A Texas cruise passenger who was allegedly killed by her abusive husband in his cabin was warned not to board the ill-fated ship – but she saw the trip as a chance to save her marriage.
Susan Watford, 31, was urged to abandon her plans by her adoptive mother, Dorothy Mast, but she refused to heed the advice, leading to the week-long MSC Seascape cruise around Honduras and Mexico, departing from Galveston, Texas, on Sunday.
“I had asked her not to go,” Mast told KPRC on Wednesday — two days after Watford’s husband, Jason Watford, was charged with murder for allegedly strangling her in the cabin in front of their young daughter, according to court documents viewed by The Post.
Watford, a mother of three, was aware of her husband’s alleged history of violence and saw the vacation as an opportunity to save her marriage.
“As she told me, ‘Mom, he did everything the court said he had to do,'” Mast said of the 2024 case in which Jason Watford was convicted of assaulting his wife.
“He did his anger management classes. He did his counseling. He did his community service.”
Watford also knew that if the cruise didn’t go as she planned, it would bring her closer to divorce, the outlet reported.
Mast was in contact with Watford while she was on the ship, revealing that she attempted to contact her after the ship left Galveston.
“I tried to call him,” she said. “She didn’t answer. So I thought, well, you know, she’s busy.”
It has since emerged that the call was made after Susan was allegedly killed by Jason Watford.
Mast paid tribute to Watford – who fled the Amish community when she was 15.
“She was a great girl and she loved learning,” she told KPRC.
Watford had been with Target since 2019, where she started as a warehouse associate before moving up the ranks at the major retailer.
She pursued a business degree at Colorado Technical University between 2021 and 2024 – before graduating summa cum laude, or “with highest honors.”
She then became manager of the Target warehouse team in May 2024, a role she held at the time of her death, according to her LinkedIn.
An unidentified family member told ABC News that Watford was “funny” and “the best mom” to her children – but someone who was “responsible” and wanted to support her family while pursuing college.
Watford was identified as the woman found dead on the cruise ship on Tuesday – two days after the murder. She was found with multiple “facial injuries,” according to court documents.
Watford’s body was first spotted by a cleaner dropping off towels – who raised the alarm on Sunday evening after spotting what appeared to be blood on Jason Watford’s clothes.
The captain was notified of the incident, forcing the ship to return to Galveston before Jason Watford was arrested early Monday.
Jason Watford admitted to FBI investigators that their argument led him to “break down” and lash out at his wife “multiple times,” leaving her with a bloody mouth, according to the documents.
He then strangled his wife with both hands, wrapping his right arm around her neck and applying pressure “for approximately four to five minutes and released his hold after he was exhausted,” the documents state.
Watford did not “contact ship security or medical personnel” even though his wife was motionless in the cabin, according to the documents.
He was even later seen scrolling on his cell phone after the murder.
Jason Watford did not enter a plea during a court hearing Tuesday and remains in federal custody.
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