A 52-year-old woman on a Caribbean Island cruise died after falling over a balcony railing in what could be an accident or murder.
The woman, whose name has not been released, was traveling on the Princess Cruise lines ship Royal Princess on an 8-day island tour. The ship departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Nov. 9. The lady was apparently traveling with a male companion, possibly her husband.
The lady was seen by fellow passengers arguing with her male companion, also not yet officially identified, while at a bar in Curacao.
The couple was seen continuing their conflict in the ship’s casino around 10:30 p.m. on the night of Nov. 12, while the ship was sailing from Curacao to Aruba, Daily Mail reported.
Around 4 a.m. the next morning, Nov. 13, the couple was seen arguing by the rail on Lido Deck 16, local news outlet Diario reported.
According to an eyewitness report from Cruise Law News, the woman may have been “pushed or fell” as she dropped nine floors to Deck 7 where she crashed into Lifeboat Number 2.
“She died instantly,” the witness stated.
According to Daily Mail, she hit the lifeboat with such force that one of her legs was severed from her body.
For the first time, we are hearing from passengers who were on the cruise ship where an American woman mysteriously died.
The 52-year-old woman died Tuesday morning, after reportedly plunging from the upper deck of a Royal Princess cruise ship. pic.twitter.com/cWUxQbYWQ2
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) November 16, 2018
Conflicting Accounts
Diario reported that some witnesses said that the woman was seen struggling with a “muscular man” who was trying to choke her.
Daily Mail reported that the muscular man was her husband and that, at that time, he was not considered a murder suspect.
But according to passenger Peter Ocello, there were conflicting eyewitness reports.
“We heard two stories, that there was a commotion at 4 a.m. by a couple that a lot of people had previously seen on Curacao fighting at a bar, when they were off the ship in port,” Ocello told Fox News.
“They came back on the ship, continued the argument and it escalated to a point at 4 o’clock in the morning where the two of them got into a struggle at the railing of the ship and some witnesses say he grabbed her and threw her over.”
Some eyewitnesses thought they saw something different.
“Some other witnesses … said that she tried to commit suicide, tried to climb over the railing and he grabbed her and tried to stop her,” Ocello told Fox.
“And we heard also that at one time people saw his hands around her neck, trying to strangle her. So we don’t know what the real truth is yet, but we heard that he was released and he was back on our ship. And I don’t know where it’s gonna go from there.”
Up to the Investigators
The cruise ship reached Aruba at 7:27 a.m. where a team of police investigators and forensic experts boarded, Diario reported.
The ship’s crew have also turned over security camera video to the authorities, which might help them ascertain if the victim was pushed, jumped, or fell over the rail.
A passenger posted on Cruisecritic.com, “This morning as we docked in Aruba, the captain came on the announcement channel and said that there was a serious incident and no one could leave as local authorities were coming onboard.”
Newsweek published this statement released by Princess Cruises: “A 52-year-old, American, female guest passed away early Tuesday morning aboard Royal Princess as the ship was en route to Aruba. The incident was reported to the FBI and local authorities and the local authorities met and boarded the ship upon arrival in Aruba.
“We are cooperating fully with the investigating authorities, including the FBI. An official cause of death has not been announced. We are deeply saddened by this incident and offer our sincere condolences to the family and those affected.”
CBS News reported that the victim’s husband was still in Aruba while the ship returned to Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 17.
