Lonnie Kocontes is a convicted murderer who is currently serving his life imprisonment. Kocontes strangled his former wife, Micki Kanesaki, and dumped her dead body in the ocean off the Italian coast.
After a months-long trial, he was convicted of murder for financial gain under special circumstances in June 2020. He was then sentenced to life in jail with no chance of parole.
NBC Dateline’s latest episode, “Open Water,” tells about the murder of Micki Kanesaki. The episode highlights greed, betrayal, and viciousness.
Today’s article about Lonnie Kocontes includes his background and how he strangled his ex-wife to death in an effort to inherit a considerable fortune.
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Lonnie Kocontes Wikipedia And Bio: Age And Nationality
Lonnie Kocontes is a former law professional. He is a former California attorney.
The convicted criminal worked as a lawyer for a long time. As he knew the law well, he almost committed a perfect crime.
However, he couldn’t get away from his wrongdoings. Lonnie Kocontes was born in the late-1950s. Thus as of this writing, Kocontes is in his mid-sixties.
Talking about his nationality, Lonnie is an American. He lived in California with his former wife.
Regarding his family background and educational background, not much has been revealed. However, the former attorney must have earned his law degree from one of the prestigious universities.
How Did Lonnie Kocontes Murder His Wife Micki Kanesaki
Micki Kanesaki was Lonnie Loren Kocontes’ second wife. The couple flew to Spain from California and took a cruise on 21 May 2006.
The pair traveled to the Italian town of Messina four days later, returning to the boat in the evening.
Some stories state that Micki was last seen by onlookers aboard at about 11 pm that evening. And Lonnie said he discovered Micki was missing when he awoke around 4:30 in the morning.
Soon after, Lonnie alerted the authorities and said she might have fallen from their room’s balcony after becoming ill from too much wine.
The search team discovered 52-year-old Micki Kanesaki’s body on 27 May 2006. On the same day, Micki’s ex-husband returned to his country.
Kanesaki was founded floating in the Mediterranean Sea, just offshore the Italian city of Paola.
Lonnie Kocontes Arrest And Charges
Lonnie and Micki divorced in 2002 but continued to live together for some time as they split their assets. The victim’s former spouse didn’t become the suspect immediately.
Kanesaki’s even claimed that they had reconciled and planned to remarry.
However, it was until the autopsy revealed Micki’s death cause. According to the result, no water was in the 52-year-old’s lungs.
In addition, she suffered severe hemorrhaging around her neck, an injury resulting from strangulation.
Although he became a suspect in the early phase of the case, he was cleared out as he claimed to have reconciled with Micki.
However, he came under suspicion of federal inquiry again in 2008 for attempting to move $1 million between several bank accounts belonging to his late wife.
But when his third wife, Amy Nguyen, whom he had married and divorced before Micki’s murder, testified in his favor before a federal grand jury. The case against him was dropped again.
Moreover, the Orange County DA’s Office picked the case after some time. In 2013, Amy Nguyen changed her story and admitted to lying previously.
As a result, Lonnie Kocontes was charged with first-degree murder in the same year. Prosecutors alleged that the criminal carefully calculated his actions, so he asked for a balcony room on the cruise.
They also stated that Lonnie didn’t only brutally murder his second wife but also attempted to kill his third spouse when she testified against him.
Finally, in June 2020, Kocontes was convicted of the charges against him and is in prison.
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