A passenger aboard a Texas-based cruise ship has been charged with murdering a woman inside their cabin on the first day of their voyage.
Cabin Discovery and Arrest
Crew members on the MSC Seascape discovered the unidentified victim dead and face down on the cabin floor. According to an FBI affidavit detailing the alleged crime, suspect Jason Leon Watford was found sitting in a corridor outside the room scrolling through his phone.
Watford was arrested after the vessel returned to port in Galveston early on Monday, following the interruption of a planned seven-day cruise around Mexico and the Caribbean. He faces one count of felony homicide and was scheduled to make his initial appearance in a Galveston federal court on Tuesday afternoon.
FBI Affidavit Details
A four-page criminal complaint signed by FBI maritime crimes taskforce officer Thomas Plew states that Watford admitted to investigators he and the woman argued while dining in a restaurant on Sunday evening while the ship was in the Gulf of Mexico. The dispute continued after they returned to their cabin.
According to the document, Watford stated that the escalating verbal argument caused him to snap. The complaint noted that he struck the victim multiple times, causing blood to emerge from her mouth and stain his shirt, pants, and hands, while an FBI team subsequently located bloodstained clothing on the cabin floor.
The suspect further stated that during the altercation, he began choking the victim with both hands and wrapped his right arm around her neck from behind while she was lying down. He told investigators that he applied pressure to her neck for about four to five minutes, releasing his hold only after he became exhausted.
Discovery by Ship Staff
A female housekeeping staff member raised the alarm after bringing towels to the cabin. When Watford opened the door slightly, she saw blood on his hands and pants, glimpsed a woman lying motionless on the floor, and alerted other crew personnel.
Three additional crew members reported seeing Watford leave the cabin wearing different clothes from the ones he wore when opening the door for the housekeeper. The document noted that the subject was observed sitting on the hallway floor outside the room scrolling on his smartphone.
Security personnel on the ship detained Watford and handed him over to the FBI when the Seascape docked in Galveston at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time on Monday. The ship resumed its itinerary later that same day.
No attorney was listed for Watford as the prosecution proceeds in federal court, which maintains jurisdiction over crimes committed aboard US vessels in international waters.
