MICKI Kanesaki was a paralegal who was murdered by her ex-husband and thrown into the sea.
Her tragic murder, which sparked a years-long investigation, will be examined in Channel 5’s The Push: Murder on a Cruise Ship.
Micki’s mysterious death
In May 2006, Micki went on a cruise with Lonnie Loren Kocontes – her ex-husband and a California lawyer.
The pair had met while working for the same Los Angeles law firm, where Kocontes was a lawyer and Micki was a paralegal.
They tied the knot in 1995 before divorcing in 2002.
Despite divorcing, the pair continued to live together to protect their assets.
After taking the cruise with Kocontes in 2006, Micki vanished.
Her body was found in the sea by the crew of a research vessel, off the coast of Italy on May 28.
It was soon determined that she was strangled to death, as an autopsy revealed significant hemorrhaging around her neck and the absence of water in her lungs.
In May 2006, Kanesaki went on a cruise with her ex-husband, Lonnie Loren Kocontes — a former Irvine, California lawyer.
Authorities also uncovered that Kanesaki had suffered a skull fracture or hemorrhaging in her brain.
Finding Micki’s killer
Unbeknowst to Micki, Kocontes had begun a secret relationship with Amy Nguyen whom he wed in Las Vegas, in 2005.
He moved in with her that same year and tried to force Micki to sell the home which they both co-owned.
Kocontes eventually parted ways with Nguyen, returning to live with Micki. Later, he revised both his and his ex-wife’s wills, appointing himself as the executor of her estate.
He strangled Micki and threw her into the ocean, having chosen a cruise where each room had an ocean-facing window.
Kocontes was finally convicted of murder on June 15, 2025, with a “special-circumstance allegation of murder for financial gain”.
Murder on a cruise ship
Micki’s tragic murder will be explored in Channel 5’s The Push: Murder on a Cruise Ship.
The episode will feature interviews with the people who helped bring Kocontes to justice.
Viewers can catch the episode when it airs on March 13, 2025, at 10pm.
It will also be available to stream on My5.
