Cruise ship murder suspect 'snapped' after argument at dinner, court docs say
A man accused of killing a woman on a cruise ship gave a chilling confession to FBI agents, according to newly-released court documents.
Jason Watford, 48, was arrested on Monday over the death onboard the MSC Seascape, a huge cruise ship with 2,270 cabins that can host nearly 5,900 guests.
An investigation was launched after the victim, who has not yet been identified, was found dead in her room with multiple facial injuries. She was killed Sunday after the vessel left Galveston, Texas, per an FBI affidavit filed in federal court.
A housekeeper knocked on the cabin door to deliver towels and saw the woman lying motionless on the floor, according to the affidavit. The housekeeper also saw what looked like blood on Watford’s hands and pants when he opened the door.
After his arrest, Watford told FBI agents that he beat and choked the victim in their cabin after an argument at dinner caused him to “snap,” according to court documents.
He said he and the woman had boarded the ship together on Sunday and started arguing while having dinner at a restaurant onboard.
Watford told agents that the argument continued in their room and he hit the woman several times and “applied pressure” to her neck “for approximately four to five minutes” until he became exhausted, per the affidavit. He said she lay motionless for about 10 minutes until the housekeeper arrived.
Surveillance video showed Watford entering the room at 7:46 p.m. The victim returned about 25 minutes later. At 9:15 p.m., Watford was seen on the video leaving the room wearing a different shirt and pants, according to the complaint, and he sat down on the hallway floor looking at his phone.
Watford, of Tyler, Texas, was set to make an initial federal court appearance on a murder charge Tuesday in Galveston. He was being held at a county jail.
MSC Cruises said the vessel resumed its voyage Monday and that the company was cooperating with authorities and offering support to those impacted.
Homicide investigations on cruise ships are not very commin. Earlier this year, a teenager was charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival Cruise ship out of Florida.
