Utah man who killed his wife on Alaska cruise in front of children found dead in prison cell
No foul play is expected, officials say
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Utah man who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for beating his wife to death on an Alaskan cruise in 2017 was found unresponsive Wednesday in his Juneau prison cell, a report said.
Fox13Now reported that corrections officials at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center do not suspect foul play and the death was not related to COVID-19.
Kenneth Manzanares, 43, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder in connection with Kristy Manzanares’ killing aboard the Emerald Princess.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The pair got into a heated argument in front of their daughters inside a cabin, prosecutors said. She told him that she wanted a divorce and that he should get off the cruise when the ship reached Juneau.
Kenneth Manzanares ordered his daughters to leave the room, prosecutors said. But after the girls heard their mother scream, they tried to re-enter. The door was locked, so the girls went around on a connected balcony and witnessed their father "straddling Kristy on the bed, striking her in the head with closed fists."
Her two brothers and father "arrived on scene and observed Kenneth Manzanares grab Kristy’s body and drag her toward the balcony. One of Kristy’s brothers then grabbed her ankles and pulled her back into the cabin," prosecutors said, according to the affiliate. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Fox13Now report said Kenneth Manzanares served just weeks of his sentence. He was found unresponsive at 6:59 a.m. and pronounced dead at 7:42 a.m., after responders tried to revive him.
Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report