Daily Casefile · Verdict
Tally Short at Thornmouth Crossing
≈ 4 min
On the morning of 6 August 2026, revenue auditor Suki Marsh ran a reconciliation of the 07:00, 07:30, and 08:00 sailings from Thornmouth Quay to Saltfield Pier and found that the handheld tally unit logged 94 fares for those three trips combined, while the ferry's passenger head-count records showed 117 boarders — a discrepancy of 23 passengers. Gus Fenwick was the sole fare-box attendant on duty for all three crossings. Fenwick claims the tally unit malfunctioned and that he manually noted the uncollected fares in a pocket notebook, which he says he handed to the dock supervisor at the end of his shift. The dock supervisor, Irene Holst, says she received no such notebook. The prosecution asks the jury to decide whether Fenwick deliberately failed to log those 23 fares and pocketed the corresponding cash.
Subject
Gus Fenwick, gangway fare-box attendant, Thornmouth Harbour Ferry Line
Charged with Fare-box skimming — pocketing cash fares without logging them into the handheld tally unit during the morning rush sailings of 6 August 2026
The scene
Thornmouth Harbour Ferry Line — a commuter ferry service running between Thornmouth Quay and Saltfield Pier, present day. The crossing takes eleven minutes each way, with a single fare-box attendant stationed at the gangway ramp collecting cash and card payments and entering each fare into a handheld tally unit.
The witnesses
- Suki Marsh — Revenue Auditor, Thornmouth Harbour Ferry Line
- Terrence Baird — Daily commuter, Thornmouth–Saltfield route
- Irene Holst — Dock Supervisor, Thornmouth Quay
- Dami Osei — Handheld Device Technician, Portside Systems Ltd (third-party service contractor)
Play today’s Verdict.
This case first aired on August 9, 2026. A fresh verdict runs every morning — same rules, five minutes, one solution.