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Two days after going missing from a Mediterranean cruise, Micki Kanesaki's body was found in international waters off the coast of Italy on May 27, 2006. Kanesaki was cruising with her ex-husband Lonnie Kocontes, who told authorities that they had dinner, shared a bottle of wine before he took a sleeping pill and went to bed on the night of May 25. He woke up the next morning to realise that Kanesaki was missing.
Reports state that Kanesaki was strangled to death before her body was dumped in the water. An autopsy proved that there was no water in her lungs, suggesting that she was murdered before being thrown overboard contrary to Kocontes' claims that she fell from the cruise. He was arrested in connection with the murder in 2013 and found guilty seven years later.
Micki Kanesaki's murder case from 2006 will feature on NBC Dateline's upcoming episode titled Open Water this Sunday, May 14, at 7:00 pm ET. Here's a synopsis for the all-new episode:
"A romantic Mediterranean cruise, intended to rekindle the love between Micki Kanesaki and her ex-husband, turns into a tragedy when she vanishes."
Micki Kanesaki's murder: A romantic cruise, followed by a vicious murder plot, and other details from the 2006 Mediterranean murder
1) The victim went missing from the cruise while on vacation with ex-husband
According to reports, Micki Kanesaki's ex-husband, Lonnie Kocontes, with whom she was cruising in the Mediterranean, told authorities that the two were reconnecting at the time and had dinner and wine on the night of May 25, 2006, before he took a sleeping pill and went to bed. Kocontes claimed he woke up sometime around 4:30 am the following morning and found that Kanesaki was missing. He told authorities that she may have fallen overboard.
2) Micki Kanesaki's body was found nearly two days later
Kanesaki's dead body was found floating in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Paola, Italy, on May 27. According to NBC Los Angeles, her ex-husband Kocontes was put up in a hotel in Naples during the search prior to the discovery. However, he stayed there only for a day and left even before the victim's body was found.
A subsequent autopsy revealed that the 52-year-old was strangled to death as suggested by the "severe hemorrhaging around her neck." Moreover, the absence of water in her lungs proved that she was murdered before her body was thrown overboard and had also sustained a skull fracture or hemorrhaging in her brain.
3) The victim and her former husband were disputing over property in the months leading up to the murder
According to reports, Micki Kanesaki and Lonnie Kocontes divorced in 2002 after seven years of marriage, but continued to live together while attempting to divide their assets. In 2005, Kocontes married Amy Nguyen and moved in with his new wife, after which he filed a court motion to order Kanesaki to sell their Ladera Ranch home, but she refused.
The dispute came to an end after Kocontes decided to move in with Kanesaki again. The former couple eventually had new wills drafted, in which Kocontes was appointed as executor of Kansaki's estate.
4) Amy Nguyen tipped off authorities about Lonnie Kocontes' plans to murder Micki Kinesaki
Two years after Kanesaki's murder, Kocontes reportedly attempted to transfer $1 million between various bank accounts which triggered an investigation into the murder. Amy Nguyen later informer authorities that Kocontes and his best friend, Bill Price, who worked as a private investigator, conspired to kill Kanesaki on the cruise ship. He was arrested in 2013 from his home in Safety Harbor, Florida.
5) Kocontes was found guilty of ex-wife's murder in June 2020
After his 2013 arrest from Florida, Lonnie Kocontes was extradited to California, where he stood trial in Micki Kinesaki's murder, seven years later in February 2020 due to delays. After months-long trial, he was found guilty with a special-circumstance allegation of murder for financial gain later in June that year. In September, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
NBC Dateline airs with a new episode this Sunday at 7:00 pm ET.
