Utah man who killed wife aboard Alaska cruise found dead in cell

JUNEAU (AP) - A Utah man who was sentenced to 30 years in prison last month in the beating death of his wife on an Alaska cruise has died, the Alaska Department of Corrections said.

Kenneth Manzanares was in the department’s custody, at its prison in Juneau, when he was found unresponsive in his cell July 14, the department said in a statement. Lifesaving measures were attempted but he was later pronounced dead, the department said.

Manzanares is the seventh person to die in the department’s custody this year, according to the department, which said all deaths are reviewed by the Alaska State Troopers and state medical examiner’s office. According to the Department of Corrections, he was 43.

The department declined to provide other details about Manzanares’ death, citing confidentiality, though it said no foul play was suspected.

Manzanares pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder in the beating death of his wife, 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares of Santa Clara, Utah, on a 2017 Alaska cruise. He was sentenced last month in a crime the federal judge overseeing the case described as violent and brutal.

Manzanares’ attorneys, in a court filing, said he had brain abnormalities that a defense expert deemed consistent with injuries caused by playing contact sports. The defense filing also said a “combination of prescribed medication and alcohol resulted in an aberrant episode of violence.”