A man suspected of killing his wife aboard a cruise ship near Juneau has been indicted on a charge of first-degree murder.
A federal indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court in Juneau against Kenneth Manzanares for the murder of his wife Kristy on board the cruise ship Emerald Princess on July 25, U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Chloe Martin said Thursday.
The next hearing in this case will be the arraignment, which has not been scheduled yet, Martin said in a release.
The 39-year-old Utah man killed his wife aboard the ship and told an acquaintance who later walked into the couple’s blood-splattered room that he did it because she laughed at him, the FBI said in charging documents.
[FBI: Utah man says he killed wife because she laughed at him]
Manzanares reportedly was found with blood on his hands and clothes, and with blood spread throughout the cabin on the Princess Cruises ship, according to a criminal complaint by FBI Special Agent Michael L. Watson.
Kristy Manzanares, 39, had a severe head wound, but authorities have declined to release other details in the case.
Manzanares allegedly grabbed his wife’s body and tried to drag her to the balcony, but the witness stopped him.
The ship was set to tour Tracy Arm but was diverted to Juneau because of the investigation, which the FBI is leading because the death occurred in U.S. waters. The ship docked downtown and passengers were kept on board for hours before it departed late that night for the town of Skagway.
Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
