Man charged with murdering woman on MSC Seascape ship said an argument caused him to "snap," court documents state

A man charged with murdering a woman on a cruise ship that docked in Galveston told federal authorities an argument caused him to "snap," court documents stated.

The suspect, identified as Jason Leon Watford, is charged with murder, documents revealed.

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According to extensive documents, the murder is believed to have occurred on Sunday evening while the ship was in international waters.

Watford was detained as a suspect in the incident after MSC Investigator Luigi Mondini found a female passenger dead in her cruise ship room with multiple facial injuries, documents said.

On Monday, at about 5:30 a.m., the cruise ship returned to the Port of Galveston and FBI personnel boarded to investigate, documents said.

FBI reviewed security camera footage of the outside of Watford's room and reported seeing him enter the room at about 7:45 p.m., and the victim enter at 8:10 p.m., documents said.

At about 9 p.m., an MSC housekeeper knocked on the room door to deliver towels, and briefly spoke to Watford, documents said.

According to documents, the housekeeper called MSC staff to report she had seen blood on Watford's hand and pants, and a motionless woman lying face down on the floor. About 10 minutes later, three different MSC employees returned to the room, documents said.

At about 9:15 p.m., Waford left the room in a different shirt and pants and sat on the hallway floor outside the room to scroll on his phone, documents stated.

After FBI officials reviewed the security footage, they interviewed Waford, who waived his Miranda rights and agreed to a video-recorded interview, documents said.

Documents stated that Watford told authorities he boarded the cruise with the victim on Sunday and an argument started while they ate at a restaurant on the ship that evening.

Watford told authorities that after their disagreement, he returned to their room and the woman followed shortly after, documents said.

According to court documents, Watford said he and the woman continued to argue in an escalating verbal dispute that caused him to "snap" before he struck the woman multiple times.

Watford said that he choked the woman until he became exhausted and the woman was motionless on the floor for about 10 minutes before the housekeeper arrived, documents said.

Charging documents said Watford did not contact ship security or medical personnel after the incident.

After reviewing surveillance footage, Watford's interview, and the victim's body, federal authorities said they believe Watford committed murder, documents said.

Watford is expected in court Tuesday.