Woman Dies on Alaska Cruise- Husband Charged with Murder

Image: PHOTO: Emerald Princess, Princess Cruises. (photo via Flickr/alex.ch)
Image: PHOTO: Emerald Princess, Princess Cruises. (photo via Flickr/alex.ch)
Patrick Clarke
by Patrick Clarke
Last updated: 3:47 PM ET, Thu July 27, 2017

[IMAGECAPTION]PHOTO: The death onboard Emerald Princess, occurred in US waters off the coast of Alaska. (Photo via Flickr/alex.ch)[IMAGECAPTION]

The FBI is investigating a death on board the Emerald Princess during this week's Alaska sailing.

39-year-old Kristy Manzanares died onboard following a domestic dispute Tuesday. Princess Cruises confirmed that the incident had occurred at approximately 9:00 PM. local time Tuesday and that another passenger, who at the time was not identified but is now known to be the woman's husband, Kenneth Manzanares, was detained by crew members.

Passengers told ABCNews that they were placed on an hours-long lockdown as the ship was diverted to Juneau, Alaska, to meet with authorities. FBI personnel spoke with passengers aboard the ship Wednesday and guests were eventually cleared to disembark around 8:30 PM.

KTUU in Anchorage is reporting that the FBI arrested the victim's husband, Kenneth Manzanares, and that he has been charged with murder, according to an FBI spokesperson. An FBI report indicated that the accused had said that he killed his wife because she wouldn't stop laughing at him.

Princess Cruises offered condolences to those affected but referred all questions regarding the incident to the FBI.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event," said company spokeswoman Negin Kamali.

The Emerald Princess, carrying 3,400 passengers and 1,100 crew members, is in the midst of a seven-day roundtrip cruise from Seattle that departed Sunday.

A scenic tour around the Tracy Arm fjord was cancelled as a result of the investigation, however, Kamali said the cruise line would consider providing credits for shore excursions to make up for any lost time.

The ship departed Juneau for the southeast Alaska town of Skagway late Wednesday and no other schedule changes are expected.

Because the incident occurred in U.S. waters off Alaska, the FBI is required to handle the investigation in this case.

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Patrick Clarke

Patrick Clarke

Senior Editor

A Maryland native and wanderer who has lived across the U.S. from North Carolina to SoCal, Patrick Clarke graduated from Towson University with a B.S. in journalism. He previously worked for Bleacher

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