Mary Celeste
The evidence in Gibraltar failed to support Flood's theories of murder and conspiracy, yet suspicion lingered of foul play. Flood, and some newspaper reports, briefly suspected insurance fraud on the part of Winchester on the basis that "Mary Celeste" had been heavily over-insured. Winchester was able to refute these allegations and no inquiry was instituted by the insurance companies that issued the policies. In 1931, an article in the "Quarterly Review" suggested that Morehouse could have lain in wait for "Mary Celeste", then lured Briggs and his crew aboard "Dei Gratia" and killed them there. Paul Begg argues that this theory ignores the fact that "Dei Gratia" was the slower ship; she left New York eight days after "Mary Celeste" and would not have caught "Mary Celeste" before she reached Gibraltar.