Ashley Barnett Never Did Drugs a Day in Her Life — How Did She Overdose While on a Cruise?

When it came to charisma and charm, Ashley Barnett had it in spades. The 24-year-old grew up in Burbank, Calif., in the heart of Hollywood. Ashley's mother, Jamie Barnett, ran the grip department at CBS Television Studios. When Ashley was only 20, her mother helped land her a job as a production assistant on Will & Grace, per CBS News. This was a stepping stone for her future career as an actor.

Film composer John Debney noticed Ashley almost immediately. "She had star written all over her," he recalled. "Not only was she beautiful, but she had such a heart and soul." John could tell that Ashley had what it took to make it in the entertainment world. Perhaps she would have gone far, had Ashley not mysteriously died while on a cruise in October 2005. What happened? Here's what we know.

John led a 40-person orchestra at Ashley's funeral. Her friends paid tribute to the beautiful person they lost, while an undercurrent of tension made an already difficult occasion a bit harder. There was one person who was not allowed to speak about Ashley, and it was her boyfriend, Geoff Ginsburg. The cruise Ashley went on was a celebration for her upcoming 25th birthday, so she invited a few pals and, of course, Geoff. He was the last person to see her alive.

When asked about her funeral, Geoff told CBS News that he felt like he should have been part of it. "I was a big part of Ashley's life," he said. "You know, Ashley did love me. I did love Ashley." They had known each other since the ninth grade, but didn't date until they were in their early twenties. He loved her carefree personality and the way Ashley viewed the world. Geoff also thought she was beautiful.

When they started dating, Geoff was newly sober after struggling with an addiction to Vicodin. Jamie told the outlet that Ashley knew about this and was proud of the work Geoff had done to get sober. If there was one thing Ashley didn't like, it was drugs. Geoff always thought that Ashley knew that he was not his addiction. "I think she looked, she looked past it," he explained.

The Carnival Cruise ship with Ashley, Geoff, a few friends, and hundreds of strangers left from Long Beach on Oct. 14, 2005. Ashley brought a camera in order to document the adventure. This would be useful later as there were conflicting stories about what actually happened. "To me it was like a big rave at sea," said Joe Fischera, a friend of Geoff and Ashley's. Joe later said he saw Ashley and Geoff at the ship's casino and at one of the live shows.

Ashley went back to the room at 2:30 a.m., and Geoff stayed out until 4. The next afternoon, Geoff got up and left Ashley, who, according to him was snoring. When he returned a couple of hours later, Ashley wasn't responding as Geoff tried to wake her. After Geoff called 911, a nurse arrived and attempted CPR for several minutes, but Ashley was already dead.

After an autopsy was performed on Ashley's body, Jamie learned that her daughter's cause of death was the toxic effects of methadone. Geoff was forced to admit that he was also on the trip to detox and had brought Vicodin and methadone with him. He insisted that Ashley knew what was going on and also knew that Geoff had hidden the methadone in a bottle of Nyquil.

There are a few theories that have been put forth regarding how Ashley ingested methadone. One is that she suddenly decided to try it after years of being against drug use. Another is that she forgot the methadone was in the Nyquil, and took it when she wasn't feeling well. Jamie remembered Ashley telling her she wasn't feeling well prior to the trip. The third is that Ashley took the drugs for some other reason, such as wanting attention. Jamie is still searching for answers.