Cruise ship murder update: Passengers thought woman killed aboard cruise was part of ‘Murder Mystery Dinner’ game

The couple involved in a cruise ship domestic abuse incident that turned deadly were playing a murder mystery dinner game on Tuesday evening when things turned sour.

According to witnesses aboard a Princess cruise ship headed towards Alaska, the couple, Kenneth and Kristy Manzanares, joined other passengers and participated in a murder mystery dinner when an argument escalated. Later, when passengers heard about a death occurring on the ship, some of them thought it was part of a “dramatic effect” of the game.

“Because they were doing a murder mystery theater about a death on a cruise ship most people thought it was just part of the dramatic effect of what they were doing,” passenger Vic Simpson told Inside Edition.

Kenneth Manzanares is accused of killing his wife aboard The Emerald Princess, while with his children on his 18th wedding anniversary cruise. The arrest indictment stated that several passengers saw the suspect with bloody hands and a bloody shirt after he dragged his wife by the ankles to their cabin room. Passenger Chris Ceman saw the couple’s daughter running out of the room for help shortly after.

“One of the little girls from that room came running out calling for help that her parents had been in a fight. She sounded pretty desperate.”

When a witness asked Kenneth Manzanares what happened, he reportedly said his wife wouldn’t stop laughing at him. He then tried to jump overboard but was detained by ship crew members. Authorities arrested him and charged him with murder.

Another passenger, Brian Eckstorm, told KTUU that he saw a little girl, sobbing and wrapped in a blanket, when the suspect appeared with blood all over him.

“I see this little girl sitting on – I assume – her grandma or somebody, sitting on her lap wrapped in a blanket. And she’s just sobbing. A man came walking out from the hallway where it happened and he had, like, a white tank top on, and some jeans. His jeans were completely covered in blood and he came out saying, ‘It’s not good, it’s not good.'”

During his first court appearance on Thursday, the suspect appeared before a federal judge dressed in an orange jumpsuit. Although the hearing was closed to photographers, witnesses said Kenneth Manzanares cried and dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief.

Check back with Crime Online as additional details become available.

Additional Reading:

‘She would not stop laughing at me’: Man allegedly kills his wife aboard cruise ship, leaves bloody mess [UPDATE]

‘People were running through the hall with blood all over them’: Woman dies aboard cruise ship after domestic dispute

[Feature Photo: Facebook]