ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 16, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A Utah man who was convicted of second-degree murder in the beating death of his wife has been found dead in his prison cell in Alaska
Kenneth Manzanares, 43, was pronounced dead at Lemon Creek Correctional Center on Wednesday, according to a news release from the Alaska Department of Corrections.
Manzanares was found unresponsive in his cell at 6:59 a.m., the news release states.
“Correctional officers and medical staff responded and immediately began performing life saving measures until emergency responders arrived on scene at 7:14 a.m.,” it says. “EMS pronounced Manzanares dead at 7:42 a.m. ”
His next of kin have been notified.
Alaska DOC officials do not suspect foul play, and his death was not COVID-19 related.
According to the news release, this death is the seventh in DOC custody this year.
Manzanares, from southern Utah, had been in Alaska DOC custody since July 26, 2017.
He pleaded guilty in 2020 to the 2017 beating death of 39-year-old Kristy Manzanares in their cabin aboard an Alaskan cruise ship, the Emerald Princess, during a family vacation.
Prosecutors said the assault came after Kristy told her husband she wanted a divorce and asked him to leave the ship.
After his guilty plea, Manzanares was sentenced to 30 years in the federal prison.
