Jason Watford Accused of Strangling His Wife Aboard the MSC Seascape

A Tyler man is facing a federal murder charge after his wife was found dead inside their cabin aboard the MSC Seascape on the first night of a Caribbean cruise. Jason Leon Watford, 48, is accused of beating and strangling Susan Watford in the couple's cabin on deck 10 on Sunday night, hours after the ship left Galveston. He appeared in federal court in Galveston on Tuesday and remains in custody. A criminal complaint is an accusation, and Watford is presumed innocent unless he is convicted.

The Seascape pulled out of Galveston at about 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 8, at the start of a seven-night Western Caribbean sailing — Costa Maya, Roatán and Cozumel. The 19-deck ship can carry up to 5,877 passengers. By the following morning, it was back where it started.

According to the FBI affidavit filed with the complaint, the couple began arguing while eating at one of the ship's restaurants. Watford returned to the cabin at about 7:46 p.m., investigators say, and his wife followed roughly 25 minutes later. The argument kept going behind the cabin door. The complaint says Watford told FBI agents that he "snapped" — that he struck his wife multiple times and then strangled her, first with both hands and then with his right arm around her neck, applying pressure for about four to five minutes and letting go only when he was exhausted.

Investigators say Susan Watford lay motionless on the cabin floor for about ten minutes. Her husband never called ship security or the medical team. Shortly after 9 p.m., a housekeeper delivering towels knocked on the door. According to the complaint, she saw blood on Watford's hands and pants and Susan face-down and unmoving inside, and she raised the alarm. Surveillance footage cited by investigators shows Watford leaving the cabin at about 9:15 p.m. wearing different clothes, then sitting in the hallway scrolling his phone. Ship security detained him, and MSC contacted the FBI's Texas City office at about 11 p.m.

The couple's child was inside the cabin. KHOU reported the FBI confirmed the child was not harmed and is now in the care of Texas child protective services.

The Seascape docked at Pier 16 at the Port of Galveston at about 5:30 a.m. on Monday. Passengers filmed Watford being led off the ship in handcuffs, and he was booked into the Galveston County Jail on a federal hold, with no bond.

Most passengers learned none of this until later. Announcements over the ship's intercom described a medical emergency, and passengers said an alert went out across the ship late Sunday night. One traveler woke Monday morning surprised to find the Seascape already back in Galveston. Another passenger told reporters he had seen investigators on the 10th deck wearing rubber gloves and protective suits.

The complaint charges Watford with murder under federal law, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division — killings aboard ships that sail from U.S. ports into international waters are federal cases. At his initial appearance on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Edison, the court appointed a public defender, Alex Omar Rosa-Ambert, CNN reported. Watford waived his detention hearing and did not ask to be released. A probable-cause hearing is set for Monday, November 16, according to KLTV. If he is convicted, he faces up to life in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, which says Assistant U.S. Attorney Anh-Khoa Tran is prosecuting the case. The FBI's Texas City Resident Agency is leading the investigation, with the Coast Guard, the Port of Galveston Police Department, Customs and Border Protection and MSC assisting.

On Tuesday, the Galveston County medical examiner ruled Susan Watford's death a homicide following an autopsy. The FBI publicly identified her the same day, with spokesman Connor Hagan confirming her name. A man who said he is Watford's son declined to comment, the Associated Press reported.

Court records show this was not the first time Watford had been accused of violence against his wife. He was arrested on September 1, 2024, in Smith County on a charge of assault causing bodily injury to a family member, and the Associated Press confirmed the victim in that case was Susan Watford. He pleaded guilty that November and received 15 months of probation and 30 hours of community service.

MSC Cruises said authorities instructed the ship to return to Galveston following a "guest incident aboard," and that the company is cooperating with the investigation. The Seascape resumed its voyage on Monday. The FBI said the investigation is ongoing and provided no additional details.