Prosecutors say they will NOT seek the death penalty for Utah man who 'killed his realtor wife during an Alaska cruise on their anniversary because she wouldn't stop laughing at him'
- Alaska prosecutors announced they are not seeking the death penalty in Utah man Kenneth Manzanares' trial murder trial
- Kenneth is charged with murdering his wife during a cruise in Alaska
- Kristy Manzanares died from a severe head wound sustained in their cabin
- Witnesses said Kenneth was covered in blood and tried to throw her overboard
Federal prosecutors in Alaska do not plan to seek the death penalty in the case of the Utah man accused of killing his wife during a cruise off the state's coast.
Kenneth Manzanares, 39, has been charged with murder in the death of his wife, Kristy Manzanares, in July. He has pleaded not guilty.
While the state of Alaska does not have capital punishment, the death occurred while the ship was in U.S. waters, making it a federal case. Federal courts can legally seek the death penalty in all 50 states.
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Alaska federal prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty in Kenneth Manzanares' (right) murder trial for killing his wife Kristy (left). He has pleaded not guilty
Kristy, 39, a real estate agent, was found July 25 in her cabin on Princess Cruises' ship, the Emerald Princess, which had left Seattle two days earlier for a seven-day, roundtrip cruise. The ship was off the coast of Alaska at the time of the incident.
She had a severe head wound and was pronounced dead 20 minutes after security arrived at the cabin.
In a July affidavit, FBI Special Agent Michael Watson said witnesses saw blood on Kenneth's hands and clothes. One witness said Kenneth told him: 'She would not stop laughing at me,' according to the affidavit.
Little has been released about the case since then.
Kenneth and Kristy were said to be on the seven day murder mystery-themed cruise with their three children, celebrating the couple's 17 years together
Kristy suffered a severe head wound and was pronounced dead 20 minutes later
Witnesses said that they saw Kenneth with blood on his hands and clothing and was heard saying that, 'She would not stop laughing at me'
Attorneys have cited 'voluminous' amounts of discovery, including eyewitness statements and medical examiner and toxicology reports, to review.
The U.S. attorney's office announced its decision to not pursue the death penalty in a court filing, dated Friday.
A status conference in the case is scheduled for next week. Kenneth's jury trial is set to begin on April 23 in Juneau, Alaska.
Kristy was a real estate agent with Sotheby's in St. George, Utah
Kenneth and Kristy had been a couple for 17 years and were said to be celebrating their anniversary while on the family vacation with their three daughters - aged between 13 and 22 - at the time of Kristy's death.
According to court documents which were made public in August, following Kenneth's indictment, 'Blood was spread throughout' and was on 'multiple surfaces' of the room where Kristy was found.
In the documents, the witness says that Kenneth tried to 'grab [Kristy's] body and drag her toward the balcony,' but the witness intervened - grabbing 'the ankles of [Kristy's] body' to pull her back into the cabin.
When asked by the witness what happened to his wife, Kenneth responded: 'She would not stop laughing at me.'
According to cruise ship staff, Kenneth had attempted to throw her body overboard.
The theme of the cruise was a murder mystery and staff said that they believed the grisly scene had been staged as part of it when they first arrived at the couple's room.
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