HONEYMOON DEATH MYSTERY
Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are facing questioning — under oath — over tragedy
They didn’t want the celebration to end. Following their Aug. 5, 2015, wedding, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux brought more than 40 people — including pals Jason Bateman, Jimmy Kimmel, Tobey Maguire and their families — on their lengthy “buddymoon” in Bora Bora. “We had thought about it: We could just do a normal honeymoon, or we could go with some friends, keep the party going, relax and have fun,” Justin explained a month later. “It was really special, it was really beautiful…. It was a fantastic honeymoon.”
Until tragedy struck. In the early morning hours of Aug. 20, the lifeless body of Carmel Musgrove, 28 — the personal assistant to producer Joel Silver, one of Jen and Justin’s guests — was found floating nude on one of the lagoon banks near the group’s Four Seasons resort bungalows. An autopsy, including toxicol- ogy tests, revealed Carmel had alcohol, marijuana and cocaine in her system at the time of her mysterious death. Now, two years later, her family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Joel and his personal chef, Martin Herold, who they say was partying with Carmel hours before she died and supplied her “and possibly others” on the honeymoon trip with cocaine. Jen, 48, and Justin, 46, will likely be forced to testify about the tragedy. “They should absolutely expect to be deposed in Joel’s assistant’s death, because everyone was in Bora Bora for their honeymoon,” says an insider with knowledge of the situation. “Anything that happened before, during and after the honeymoon will be relevant for Jen and Justin to be questioned about.”
Nothing will be off-limits for the super-private couple. “They will
be asked about intimate details of the trip, including daily activities with the group, interactions with Carmel, previous vacations taken with Joel where his personal assistant and chef tagged along and more,” says the insider. According to the lawsuit, hours after joining the Silvers for an alcohol-fueled fishing trip, lunch and dinner, Carmel visited her friend and thought-to-be-lover, chef Martin, in his room late on Aug. 18, where “he furnished Carmel with additional alcohol, marijuana and cocaine.” She returned to her room at 11:11 p.m., requested matches from the front desk around midnight — and was never seen alive again. And though Jen’s publicist has said that the newlyweds were already back in LA when the “horrible tragedy” occurred, they can still “be witnesses to what they saw, did, knew, who they spoke to and all kinds of issues in light of the fact that it was their honeymoon,” says attorney
Richard Roth, a New York City entertainment litigator who’s not involved in the case. The couple and all of their guests “could literally be asked anything — witnessing drug use, if they’ve ever used drugs with her. They may ask about allegations involving the drug supplier.”
Jen and Justin seemingly have tried to distance themselves from the grisly turn of events. Carmel’s mother, Ann Musgrove, tells In Touch that Jen and Justin never even sent condolences to her family after her daughter’s mysterious death. “I don’t think anyone from that Hollywood area did, honestly,” says Ann. “And I got hundreds of cards.”
Jen and Justin won’t be able to avoid the tragedy much longer. Jen will be extremely unhappy if she has to testify, says the insider. “Revealing any details about her personal life makes her absolutely livid. She guards her privacy fiercely, so being deposed is the last thing she wants.” ◼