Tonight on National Geographic’s Lawless Oceans, investigator Karsten von Hoesslin goes to the Seychelles following several leads as he continues his investigation into the killings of four men at sea.
During the episode he also speaks to potential witnesses including a man who we know only as Alexander, and who may have witnessed the murders.
He was a former deckhand on the Chun I 628 — a vessel believed to have been involved in the incident — before giving up a perilous life at sea for a job in the rice fields. Now Karsten has tracked him down to interview him in a bid to get vital clues.
Looking for a motive for the cold-blooded killings, Karsten shows Alexander the now infamous video, which went viral on YouTube in 2014, of the men being gunned down in the middle of the ocean.
Alexander says he was not there at the time and tells Karsten that the crew who were on the boat had left by the time he went aboard. He says he only heard about the killings later.
Karsten then shows Alexander photos of the crew including a former captain of the ship. However, Alexander says when he worked on the vessel his captain was a different person, who had since died after being accidentally electrocuted in Somalia while building a fence to keep out pirates.
Karsten says: “Well, I guess this ends my search for the captain of the 628. If true, he’s never going to be tried for what he did, but I still need to find out what role the 628 played in the murders.”
No one has ever been arrested for the killings, with those responsible still at large. During his investigation, Karsten uncovers drug smuggling, human trafficking, illegal fishing and more crimes at sea, even putting his own life in jeopardy.
Lawless Oceans airs tonight at 9/8c on National Geographic Channel.