A British sailor has been cleared of trying to kill his girlfriend by pushing her from his yacht into the River Tagus in Portugal.
Jeremy Orritt, 61, was acquitted by the Cascais judicial court after spending 16 months in custody over allegations that he threw Larissa Lemare into the water off Oeiras, west of Lisbon, despite knowing she could not swim.
His lawyer, Teresa Fialho de Sousa, said the acquittal was made because of “a lack of evidence”. Orritt, who is originally from Bath, Somerset, had faced charges of attempted aggravated homicide and domestic violence.
Allegations surrounding the yacht incident
Portuguese prosecutors alleged that Orritt assaulted Ms Lemare aboard his 34ft yacht, SV Mariner, on May 30 last year before pushing her overboard and sailing away.
Ms Lemare was rescued by a passing boat and taken to hospital after she ended up in the River Tagus. The court did not accept the prosecution’s account of what happened.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office said the couple had been in a relationship for about a year and began living together when their sailing trip started in December 2024. Prosecutors also alleged there had been previous episodes of verbal and physical violence.
At the time of his arrest in May last year, Orritt described himself as “Captain Jez”. In the weeks before the incident, he and Ms Lemare had been seeking vegan crew members to join a voyage to the Mediterranean and other destinations.
In an appeal for crew, Orritt wrote: “We are looking for conscious, vegan crew to join us on our journey. We are on a divine mission to herald the beginning of a new age for humanity.”
A voyage described as a spiritual mission
The couple had been in San Vicente de la Barquera in northern Spain while looking for additional crew. Orritt said they had sailed along the Brittany coast and crossed the Bay of Biscay, and were waiting for suitable weather to continue down the Atlantic coast towards Portugal.
He described the yacht’s interior as being like a gypsy caravan, saying it remained functional despite problems caused by its age. The planned voyage was intended to visit sacred sites around the world and promote an era of love, peace and understanding.
Ms Lemare, who is from Totnes, Devon, wrote to a friend about the strain of life at sea. She said she was taking a break after three difficult months on the yacht, but remained committed to staying with Orritt.
“I made a pledge to Jez that he’d never have to brave the storms alone, to stick with him come what may, not abandoning each other when the path grows uncertain or yield to passing tempests,” she wrote.
She described the experience as intensely tough but said the pair had overcome difficulties together and that their struggles had strengthened their relationship.
“I recognise it’s in those moments of struggle and vulnerability that love reveals its deepest strength and bonds us in ways that smooth sailing never could,” Ms Lemare wrote. “It’s about weathering the storms, not abandoning ship at the first sign of trouble.”
While Orritt remained in custody, Ms Lemare is understood to have continued travelling abroad, including crewing a yacht in the Caribbean.
