by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:09 AM ET, Tue February 4, 2020
A Utah man has pleaded guilty to killing his wife while they were on a Princess Cruises voyage to Alaska.
According to KSL.com, Kenneth Manzanares agreed to plead guilty in Alaskan federal court for the second-degree murder of his wife Kristy during an Alaskan cruise onboard the Emerald Princess in July 2017.
Court documents filed Monday indicate that Kenneth and Kristy were in their cabin on the second night of the cruise at around 8:50 p.m. local time when the couple began arguing. The couple's 22-year-old daughter and an unidentified minor were asked to leave the cabin.
Kristy reportedly told her husband that she wanted a divorce and he should get off the ship in Juneau and go back to Utah. Inside a relatives' cabin nearby, the daughter and the minor heard Kristy scream, but couldn't get in their parent's cabin.
When they went to a balcony with a view into Kenneth and Kristy's room, they saw the man beating the woman's head with his fists while she laid unconscious on the floor. Kenneth claims he blacked out during the incident and only remembers hitting his wife twice.
Security and medical personnel were called to the scene immediately, but Kristy was pronounced dead by 9:20 p.m. local time. Kenneth had previously pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder.
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