An attorney who helped acquit missing tech tycoon Mike Lynch among those feared dead in superyacht disaster

• A yacht belonging to British tech executive Mike Lynch sunk off the coast of Sicily.
• Christopher Morvillo, who helped Lynch win acquittal at a recent trial, and his wife are missing.
• Morvillo, a former federal prosecutor, worked on high-profile corruption cases.

Among those missing and feared dead in the aftermath of the sinking of "Bayesian," a sailing yacht linked to British technology magnate Mike Lynch , are Lynch's attorney Christopher Morvillo and Morvillo's wife, according to a colleague.

Lynch was reportedly on a cruise with friends and coworkers, including Morvillo, to celebrate his acquittal after facing prosecution for financial fraud related to the sale of his company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, as well as two others, are still missing.

Gary Lincenberg, an attorney who represented Lynch's co-defendant Stephen Chamberlain in the high-profile fraud case that recently ended with the acquittal of both men, said Morvillo and his wife "are presumed to be passed away" after the yacht went down near Sicily.

He said the news came shortly after he learned that Lynch's codefendant Chamberlain was killed, struck by a car while jogging on Saturday.

"In the course of 48 hours, I can't process what has happened, but both of our clients, as well as Chris and his wife, are gone," Lincenberg told Business Insider.

Lincenberg said in a follow-up email that Chamberlain "was a courageous man with unparalleled integrity" and that his acquittal preserved his good name, which would live on through his family.

Morvillo's law firm, Clifford Chance, didn't immediately reply to a comment request on Monday. One of Morvillo's family members declined to comment.

Before going into private practice, Morvillo was a federal prosecutor in Manhattan until 2005. He worked on several high-profile corruption cases and comes from a family of well-known New York white-collar attorneys.

Another attorney at the firm, Ayla Ronald, is reportedly among those who survived the yacht's sinking.