Captain found guilty of ‘seaman’s manslaughter’ in boat fire that killed 34 off California coast

By STEFANIE DAZIO
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal jury has found a scuba dive boat captain was criminally negligent in the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019, the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles confirmed Jerry Boylan was found guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer. That’s a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as seaman’s manslaughter that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters. Boylan was the only person to face criminal charges connected to the fire. He could get 10 years behind bars.