A Filipino seafarer, who fatally stabbed a fellow crew member on the 14,000 TEU container ship MSC Ravenna en route from Shanghai to Los Angeles, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
Michael Dequito Monegro, 44, a resident of the Philippines, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who said in court at a hearing on 7 November that Monegro’s “conduct was unusually heinous, cruel and brutal.”
The murder took place on 20 September 2020, when the Liberian-flagged container vessel was approximately 80 nautical miles from Southern California.
That morning, several crew members were in a dressing room on the ship’s upper deck, preparing for their shift and waiting for their direct supervisor to provide their work assignments for the day, according to the US attorney’s office statement.
Shortly after Monegro saw his direct supervisor in the hallway outside the locker room, Monegro began stabbing him with a knife while they were both in the hallway in full view of several crew members.
The victim grappled with Monegro and the two fell to the floor. Monegro then got on top of the victim and continued stabbing him. Monegro then removed a second knife from the victim’s coveralls and stabbed him with both knives.
The other seafarers of the ship attempted to intervene to stop Monegro, including throwing a trash can at him, but their actions were unsuccessful, according to US attorney’s office statement.
Monegro stopped stabbing the victim only when he became too tired to continue. In total, Monegro stabbed the victim 31 times.
The ship’s captain, chief mate and chief engineer all arrived on the scene during the incident, and the captain convinced Monegro to get off the victim, who died on the ship from multiple stab wounds.
Monegro was convinced by the captain to walk to a conference room. After continued discussions, Monegro placed the knives on the conference room table and was escorted to his cabin.
After the incident, Monegro was confined to a cabin and crew members were assigned to guard the door, so they were unable to perform their normal duties on the ship.
Federal agents arrested Monegro after the ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles on 27 September 2020. He has been in federal custody since his arrest.
“The tragic impact of defendant’s conduct cannot be overstated,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum.
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