On June 3, 2021 Kenneth Manzanares, 43, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for murdering his wife Kristy Manzanares, 39, on a cruise ship in Alaska, all in front of their kids. Kenneth even tried to throw his wife overboard into the cold water.
Kenneth plead guilty to murdering his wife. The married couple was from Utah, but were abroad an Alaskan cruise ship in Alaska to celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary in July 2017.
While in their room, Kristy confronted her husband about his behavior at dinner earlier. Kenneth didn’t take the criticism too well and an argument ensued. Their 3 daughters were in the room seeing everything.
Things got so heated that Kristy began crying and said she wanted a divorce.
Kenneth told the children to go into an adjoining cabin with relatives. Kenneth began to beat Kristy by hitting her in the face repeatedly. When the girls heard their mom scream, they tried to come back in, but Kenneth said “Don’t come in here.”
The daughters all went to the connected balcony and saw Kenneth straddling Kristy on the bed striking her in the head with closed fists. Blood was all over the room and Kristy had a severe head wound.
Family members called security and then saw Kenneth drag Kristy’s body toward the balcony. Kenneth threw Kristy over the balcony, but her brother was able to grab her ankles just in time before she went completely off the railings.
Kristy was badly beaten and unconscious. Attempts were made by ship paramedics to resuscitate Kristy, but those attempts failed. Kristy died on the cruise ship.
Kristy’s death was ruled a homicide by blunt force trauma to her head and face. Kenneth was arrested at port the next day and charged with murder.
Attorneys for Kenneth argued in trial court that he had brain abnormalities from playing contact sports that were exacerbated by a problematic combination of prescribed medication and alcohol.
That defense didn’t work and Kenneth decided to plead guilty to 2nd degree murder.
