A domestic dispute aboard a cruise ship led to the death of a 39-year-old Utah woman, and the FBI is investigating what happened in U.S. waters off Alaska.
Princess Cruises said the woman died Tuesday night on the Emerald Princess, which was carrying 3,400 passengers and 1,100 crew members on a weeklong trip that left Sunday from Seattle. Company spokeswoman Negin Kamali declined to provide any other details about the case, referring questions to the FBI.
"Since the incident, our fleet security team has been coordinating with the FBI and other local authorities," Princess Cruises said in a statement.
The ship was diverted to Juneau because of the investigation, arriving nearly five hours ahead of schedule on Wednesday morning, said S. Kirby Day III with the cruise line. Passengers, however, were not immediately allowed to get off the ship, he said.
Passengers were seen taking photos of Gastineau Channel and Juneau from the decks and balconies of the ship.
No further schedule changes were expected for the cruise, which was set to leave late Wednesday and head to the southeast Alaska town of Skagway, Kamali said.
But conversations are underway to offer passengers some compensation for lost time, such as providing credits for shore excursions, she said.
Since the vessel arrived so early, excursions such as glacier viewing or seeing sled dogs were not ready, but Day anticipated allowing people off the ship later in the day.
The FBI said it is required to step in when such deaths occur in international or U.S. waters.
Federal court documents state that Kristy Manzanares, 39, was found in her cruise ship cabin dead with a severe head wound .
“Blood was spread throughout the room on multiple surfaces,” the documents state.
Her husband, Kenneth Manzanares, was covered in blood, according to the documents. While being processed by FBI agents, he allegedly said, “My life is over.”
A witness told security he went into the couple’s cabin and saw Kristy Manzanares on the floor, covered in blood. When he saw Kenneth Manzanares with blood on his hands and clothing, he asked what happened, to which he allegedly replied, “She would not stop laughing at me.”
Manzanares then allegedly grabbed his wife’s body and dragged it towards the cabin’s balcony. The witness told security that he himself grabbed Kristy’s ankles and pulled her back inside the cabin. Moments later, security arrived.