ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Utah man convicted for killing his wife aboard a cruise ship has died in an Alaskan prison just weeks into his 30-year sentence.
Kenneth Manzanares was found unresponsive in his prison cell at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau at 6:59 a.m. Life saving measures performed by medical staff and emergency responders were unsuccessful and Manzanares was declared dead at 7:42 a.m.
Corrections officials say no foul play is suspected in the death and it was not related to COVID-19.
The 43-year-old was sentenced in June for the murder of his wife, Kristy Manzanares, during a July 2017 trip in Alaska on the Emerald Princess. He pleaded guilty last year to a second-degree murder charge.
Court filings claimed Manzanares struck his wife and beat her to death in their cabin because, he said, "she would not stop laughing at me."
Because the death took place on open waters, Manzanares faced federal charges.
