Cruise Ship Magician ‘Told to Shut Up About Death’Inside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) reports today security guards
ordered cruise ship magician Stephen Bruce Hart to "shut his mouth"
when he tried help investigate an on-board murder.

A Sydney coroner's inquest
questioned Mr. Hart as part of its investigation into the death of Brisbane mother Dianne
Brimble.

Ms. Brimble's naked body was found on the floor of her cabin
less than 24 hours after boarding the P&O cruise ship Pacific Sky in 2002.

The lab results showed Ms. Brimble may have died from an
overdose of GBH – the so called "date rape drug ."

P&O advertised the cruise with lurid come-ons to male
travelers. One of the catch-phrases is
unprintable on Quinlan's Inside Magic. The relatively less offensive tagline was part
of a post card featuring bikini models, "More girls, more sun, more fun.
There's nothing else a guy needs to know."

Officials named eight men as "persons of interest"
in the case. They were allegedly
influenced by the provocative advertisements.
Those eight men were seen making repeated sexual advances towards female
passengers on the cruise.

Mr. Hart testified he danced with Ms. Brimble at the ship's
nightclub on the night before she died.

Two days later, after learning of her death, Mr. Hart said
he tried to tell P&O security and management there was something
"suss" about it.

"I said to (a security guard), I think I may know
something about the girl who died on the cruise (and) he straight out told me
to shut up," Mr. Hart said.

When a second guard told him to "shut his mouth",
Mr. Hart said he yelled: "A girl has died on the cruise and you guys
aren't doing anything about it."

The cruise director also told him not to talk about it
because "if the media got hold of this they would have a field day",
Mr. Hart said.

Mrs. Brimble's body was found in a cabin belonging to four
of the men.

The coroner permitted the introduction of the provocative postcard
as evidence P&O sought to entice male travelers looking for a cruise with
"orgies." The deputy coroner
commented, "That kind of material can promote attitudes. I think it is an
issue for the inquest."

The inquest is scheduled to continue.