Karen Roston
Murdered On Cruise Ship On Her Honeymoon
Stardancer - February 13, 1988
Material from the rubberized jogging track imbedded in her clothing suggested that she had been pressed to the deck with considerable force. Parts of her earrings were found on the deck eleven and a half feet from the railing, together with strands of her strawberry blond hair that appeared to have been wrenched from her head.
The trial began in late February 1989. The defense was based on Karen being murdered by Israeli men, with Scott being framed.
In its rebuttal case, the prosecution surprised Kenner by bringing to the stand Maurice Haziza, one of the two Israeli passengers. He testified that he was not a secret agent for the Israeli government, but a wedding photographer on vacation; he and his traveling companion, Emil Yaron, had visited Disneyland and Universal Studios before embarking on the Mexico cruise to complete their vacation after photographing the wedding of a friend.
The jury, unimpressed with the espionage defense, found Roston guilty of second degree murder on the high seas. United States District Judge James Ideman sentenced Roston to life in prison without parole, observing: "This is one of the cruelest crimes this court has ever seen. It is this court's hope that this defendant never be released."
At the sentencing hearing, the court observed that the forensic evidence collected from the ship's upper deck, as well as the condition of Mrs. Roston's body, showed that Mrs. Roston was severely beaten and strangled before her body was thrown overboard.
The judge observed that he had never seen a case in which a honeymoon
ended in such a chilling and heartless manner.
November 1994 Scott Roston appealed his sentence. Although sustaining the conviction, the Court of Appeals remanded for resentencing. The appellate opinion noted that by imposing a life sentence, the trial court had applied the penalty required under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for first-degree murder even though the defendant was only convicted of murder in the second degree. In November 1994 Scott Roston was resentenced to a term of thirty-three years, nine months.
Roston appealed his conviction for the third time in 1999. The appeal argued that the 405-month sentence imposed by the district court during the first appeal, based on a seven-level upward departure from the Sen- tencing Guidelines, is unwarranted. The court disagreed.
The Stardancer was Sundance Cruises only ship. Sundance merged with Eastern Cruise Line to form Admiral Cruises. She then became the Royal Caribbean Viking Serenade when Admiral was merged with them. In 2002 she was renamed Island Escape and operate 7-Day Mediterranean cruises. Stardancer was 40132 gross tons, 635 feet long, with a maximum passenger capacity of 2560.
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