On September 20 on a container ship called ‘MSC Ravenna’ that was heading from China to Los Angeles, a Filipino crew member attacked his fellow seafarer with knives, brutally stabbing him multiple times; 17 times to be precise, inflicting numerous wounds.
His fellow seaman, also a Filipino, died from the wounds. Other members of the crew witnessed this traumatizing attack, after which the master of the ship persuaded the attacker to surrender the knives, according to the complaint. The attacker was then detained in a cabin on the ship, where other crew members took turns supervising him.
The attacker, Michael Dequito Monegro, 41, is a resident of the Philippines. On September 22 he was named in a complaint that charged him with performing an act of violence against a person on board a ship that is likely to endanger the safe navigation of the ship, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
This felony offence carries a sentence of up to life in federal prison or the death penalty. The complaint was filed in federal court in Los Angeles, it alleges that Monegro used two knives to repeatedly stab the victim on the MSC Ravenna on Sept. 20.
On September 22 after the ship had docked, Personnel from the FBI and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service responded to it. They obtained consent from the ship’s owner, and start investigating the vessel. They also took custody of the victim’s body and recovered the two knives that had been identified the murder weapons by the witnesses.
According to an affidavit in support of the complaint “Based on an initial assessment of the body, it appears that (the victim) was stabbed approximately 17 times, had multiple defensive wounds to his hands, and lacerations to his throat, face, and leg,”
Monegro admitted to stabbing the victim repeatedly during an interview on the ship by two FBI agents, the affidavit states. It also states that the incident has traumatized some of the crew members who witnessed the attack.
On September 27 special agents with the FBI and CGIS arrested Monegro, who had remained on board the Ravenna, the next day he was charged with murder and is facing a life sentence of the death penalty.
References: dailybreeze.com
