Susan Watford’s life was marked by repeated setbacks before it ended violently at just 31, when she was allegedly beaten and strangled in her cruise ship cabin.
A teenage runaway from an Amish community, she went on to earn a university degree, establish a promising career as a Target manager and raise three children.
But her life also included several encounters with the law and two troubled marriages. Both of her husbands spent years behind bars for serious offenses, and at least one was accused of abusing her.
Jason Leon Watford, 48, is now jailed and charged with murdering Susan in front of their youngest child, only hours after the couple boarded what was supposed to be a romantic cruise on Sunday.
Susan was born Susan Wengred and fled the Amish community where she grew up before eventually entering the foster-care system in Columbia, Missouri.
During her teenage years, she lived at Coyote Hill Children’s Home, where she became a beloved “big sister” to a group of girls now mourning her violent death.
Larry McDaniel, the organization’s retired founder, remembered Susan as a determined worker and “a survivor” whose progress filled him with pride.
“We get born into all kinds of things that we didn’t ask for, but she made her way and she got through it. She did what she had to do,” he told the Daily Mail.
“She was delightful, fun to be around and full of life, just a wonderful person.”
Susan Watford, 31, was allegedly beaten and strangled in front of her toddler during a cruise off the coasts of Mexico and Honduras on Sunday night
Susan Wengred, as she was then known, left the Amish community where she was born and later entered foster care in Columbia, Missouri. She is pictured at Christmas there
McDaniel said Susan had taken a particular interest in a program that supported foster children and traumatized military veterans through horseback riding.
“A couple of years ago she sent an email saying, ‘I’m doing really well,’ and she was so proud of herself and how far she had come,” McDaniel said.
“Sometimes, you make mistakes and end up with someone who wasn’t a good choice and… this is… I’m just very, very sad. It’s a terrible thing; there are no words.”
Susan’s foster sister, Breana Chappell, was among the many former Coyote Hill foster siblings who came together to grieve after learning of her death.
They remembered how “Suz” cared for them and shared photographs of the group holding hands beneath a Christmas tree, including one showing Susan hanging an ornament.
“One thing about foster care is that you don’t just meet strangers. You meet people who become family, people who grow up alongside you, people who leave permanent pieces of themselves in your heart,” Chappell wrote.
“She had been part of my life since I was a little girl. We shared a bond that went beyond foster care, and I will forever consider her my sister.”
After aging out of foster care, Susan faced difficulties as she tried to build an independent life.
Susan’s grieving foster sister remembered how “Suz” cared for the younger girls and shared photographs of them holding hands beneath a Christmas tree
In 2013, when she was 17, Susan was arrested after becoming involved in a series of crimes with her future first husband, Marland Lane, now 35.
Security footage showed her breaking into cars in Jefferson City, Missouri, stealing valuables and later using a stolen credit card to shop.
Several days later, her car crashed during a high-speed police pursuit in neighboring Boone County after authorities received reports of gunfire. Stolen items were found in the wreckage.
Susan was charged with theft, fraud and forgery. In 2014, she pleaded guilty to felony stealing and received five years of probation.
She also served 60 days in jail after violating probation connected to an earlier offense.
Court records stated that Lane was driving Susan’s car during the chase and admitted firing two stolen guns from the vehicle.
He was sentenced to four years in prison for his role, while two other people in the car were also jailed on weapons and resisting-arrest charges.
Lane’s sentence ran concurrently with other terms related to the theft and forgery offenses involving Susan, marijuana possession and driving without a license.
Despite his imprisonment, Susan married Lane after he was released. They had two children, Trey and Kristina, who now have no relationship with their father.
Susan married Lane after his release from prison, and they had two children, Trey and Kristina. A GoFundMe fundraiser has been launched to buy clothes for them because they “have not been able to get into their house because of an investigation”
By the time she died, Susan had earned a university degree, built a promising career at Target and was raising three children
Financial records indicated that Susan supported the household, earning between $17,000 and $21,000 a year while Lane brought in about $4,500 from “odd jobs.”
The couple eventually moved to Texas and settled in Tyler, roughly 100 miles east of Dallas. It was the city Susan would call home for the rest of her life.
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She filed for divorce in 2019 and began rebuilding her life that October, when she joined the local Target as a warehouse worker.
Her LinkedIn profile charted her rise through the company, culminating in a team-leader role by 2024.
That same year, she earned an online bachelor’s degree in business administration from Colorado Technical University and joined the Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society.
“I have a keen interest in financial analysis, budgeting, and forecasting, and I apply my problem-solving and communication skills to various projects and assignments,” her profile stated.
Yet less than two years after divorcing Lane, Susan married another man with an even more extensive and troubling criminal record. She wed Watford in December 2021.
The couple had another child. That toddler was allegedly forced to watch as Watford killed Susan.
Susan’s husband, Jason Leon Watford, 48, is jailed and accused of killing her in front of their youngest child only hours after they boarded a cruise on Sunday
Susan’s LinkedIn profile said she joined Target in 2019, advanced to team leader by 2024 and earned her degree
Watford allegedly told investigators that he beat and strangled Susan in their cruise ship cabin
The full extent of any abuse behind closed doors remains unclear, but one incident was reported to police in September 2024.
Susan told an officer that Watford grabbed her wrist during an argument about money, forcing her to use a Taser in self-defense.
She recorded the confrontation, and audio captured Watford becoming increasingly angry as she shouted at him to step away.
Watford initially denied assaulting her, but later pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily injury to a family member. He was sentenced to 15 months of probation.
A few weeks before her death, Susan made plans to visit Chappell after learning that her foster sister had welcomed a baby.
“I want to come see you or you should come here!” she wrote in a text message. “I’m sorry I haven’t called or texted much lately.”
She would never get the opportunity.
Weeks before her death, Susan planned to visit foster sister Chappell after learning about the birth of her new baby
The couple boarded the MSC Seascape in Galveston, Texas, on Sunday morning for a romantic cruise off the coasts of Mexico and Honduras.
By that evening, however, they were arguing over dinner. Watford left the restaurant and returned to their cabin at 7:46 p.m.
Susan arrived 25 minutes later, and the argument continued. According to a charging affidavit, Watford told the FBI that he “snapped” and punched his wife in the face several times.
The blows were allegedly so forceful that they caused blood to spray from Susan’s mouth onto Watford’s shirt, pants and hands.
During the attack, Watford allegedly placed both hands around Susan’s neck and then “wrapped his right arm around [her] neck from behind while she was lying down,” according to the affidavit.
“[Watford] stated that he applied pressure to [her] neck for approximately four to five minutes and released his hold only after becoming exhausted.”
Susan’s death was discovered about 10 minutes later when a housekeeper came to the cabin to deliver towels and raised the alarm after allegedly seeing blood on Watford’s hands and clothing, with Susan lying behind him.
Watford was taken from the MSC Seascape in handcuffs after the ship returned to Galveston, Texas, early Monday morning
Passenger photographs showed forensic teams examining the cabin and removing evidence from the ship
Susan was killed aboard the MSC Seascape, pictured in 2023, before the ship turned around and returned to Galveston on Monday
Watford was led from the ship in handcuffs after it turned back toward Galveston on Monday morning. He faces a federal murder charge that could result in a life sentence.
A fundraiser has been created to provide clothing for Susan’s older children, who “have not been able to get into their house because of an investigation” and cannot retrieve their clothes or other necessities.
Susan’s toddler was in the cabin when she was killed but was not injured. The child is reportedly now being cared for by Watford’s mother.
“My heart breaks knowing that someone as beautiful as you was taken from this world far too soon. You did not deserve this. Not one bit of it,” Chappell wrote.
“Your light should have had so many more years to shine, so many more memories to make and so many more moments to share with the people who love you.”
“I am so sorry that your story was cut short, that your babies have to grow up without your arms around them and that those who love you are left trying to make sense of a loss that should never have happened.”