No Laughing Matter...

[Lord Jim]

Man kills wife on Alaska cruise because she laughed at him, FBI says

A Utah man killed his wife aboard an Alaska cruise 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 documents released Thursday.

Kenneth Manzanares of Santa Clara, Utah, was charged with murder after he was found with blood on his hands and clothes, and with blood spread throughout the cabin on the Princess Cruises ship Tuesday night, 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, including how many people were traveling with the couple on the 3,400-passenger Emerald Princess that left Sunday from Seattle.

A man and other people went into the room before medical workers and security officers had arrived and saw the woman on the floor covered in blood, according to court documents.

The man asked Manzanares what happened, and the suspect said, "'She would not stop laughing at me,'" according to the FBI complaint.

Manzanares then grabbed his wife's body and tried to drag her to the balcony, but the man stopped him, Watson wrote. The name of the man was not included in the complaint.

A ship security officer handcuffed Manzanares, who was held in a nearby cabin, authorities said.

While the FBI searched him, Manzanares said, "'My life is over,'" the complaint states.[HIS life is over? ]

Manzanares, 39, participated in his first court appearance Thursday by teleconference from Juneau, where he is in custody.

He appeared to be crying at times before the hearing and near the start, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin F. McCoy began speaking.

Manzanares dabbed at his eyes and nose with tissues.

He was wearing an orange jumpsuit during the proceedings. He had his ankles shackled and was wearing slip-on shoes.

McCoy appointed assistant Federal Defender Jamie McGrady to represent Manzanares. McGrady was not at the hearing and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bail has not been set and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Aug. 10. A federal prosecutor in Juneau indicated he would seek a change of venue from Anchorage to Juneau.

Manzanares has no criminal history, according to online Utah court records.

Kristy Manzanares was a trusted adviser and valued sales associate, her employer said in a statement.

"Kristy was a dedicated and loving mother who juggled her business schedule to make her children the top priority," the statement from Summit Sotheby's International Realty in St. George, Utah, says.

The ship was diverted to Juneau because of the investigation, which the FBI is leading because the death occurred in U.S. waters. The ship docked Wednesday and passengers were kept on board for hours before it departed late that night for the town of Skagway.

Princess Cruises said passengers will receive $150 onboard credit because of the effect on their vacations.

"You feel sorry for the family, but a lot of people had to wait," [Well cry me a river...a woman is dead, her children are motherless, and their father is the killer...sorry if all of this inconvenienced you... ] said Lloyd Barrows, a passenger from Alberta, Canada.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nati ... story.html

[Big RR]

Well cry me a river...a woman is dead, her children are motherless, and their father is the killer...sorry if all of this inconvenienced you...

to be fair, I guess it would depend on why they had to wait onboard. If it was because the FBI had to do some things before anyone got off, then fine--if it was because the cruise line screwed up and didn't make arrangements to let the folks who wanted to get off do so in Juneau while they sat at the pier (I am assuming there was a reason to do that after they delivered the man into custody), then it was the line, not the death, that inconvenienced them.

[Lord Jim]

I think it was proper for the cruise line to issue the passengers the $150 credits, it just struck me as inappropriate that the passenger would volunteer such a self-centered comment like that, given the circumstances...(A Canadian no less...)

[Big RR]

the only thing I can think may have happened is that the ship diverted and the passengers were told noting except that they could not disembark. That is usually what starts getting people angry/frustrated. If someone said "We have a police investigation ongoing and they have requested that no one leave the ship until it is complete" on the PA, and gave periodic updates, I'd bet you wouldn't have heard the same complaint (maybe the passengers would grumble among themselves, but that would be it), but most cruise lines are pretty bad at giving people any information.

[RayThom]

I suspect this was a practicing Mormon family. If so, it's a sin for the wife to wantingly disrespect her husband and constant laughter and ridicule can not be tolerated. Plus she was sending the children the wrong message. The husband had no choice than to smite her down.

It's in God's hands now.

[BoSoxGal]

She had three beautiful daughters - those poor orphaned girls.

[rubato]

"I saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried—‘La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!’"

yrs,
rubato

[dales]

She had three beautiful daughters - those poor orphaned girls.

There are NO winners, here.