By Tegan Hanlon / Alaska Dispatch News
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A man accused of killing his wife Tuesday aboard a cruise ship off Southeast Alaska was caught trying to drag her body to the balcony of their blood-splattered cabin, according to an FBI criminal complaint.
Kenneth Manzanares, 39, of Santa Clara, Utah, has been arrested on murder charges in the killing of his 39-year-old wife, Kristy Manzanares, aboard the Emerald Princess, the U.S. Attorney’s Alaska Office announced Thursday.
The ship was in U.S. territorial waters beyond Alaska’s jurisdiction, putting the case in federal hands, the office said.
A witness who entered the couple’s cabin before security guards that night told investigators that when he walked into the room he saw a woman lying on the floor covered in blood. A man had blood covering his hands and clothes, according to the complaint signed by Michael Watson, a special agent with the FBI.
When the witness asked Manzanares what happened, the complaint said, “Manzanares replied, ‘She would not stop laughing at me.’”
Passengers told CBS News that the couple was on the ship with a large group, including their children. The Manzanares’ former neighbors said the couple was celebrating an anniversary, according to CBS.
One passenger told CBS that a young girl from the couple’s room came running out, calling for help and saying her parents had been in a fight.
According to the complaint, the witness told investigators he saw Manzanares try to move his wife’s body to the cabin’s balcony overlooking the ocean. The witness then grabbed the woman’s ankles and pulled her back into the cabin, the complaint said.
Soon after, around 9 p.m., security and medical staff entered the cabin.
The victim “had a severe head wound and blood was spread throughout the room on multiple surfaces,” the complaint said.
A security officer handcuffed Manzanares and put him in an adjoining cabin, according to the complaint.
Medical personnel pronounced Kristy Manzanares dead around 9:20 p.m.
At 10:13 p.m., an FBI special agent received a telephone call from Holland America Group’s company security officer who told him that there “appeared to be a homicide onboard the cruise ship Emerald Princess,” the complaint said.
The Emerald Princess left Seattle Sunday for a seven-day, round-trip cruise to Alaska, according to Princess Cruises. Around 3 p.m. Tuesday, it left Ketchikan.
At the time of the killing, the ship was in U.S. waters roughly 7 miles from Forrester Island, which is about 50 miles south of Craig and just north of the Canadian border.
The ship canceled a scenic cruise and went straight to Juneau, docking hours ahead of schedule at 7:55 a.m. Wednesday. It was met by FBI agents and local authorities, said the cruise line.
The complaint said that “when Manzanares was being processed during a search by the FBI for physical evidence, he stated, ‘My life is over.’”
Manzanares’ first court appearance was scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Anchorage. He was to appear by video conference from Juneau, according to court records.
Princess Cruises said its Emerald Princess ship left Juneau at 11:15 p.m. Wednesday and headed for Skagway, continuing its scheduled cruise.
Passengers were refunded for missed shore excursions and each given $150 in onboard credit, according to a statement from the cruise line.
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