A Utah man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for beating his wife to death in front of their daughters during a cruise celebrating the couple's 18th anniversary.
Kenneth Manzanares beat his 39-year-old wife, Kristy Manzanares, to death with his bare hands after an argument over his earlier behavior led to his wife's request for a divorce. The 43-year-old told the daughters to leave the room when Kristy told him to leave the Alaskan cruise ship and travel back to Utah after the ship's stop in Juneau.
While in a relative's adjoining cabin, the daughters heard their mother screaming a few minutes later but were prevented from reentering the room. After running to the connected balcony, they witnessed their father striking their mother in the head with closed fists.
Kristy's two brothers and father arrived as Kenneth was attempting to toss Kristy's body overboard and dragged her back into the room. Security and medical professionals arrived afterward but were unable to save Kristy's life.
Kenneth was arrested for the 2017 incident and pled guilty to second-degree murder. He sought a 7 1/2-year sentence for the crime, citing an undiagnosed bipolar disorder and brain abnormalities from playing contact sports. However, the judge felt the defense still failed to show the factors that led to the assault and handed Kenneth the 30-year sentence.
Source: Daily Mail
