Six years after the Conception dive boat caught fire off Santa Cruz Island and killed 34 people, the vessel’s captain remains free on bail as his conviction makes its way through appeal.
Jerry Boylan, found guilty in November 2023 of “seaman’s manslaughter” and sentenced in May 2024 to four years in federal prison, has not entered custody.
“The defendant filed an appeal,” said Ciaran McEvoy, public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. “He is free off bond pending that appeal just waiting on the Ninth Circuit. That takes time. He is not in federal custody.”
Boylan’s case is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. “He has filed an opening brief, we filed an answering brief; we filed that last month, he has to file a response to that. After that, we will have oral arguments scheduled,” McEvoy said.
In addition to the prison term, Boylan was ordered to pay $32,178.82 in restitution to three families for funeral expenses. But that order, too, is in limbo. “He is appealing that,” McEvoy confirmed. (When asked whether Boylan has paid the sum, McEvoy repeated: “He is appealing that.”)
Boylan’s conviction marked a grim milestone in what prosecutors have called the deadliest maritime disaster in modern U.S. history. On September 2, 2019, the 75-foot passenger vessel burned and sank in Platt’s Harbor on a Labor Day dive trip. The fire of unknown origin trapped 33 passengers and one crew member in the bunkroom below deck.
At trial, prosecutors argued Boylan failed at every level of his duty: no roving night watch, no fire drills, no warnings, and no attempt to fight the blaze before he jumped overboard. His attorneys countered that the fire was already out of control and that ultimate responsibility lay with boat owner Glen Fritzler of Truth Aquatics.
For families of the victims, there is still a lack of closure. Boylan has not begun his prison sentence, and the restitution order sits entangled in appeals.
