Kenneth Manzanares dead: A Utah man who beat wife to death on Alaska cruise found dead in prison cell. Cause of death not released.
A Utah man recently sentenced to 30 years jail for murdering his wife on a cruise ship was found dead in his Alaskan prison cell last week, according to authorities.
Kenneth Manzanares, 43, was found unresponsive at about 7:15 a.m. Wednesday at Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau and pronounced dead shortly after, according to the Alaska Department of Corrections.
Authorities did not reveal Manzanares’ cause of death, but said foul play is not suspected. COVID-19 was also not a factor, authorities said.
A released statement did not state suicide as the means of death.
Manzanares had been in the custody of the State of Alaska since July 26, 2017 at the time of his initial arrest KUTV reported.
Wanted a divorce
Manzanares was sentenced in June after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for fatally beating his wife, Kristy Manzanares, on the Emerald Princess in 2017 in front of two of his daughters after she announced she said wanted to leave their marriage.
Prior to his plea deal, Manzanares originally plead not guilty to first-degree murder.
The former couple were in their cabin on the second night of the family trip, when Kristy said she wanted a divorce and asked her husband to get off the ship in Juneau and go back home, prosecutors stated.
After ordering the children into an adjoining room with relatives, the father was seen by the daughters repeatedly punching the mother of three in the head.
Family members called security who was observed Kenneth dragging Kristy’s body toward the balcony, and intervening.
Kristy could not be resuscitated by ship emergency workers, officials said.
Her death was ruled a homicide by blunt force trauma to her head and face, and her husband was arrested at port the next day.
