Suvechha Sarkar
Micki Kanesaki was looking forward to a new future when her peaceful Mediterranean cruise journey turned into a tragedy. In May 2006, she went missing while aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Italy, and her remains were discovered the next day. The case shocked her loved ones and the international community owing to the dark secrets that unravelled during the years-long investigation. NBC’s ‘Dateline: Open Water’ focuses on this case and its investigation, which spanned across continents. It also features court records, interviews with her loved ones, and the officials closely involved in the matter.
Micki Kanesaki’s Remains Were Discovered Off the Coast a Day After Her Disappearance
Micki Kanesaki was born on May 9, 1954, in Japan, arriving as a ray of sunshine in the lives of her parents. She was the youngest of her siblings – two sisters and a brother, Toshi. She grew up in Japan surrounded by the immense love and support of her parents and her older siblings. When Micki was just 6 years old, her father left his coal mining job, and the family moved to Central Valley, California, in 1960. In 1992, she graduated with honors from the law school before eventually becoming a Paralegal/Legal Assistant at a major law firm in Los Angeles, California. She met Lonnie Loren Kocontes at the firm, who was an attorney, and they quickly grew closer. They tied the knot in 1995 and began living at their house in Orange County, California.
However, problems arose between Micki and Lonnie due to the latter’s alleged need for control over the finances, and they divorced in 2002. Although Lonnie got another apartment in downtown Los Angeles, he and Micki lived together at their joint house. Since that arrangement worked well for them, Lonnie wanted to mend their relationship, and in May 2006, he booked a trip for both of them on a romantic Mediterranean cruise. He also booked another cabin for his good friends, Bill Price and Susan McQueen. However, when both friends cancelled at the last minute, Micki and Lonnie went on the cruise alone. On May 25, 2006, they explored Sicily, Italy, before returning to their cruise ship, Island Escape. However, on May 26, 2006, before arriving at Naples, Italy, he reported that Micki was missing around 6 am.
The search of Micki and Lonnie’s cabin showed nothing amiss, apart from a wine bottle by the bed and an upright chair on the balcony. Although the ship and surrounding waters were searched by the coast guard, she could not be found. Lonnie decided to return to California when, on May 27, 2006, around 4 pm, the captain of a ship found the remains of a female off the coast of Italy. When the remains were handed over to the authorities, she was identified as Micki. The autopsy was conducted on June 16, 2006, in Vibo Valentina, Italy. It revealed a trauma at the back of the head with multiple bruises on her remains, especially her inner thighs, that indicated sexual assault. A bruise at the base of her neck was consistent with strangulation. They found no water in her lungs or stomach, which reportedly meant that she was already dead when she was thrown overboard. The autopsy determined her cause of death to be asphyxiation due to strangulation.
A Possible Financial Motive Turned the Suspicion to Someone Close to Micki
During her initial disappearance, Lonnie called his friend, Bill, to inform him that he and Micki had had a few drinks the previous night. He claimed that he fell asleep while she went to get a herbal tea, and he couldn’t find her when he woke up. Since the incident occurred overseas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began its investigation, and they got the same statement from him. However, when both of his friends cancelled at the last minute, Micki and Lonnie went on the cruise alone. They learned from her niece, Julie Saranita, that Micki was happy about her reconciliation with Lonnie and the cruise trip. On the other hand, Bill discovered that while Lonnie was supposed to fly from Italy to Tampa, he had changed the ticket to California to meet another woman, Amy Nguyen, whom he had been dating before patching things up with Micki.
The authorities then asked Julie to record her conversation with Lonnie, but the recording provided no leads. His friends Bill and Susan, who were also private investigators, reportedly decided to help Lonnie investigate what happened on that fateful day. A few months after the incident, they booked a cabin on the same ship, Island Escape, and discovered that around 1500 passengers and crew were onboard on May 26, 2006. No one on board the vessel heard or saw anything amiss between Lonnie and Micki, but the railing of the balconies was too high for Micki to fall accidentally because she was short. Meanwhile, officials discovered that the joint assets of Lonnie and Micki amounted to approximately $2 million. However, when she passed away, it was inherited by Lonnie, and he transferred it to an overseas bank.
When the case was brought before a grand jury to decide if Lonnie should be indicted for murder, the jury decided against it. To prove his friend’s innocence, Bill asked Lonnie to take a polygraph test, who by then lived in Florida. However, he failed the polygraph test, and shortly after, he transferred more than $1 million from an overseas bank to a bank in Florida. Since the FBI monitored his financial activities, they seized the money and sued him in a civil case. However, he won the case since his defense reportedly said he was investing the money. When the case went to the District Attorney’s (DA’s) office, they discovered that Amy was his ex-wife, whom he married in July 2005, before divorcing her to reconcile with Micki. Although after her death, he went back to Amy, he again left her in early 2007.
Confession From a Key Witness Brought Micki’s Killer to Justice
The case took a turn when, in January 2009, Bill and Susan questioned Amy. She claimed that Lonnie had told her before the cruise trip about his plan to murder Micki and allegedly said that Bill had big connections and would help him in the act. When Bill questioned Lonnie about the incident, he admitted to saying so, claiming he wanted to appear powerful before Amy. Ultimately, after an initial resistance, Amy agreed to speak at the DA’s office, where she initially denied knowing Bill. However, when she was given immunity in return for her cooperation, she confessed that Lonnie had threatened her to lie before the grand jury in December 2006. Finally, he was arrested in February 2013 and charged with first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty and reportedly filed multiple motions that delayed the trial.
While awaiting trial, in April 2014, a fellow inmate of Lonnie’s came forward and confessed that he tried to hire a hitman to kill his ex-wife, Amy, who was also a key witness in his case. Hence, he was also indicted with the charge of solicitation to commit murder. The jury trial of Lonnie began in February 2020, during which Amy served as a star witness. After deliberation, he was convicted of first-degree murder on June 15, 2020. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on September 18, 2020. Since he received that sentence, the prosecution reportedly dismissed the solicitation charge against him. Although he appealed his conviction, the Appellate Court affirmed the original judgment on December 22, 2022.
Read More: Amy Nguyen: What Happened to Lonnie Kocontes’ Ex-Wife?
