LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The investigation into the death of a cruise ship passenger continues Friday. He allegedly became belligerent, stalked other passengers and was restrained with cable ties by crew members shortly after the ship left the port of Los Angeles for Ensenada.
The man was arrested by crew members aboard the Royal Caribbean ship last Friday. A cellphone video taken by another passenger and broadcast on various TV news channels shows the man in a hallway leaning against a cabin door and kicking it repeatedly as crew members try to calm him down.
The video later shows the man lying on the ground with crew members holding him in place with cable ties.
“The drunk gentleman said he was going to kill us,” passenger Christifer Mikhail told Fox 11. “He started chasing us down the hallway.”
Other passengers told the station the man – 35-year-old Michael Virgil – attacked crew members and tried to kick in the cabin door to get to another crew member inside.
Relatives of Virgil told Fox11 they believe ship security injected him with some type of sedative and he died within an hour. Virgil had a fiancée and a 7-year-old son with autism who were also on the cruise, a relative told the station.
“We are saddened by the death of one of our guests,” the cruise line said in a statement. “We have offered support to the family and are working with authorities on their investigation.”
The FBI issued a statement confirming it was investigating the death.
The Los Angeles County coroner determined that Virgil's death was postponed pending further testing.
Copyright 2024, City News Service, Inc.
