
Mike Lynch and wife Angela. His bodyguard has pledged to look after the tycoon's surviving family - Dominic O'Neill

Mike Lynch’s bodyguard who was required to make sure he did not abscond while facing fraud charges in the US has vowed to “look after” his family in a tribute.

Rolo Igno also described “the memory of a beautiful soul” in 18-year-old Hannah Lynch after they died when her father’s superyacht sank off Sicily early on Monday.

The tech tycoon, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its $11 billion (£8.64 billion) sale to Hewlett Packard after a trial at a federal court in San Francisco.

Mr Igno said he had the “privilege” of spending “almost every waking moment” with Mr Lynch while he was in custody in San Francisco, having been the court-appointed guard, describing the detail as unlike any other he had ever worked and one that was “life-changing”.

In a tribute to the pair, he vowed to look after Angela Bacares, 57, who survived the sinking, and Mr Lynch’s remaining daughter Esme.

Mike Lynch and daughter Hannah
Mike Lynch and daughter Hannah. She had a 'beautiful soul', said the tycoon's former bodyguard

He said: “As an executive protection agent, the number one rule is simple, don’t ever get close to the principal.

“They aren’t your friends, they’re a client and the relationship is strictly professional. But with Mike, that didn’t fly with him and for me that rule quickly dissolved.

“Mike, I will forever cherish our short time together. My family will miss your masterful storytelling, and we will forever regret not seeing you do the robot dance that night, we were so close.

“Hannah, my family and I will miss your beautiful smile, your loving soul, and your calming presence. My daughter Emma will never forget the time you two shared.”

‘Take care of your daddy up there’

He added: “I don’t know what everyone’s beliefs are, but I believe that Mike and Hannah woke up in a far better place.

“Till we see each other again. Hannah, take care of your daddy up there for me. Down here, I’ve got your mum and sister.”

Prosecutors are investigating whether the captain and crew of Mr Lynch’s superyacht failed to alert passengers that the vessel was sinking when it was hit by a violent storm.

A manslaughter investigation was announced on Saturday amid questions about how six passengers died in the disaster, while all but one of the crew survived.

The Bayesian superyacht
The Bayesian superyacht. Prosecutors are investigating whether the crew failed to alert passengers that the vessel was sinking - Perini Navi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Investigators in Italy will scrutinise whether the Bayesian crew did enough to alert passengers who were sleeping in cabins below deck when a storm hit the yacht in the early hours.

They said that five of the victims were found together in a cabin on the port side of the ship, closest to the surface, suggesting that they may have been searching for the last pockets of air as the yacht started to submerge.

Recounting the time he first escorted Mr Lynch and his daughters to lunch, Mr Igno said: “I opened the door for them and told Mike, ‘If you need anything at all sir, I’ll be right at this table by the entrance’.

“He chuckled and in his confident way, Mike replied, ‘No, no, no, you’ll be sitting with us’.

“When I hesitated, not wanting to disrupt their family time, he insisted, saying, ‘Rolo, do you want me to tell my beautiful daughters that the tough and handsome security guy, who was a former marine, didn’t want to sit with us because he was intimidated by them?’ How could I possibly say no to that?

“So, I joined them, sitting at the far end of the table, feeling out of my element but gradually realising how genuine and loving they all were.”

Work started to feel less like work, Mr Igno said, as he described being excited to get back to San Francisco after his days off “just to be around Mike”.

“The year I spent living with him allowed me to experience first-hand his loving and caring heart,” he said.

“The security team became less of a detail and more like a family.”

He described their shared time in Ravello, Italy, earlier this month, calling it one of his “most cherished memories”, adding: “Overlooking the stunning Amalfi coast, Mike came up to me and said, ‘Rolo, I feel so much better knowing you will always have my family’s back’.

“He was right, and Mike, if you’re listening, I will always have your back. I will forever be here for Angela and Esme.”

People gather for vigil

On Sunday evening, hundreds of people gathered in Porticello, the town close to where the boat sank, for a poignant candle-lit vigil to the victims.

A solemn procession, led by teenagers holding a silver crucifix, proceeded through the streets to the seafront, clutching candles and intoning blessings and prayers. Passersby made the sign of the cross and bowed their heads in respect.

In a moving ceremony, Father Vincenzo Buscemi, the local priest, read out the first names of all seven of the victims of the tragedy.

“We are here to pray for the victims, who have concluded their earthly journey,” he told the large crowd, which included fire service divers, coast guard officers dressed in white and local volunteers.

After the ceremony, he told The Telegraph: “This is a moment of prayer for the community to remember the victims. Ours is a community that has in the past felt the pain of tragedies like this. Many men have lost their lives while working at sea.

“For a lot of locals, the tragedy of the Bayesian brings back memories of past losses, it reopens wounds. There is huge sympathy for the victims and their relatives. People here want to show solidarity with them.”

Anna Maria Vella, 51, said: “My husband is a fisherman. I know the anxiety of seeing him go out to sea and wondering if he will come home.”

Giuseppe D’Agostino, the mayor of Porticello, said: “We are a town of about 12,000 people and half the population relies on fishing. It’s the main employer here. The tragedy has hit people hard.”

Advertisement