Jason Leon Watford, 48, of Tyler, Texas, has been charged with federal murder after a woman, who has not been publicly identified, was found dead in a cabin aboard the MSC Seascape on the first night of a weeklong cruise from Galveston.
According to a criminal complaint, Watford and the woman argued at a shipboard restaurant on November 8. Security footage then showed him returning alone to their deck 10 cabin at 7:46 p.m., and the woman arriving about 25 minutes later. After waiving his Miranda rights, Watford told FBI agents that the argument continued until he snapped and punched her in the face several times, that his blows caused blood to emit from her mouth and onto his shirt, pants, and hands, and that he then choked her, applied pressure to [her] neck for approximately four to five minutes and released his hold only after becoming exhausted, the affidavit alleged.
A housekeeper who knocked with towels at 9:02 p.m. saw blood on Watfords hands and pants and the woman lying motionless on the floor, and MSC security found her with severe facial injuries at 9:13 p.m. The ship turned back, arriving in Galveston about 5 a.m. Monday, and Watford was led off in handcuffs; he remains in the Galveston County Jail on a federal hold. Authorities have not identified the woman or described her relationship to Watford as a matter of public record, and it is not known whether she is the same person named in a prior case.
In September 2024, Watford was arrested in Smith County on a charge of assault causing bodily injury to a family member, and in November 2024 he was sentenced to 15 months of probation and 30 hours of community service, Smith County records confirmed by local officials show. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance at 1 p.m. Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Edison in Galveston. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine; MSC Cruises said that after reporting a guest incident aboard our ship, we were instructed by the authorities to return to the Port of Galveston, and the Seascape left again about 11 a.m. Monday, due back November 15 after stops in Mexico and Honduras.
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