Naman Shrestha
In NBC’s ‘Dateline: Open Water,’ the primary focus is on the mysterious murder of Micki Kanesaki in May 2006 during a Mediterranean cruise to Italy. She was accompanied by her ex-husband, Lonnie Kocontes, as they were trying to reconnect the love they used to share. However, the investigation uncovered a web of lies and adultery as the detectives gathered evidence against Lonnie, who turned out to be responsible for the brutal killing of his ex-wife. The documentary also consists of exclusive interviews with friends and family of Micki, and officials linked to the investigation.
Lonnie Kocontes Took His Ex-Wife on a Cruise as Part of His Murderous Plot
Born in the late 1950s, Lonnie Loren Kocontes was an attorney at a Los Angeles law firm, where he met a paralegal named Micki Kanesaki. He fell in love with her and asked her out on a date. Thus, a romance blossomed between them, which led to them living together in Orange County, where Lonnie purchased a property. As things got serious between them, the couple tied the knot in 1995. A few years later, in 1999, Lonnie was allegedly involved sexually with the minor daughter of one of his clients. He denied the allegations against him, but was arrested for the same. Following his involvement in the controversy, the law firm he had been working for sacked him. Through all of this, Micki reportedly stood by his side. In the end, the charges against him were dropped. However, their marriage deteriorated, and in 2002, they reportedly got divorced.
Despite that, they continued living together in Ladera Ranch while they worked on splitting up their assets. That same year, Lonnie met a teacher named Amy Nguyen through a dating website and began a romantic relationship with her. In 2005, the two tied the knot in Las Vegas, after which they moved in together in Orange, California. In September of the same year, he pushed his ex-wife to sell the Ladera Ranch property by filing a motion in court. In a strange turn of events, Lonnie reportedly left Amy and tried to rekindle his relationship with Micki, with whom he planned a cruise to Italy on the Island Escape in 2006. While they were on board the cruise in late May 2006, he reportedly strangled her to death and threw her remains overboard into the Mediterranean Sea.
When she was reported missing, he told the authorities that he woke up in the early hours of May 26, 2006, only to find his partner missing from the ship. While the investigation was ongoing, he was transferred to a hotel in Naples, Italy, where he remained for a single day. Even before Micki’s remains were found in the open waters, he had already gone to California to stay with Amy. Meanwhile, the autopsy revealed that Micki had no water in her respiratory system, indicating that she had been killed before she got into the water. Lonnie allegedly told Amy that he had hired his friend, Bill Price, to get rid of Micki on the ship. However, she could not tell the truth to a federal grand jury in 2006, as he had threatened to kill her. Several years later, after the police gathered enough evidence against him, Lonnie was arrested for the murder of Micki Kanesaki in February 2013 in Florida.
Lonnie Kocontes is Currently Incarcerated at a California Prison Facility
In May 2013, Lonnie Kocontes pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, including attempting to solicit the murder of Nguyen. Having spent several years in custody awaiting trial, his trial finally began in February 2020. However, the trial was postponed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. A few months later, the trial resumed. While the prosecution presented a series of evidence against the defendant, the defense argued that Micki’s injuries were caused by the fall she took from the cruise ship. After the jury heard both sides of the coin over the course of several weeks, they deliberated before reaching a verdict.
On June 15, they convicted Lonnie Kocontes of murder with a special circumstances allegation of murder for financial gain in connection with the killing of his ex-wife, Micki Kanesaki. About three months later, on September 18, the convict’s sentencing hearing took place. During the hearing, Micki’s brother, Toshi Kanesaki, took the stand and addressed Lonnie. He stated, “You, Lonnie, executed my younger sister on that Mediterranean cruise ship… You strangled Micki… then you threw her body overboard like trash… You are a vicious criminal, evil person, a cold-blooded killer, a sociopath.”
Toshi added that Micki “got the last revenge. Her body was found 36 hours later… You deserve life in prison without the possibility of parole. You are rotten to the core. I never want to see you again.” Ultimately, the killer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In the following years, Lonnie appealed his conviction multiple times, but was denied by the court. As of today, 67-year-old Lonnie Kocontes is serving his sentence at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California.
Read More: Micki Kanesaki Murder Details and Investigation Timeline
