A 52-year-old woman who died aboard Caribbean cruise ship Tuesday may have been murdered, according to media outlets.
A witness reportedly spotted a man choking the woman, whose name was not released, before she fell from the upper deck of the Royal Princess and hit a lifeboat below, USA Today reported, citing the online news site, Diario.
The ship can carry 3,600 passengers and was en-route from Curacao to Aruba when the possible homicide occurred, according to the news site.
An unidentified passenger aboard the Royal Princess reportedly said on the online message board CruiseCritic that “six or seven local police officers” wearing all black boarded the ship Tuesday morning when it docked in Aruba.
FBI and police are investigating after an American woman fell to her death on the Royal Princess cruise ship. Officials say the incident may have been a murder. @VictorOquendo reports. https://t.co/zIhzh0ywOP pic.twitter.com/VgkGtYl5QP
— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 15, 2018
“Two forensics vans showed up and two technicians went aboard,” according to the post first reported by media outlets. “All morning they have been frantically paging people from the lido deck and have security set up outside the hallway to the forward lido rooms.”
Information was not immediately available on a motive for the possible homicide and whether a suspect has been identified.
USA Today reported Princess issued a brief statement, saying the cruise line is “deeply saddened by this incident and offer our sincere condolences to the family and those affected”, adding the cause of the woman’s death is “not known at this time.”
Royal Princess will return to its home port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday following the seven-day trip to the Southern Caribbean the newspaper reported.
[Feature Photo: Pixabay]