A young crew member described by friends as a ‘golden girl’ is believed to have been murdered while working on a superyacht in the Bahamas.
Paige Bell, 20, from Johannesburg, South Africa, was found dead on board luxury motor boat Far From It while the vessel was docked at Harbour Island last week, police confirmed.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force said a 39-year-old Mexican national has been charged with murder and is expected to appear in court today.
Paige, whose family live in Durban, was due to turn 21 on July 14, with a huge celebration planned to mark her milestone birthday.
But on July 3, the popular stewardess lost her life in a tragedy which has shaken the exclusive Bahamian resort and the yachting world.
Police were alerted to an incident at the marina just after 1pm that day and boarded the 43-metre yacht, where they were told that the young woman had not been seen for a short period of time.
They found Paige unresponsive in the yacht’s engine room with visible injuries, before a doctor attended the scene and confirmed she had died.
She was found near a man, identified as the suspect in her killing, who had severe injuries to his arm in what police described as a suspected suicide attempt.
The man was apprehended, cautioned and taken to a nearby clinic for treatment, police said in a statement, before he was later charged with murder.
The circumstances surrounding Paige’s death are still under investigation.
Built in 2008, Far From It is a charter yacht comprising of five suites, charging wealthy clients between £100,000 and £120,000 per week for vacations.
It can host up to 10 guests and is staffed by nine permanent crew, according to its website.
Paige had previously worked on board the Motor Yacht Sweet Emocean as a crew member until December 2024.
Her former colleagues paid tribute in a post shared with a GoFundMe page set up to help ‘ease the financial burden’ faced by the family.
It said that she was set to celebrate her 21st birthday on July 14, just 11 days after she tragically died.
In her honour, her mother is said to have asked that ‘we all eat red velvet cake (her favourite) on that day and share a photo in remembrance of the beautiful soul she was’.
‘Paige was more than a teammate, she was family,’ wrote ‘The Bells, and Sweet Emocean Family’ in the tribute.
‘Her radiant spirit, infectious laughter, and boundless compassion made an unforgettable impact on everyone lucky enough to know her.
‘Whether it was long days at sea or quiet moments under the stars, she brought light and warmth wherever she went.’
A friend of Paige’s described the young woman as a ‘golden girl’ and called what had happened to her ‘despicable’.
The GoFundMe page, which can be found here, has raised more than $42,000 of its initial $16,000 target already.
The upmarket resort of Harbour Island is a 3-mile by 1.5 mile playground for the rich and famous and a mecca for superyachts.
It lies 60 miles to the east of the capital Nassau and just off the larger island of Eleuthera.
Bill Gates has a mansion on the tiny island and regular tourists who holiday there include Mick Jagger, Prince Harry, Tom Cruise, Kardashians, Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks.
It is known as the ‘Billionaires Backyard’ as over 20 billionaires live there.