Mom Of 3 Killed By Her Husband On A Cruise Ship Murder Mystery Night After He Said She Wouldn’t Stop Laughing At Him

Chip Chick |

Jun 4, 2021

Santa Clara, Utah. Kristy Manzanares was a 39-year-old mom of three young daughters.

She lived with her family in Santa Clara and worked as a real estate agent. Kristy was married to Kenneth Manzanares.

“Her infectious, beautiful smile and sweet, compassionate soul will forever be remembered by all who knew Kristy,” her obituary reads.

“She made everyone who came in contact with her feel important, special and put a smile on their face.”

“Because of that, she was adored by all, and we are all blessed to have had Kristy in our lives.”

On July 24th, 2017, the family decided to go on vacation and take a cruise to Alaska. Kristy’s brother and her dad came too.

Kristy and Kenneth were high school sweethearts and picked the cruise to celebrate 18 years of marriage to one another.

What should have been an enjoyable time quickly turned brutal and deadly just a day into their trip.

Facebook; pictured above mom of three Kristy smiles

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A murder mystery dinner theatre was going on to entertain passengers on the evening of July 25th, 2017.

So when an announcement came across the ship requesting the security and medical teams, people thought it was all part of the act.

It turns out, it wasn’t.

Just a few yards away from where the murder mystery dinner theatre was happening, Kristy was losing her life in one of the ship’s staterooms.

Around 8:50 that fateful night, Kenneth, Kristy, and their children were inside one of their rooms.

And then, Kenneth and Kristy got into a very heated argument. Kristy had become upset over Kenneth’s behavior that day.

Kristy was so furious, she had told Kenneth that he needed to leave the family vacation.

All of this happened right in front of the children.

Kristy then asked for a divorce, right after she insisted that Kenneth should get off the cruise ship when they arrived in Juneau and fly back home to Utah.

Facebook; Kristy and Kenneth smile in the photo above

Kenneth told the children they had to leave their room, so they went next door to the room they were sharing with other members of their family.

Just moments after the children had left the room of their parents, Kristy was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Facebook; Kristy holds up a fish in the photo above

Her children desperately tried to open the door that joined their rooms together, but Kenneth commanded them to stay out of there.

“Don’t come in here,” Kenneth told the kids according to court documents.

The children then rushed to the balcony of the room, which was connected to the balcony of Kristy and Kenneth’s room, and what they witnessed out there was horrifying.

Kristy was laying on the floor of their balcony, and Kenneth was standing over her, repeatedly punching her head.

Kristy’s own husband hit her over and over again.

Facebook; Kristy smiles in the above photo while holding a drink

Kristy’s brothers and her father heard the commotion and were able to enter their room. As they did so, they saw Kenneth try to drag Kristy’s body further out onto the balcony. A brother of Kristy’s intervened and grabbed onto her ankles, dragging her back inside of their room.

Then, the ship’s security and medical teams arrived and desperately tried to save Kristy’s life, but sadly they were too late.

Kenneth then tried to jump overboard off the cruise ship according to witnesses, but employees held him back and physically had to restrain him from doing so.

Kristy died due to blunt force trauma to her face and head, from her own husband beating her to death.

Court documents state that Kenneth admitted to one of the witnesses that he killed Kristy because “she would not stop laughing at me.”

Kenneth admitted that he did strike Kristy “once with a closed fist, seeing blood and striking Kristy Manzanares another time, and stated he had no memory after that point,” according to more of the court documents.

In February of 2020, Kenneth pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Yesterday, he was sentenced to 30 years behind bars.

“In 2017 Kenneth Manzanares brutally murdered his wife Kristy Manzanares while on an Alaskan cruise with their three daughters and extended family members,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson of the District of Alaska said in a statement.

“This was not a random act of violence but a chilling neglect for human life for which he will serve 30 years in federal prison, where there is no parole ever.”