Im with you Bos.... I have always been doubts and concerns. I have studied this sad story for many years now and still cannot understand what on earth they were doing. In effect they were IMC below the Safety altitude and that is wrong.
The point that many people (including me) make is that nobody can prove whether they were IMC or not and therefore they are not guilty of "Gross Negligence". They were guilty of many things but they were not Grossly negligent.