A court-appointed armed guard tasked with ensuring Mike Lynch did not flee while facing fraud charges has paid tribute to the tech tycoon and his daughter, who both died after the Bayesian superyacht they were holidaying on sunk.
The 59-year-old Briton was confirmed dead by local authorities on Thursday after the superyacht he was holidaying on sunk in the early hours of Monday.
Divers recovered the final missing body from the wreckage on Friday, which is believed to be that of his 18-year-old daughter Hannah. Her mother and Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares survived the disaster, which led to the deaths of seven of the 22 people on board.
Rolo Igno, who lived with Mr Lynch for a year while he was in custody in San Francisco over a fraud case related to his software company Autonomy, said the security team “became less of a detail and more like a family”.
Mr Lynch was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its $11bn (£8.64bn) sale to US company Hewlett Packard, after a trial at a federal court in San Francisco, California.
Mr Igno said he had the “privilege” of spending “almost every waking moment” with Mr Lynch while he was in custody in San Francisco, describing the detail as unlike any other he had ever worked on and one that was “life changing”.
“As an executive protection agent, the number one rule is simple, don’t ever get close to the principal,” he said in a statement.
“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.”
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He told a story about the first time he escorted Mr Lynch and his daughters, Hannah and Esme, to lunch.
“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’,” Mr Igno said.
“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.”
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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.”
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Mr Igno who also described “the memory of a beautiful soul” in Hannah, said he was with the Lynch family in Italy earlier this month, calling it one of his “most cherished memories”.
“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’,” Mr Igno said.
“He was right, and Mike, if you’re listening, I will always have your back. I will forever be here for Angela and Esme.”
Giving a message directly to Mr Lynch and Hannah, he added: “Mike, I will forever cherish our short time together.
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“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.
“’til we see each other again. Hannah, take care of your daddy up there for me. Down here, I’ve got your mum and sister.”
Read more:
Hannah Lynch’s sister speaks for first time since tragedy
Who were the people on the yacht?
What we know about the sinking so far
Investigators are considering potential manslaughter as they try to find out what caused the Bayesian superyacht to sink.
Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said “behaviours that were not perfectly in order” may have been behind the number of deaths off the coast of Sicily at a news conference on Saturday.
