Dramatic video shows a MSC Seascape passenger being arrested by the feds in connection with a murder probe after a woman was found dead aboard.
Wild footage, filmed by passengers, showed the man – identified as Jason Leon Watford – being led down a ramp once the ship returned to Galveston, Texas, on Monday, hours after setting sail for a seven day Caribbean cruise, Fox26 reported.
Watford, who was wearing a black shirt and joggers, was handcuffed and there were two law enforcement officers walking behind him, according to the video.
Watford, from East Texas, was then taken to the Galveston County Jail on an FBI hold.
“Since this is an ongoing investigation, no additional details will be provided,” a FBI spokesperson told KHOU.
The circumstances of the murder remain unclear. Galveston County medical examiners confirmed to ABC News that the victim was a woman.
Her relation to Watford is unclear and an autopsy is expected to be carried out on Tuesday.
It’s also unclear when the murder happened, but the FBI investigates deaths or violent crimes at sea as well as incidents that happen on cruise ships leaving American ports.
It has since emerged Watford was previously arrested in September 2024 for assaulting a family member, and was sentenced to 15 months of probation in November 2024, according to jail records seen by CBS19. It’s unclear whether the unidentified family member was the person found dead aboard the ship.
Passengers on board the MSC Seascape, a Maltese flagged vessel, were just hours into their Caribbean voyage before the ship returned to port.
The ship left Galveston at 4 p.m. Sunday before suddenly changing course at around 11 p.m., with passengers waking up back in the Texas city.
One traveler, known only as Jonah, was confused when he woke up at around 8 a.m. Monday to see the ship back at Galveston — and recalled how the captain made a conscious effort not to create a panic.
“That’s when I heard the captain stating there was an incident that happened,” he told Fox26.
“We all noticed that we were back at Galveston. He was basically just stating there was something that happened.
“They were saying it was like a medical emergency [and] we needed to go back to the port.
“They pretty much told us to remain calm and just stay and enjoy the ship. That was pretty much it. We were just waiting to hear more information.”
De’Andre Anderson, another passenger on board, told ABC13 the announcements made on the intercom were relating to a “medical emergency.”
“I kind of look out of my room, and I seen there were medical staff on board, you know, with gloves on and everything,” he said.
“I wasn’t you know too worried because it doesn’t directly affect me. I was just worried for the people that were involved.”
Meanwhile Victor Williams, who is on the ship with his wife, Sarah Williams, revealed he saw investigators on deck 10 of the ship wearing rubber gloves and hazmat suits.
The ship left Galveston after the man was arrested and it’s heading towards to Costa Maya, Mexico.
The 19-deck ship, which has a capacity of up to 5,877 passengers, will then head to Roatán Island, Honduras, before docking in Cozumel, Mexico, later this week.
It’s expected to dock at Galveston on Nov. 15 at around 6:30 a.m.
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