ONNIE Loren Kocontes murdered his wife at sea, in a bid to steal millions from her bank account. 

The killer’s sinister crime will be explored in Channel 5’s true crime series The Push: Murder on a Cruise Ship.

Marrying Micki Kanesaki

Lonnie Loren Kocontes is a former attorney from Florida who met Micki Kanesaki after moving to Los Angeles. 

The pair worked at the same law firm, where Micki was a paralegal. 

They married in 1995 before divorcing in 2002. 

The ex-couple continued living together after divorcing, as they co-owned their home. 

During this time, Kocontes had begun secretly dating another woman named Amy Nguyen. 

He attempted to force Micki into selling their home, before dumping Nguyen and moving back in with his ex-wife. 

Kocontes drew up new wills for himself and his ex, which made him the executor of her estate. 

Kocontes faces justice

Kocontes and Micki decided to go on a cruise together and began travelling around the Italian coast in May 2006. 

However, on May 28, 2006, Micki disappeared.

When her body was discovered by a research boat, it was revealed that she had been strangled before the killer threw her into the sea. 

Kocontes was cleared of all suspicion until 2008 when he tried to withdraw $1 million from Micki’s account. 

He was arrested in 2013 and finally convicted of murder in 2020, which resulted in him being handed a life sentence. 

Murder on a Cruise Ship

Kocontes’ criminal plan will be explored in the Channel 5 show The Push: Murder on a Cruise Ship.

The episode will take viewers behind the scenes of the murder and the decade-long investigation that followed.

Viewers can catch the episode when it airs on March 13, 2025, at 10pm.