Mother Charged in Death of Child on Cruise Ship Damaged by Fire

A baby was found dead Monday aboard the cruise ship Emerald Seas, which was damaged by fire last week, and the girl’s mother was charged with murder in the apparent strangulation, authorities said.

Carol Ann Washington, 28, of Detroit, was charged by the FBI with murder on the high seas.

Crew members who found the body of 18-month-old Paige Washington said she was apparently strangled during the three-day Bahamian cruise, said Bernard Chabot, president of Eastern Cruise Lines.

“It was a very tragic family incident,” Chabot said, “resulting in a very, very sad event.”

Washington was scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate today.

Needed Baby Supplies

The woman and child first came to the crew’s attention Friday night when she told crew members she had lost all her luggage before the cruise, and needed diapers and baby supplies.

At about 1:30 a.m. Monday, as the ship was returning to Miami, Washington came into the hallway and asked the purser for help for the little girl, Chabot said.

The Emerald Seas left on the voyage Friday night, two days after a fire broke out in a storage locker, injuring 17 people and forcing an evacuation near the Bahamas.