Newlywed Held in Wife’s Death on Honeymoon Cruise

A honeymooner who told authorities that a strong wind blew his wife over the side of a ship cruising 30 miles southwest of San Diego was being held without bail Sunday on suspicion of murder, officials said.

Scott Robin Roston, 36, of Santa Monica, was arrested in Long Beach when the luxury liner, Star Dancer, docked Saturday afternoon. He was being held by federal authorities at the Terminal Island detention center and is awaiting a hearing with the U.S. Magistrate, FBI Special Agent Fred Reagan said.

After four searches, the body of Karen Waltz Roston, 26, was found by the U.S. Coast Guard about 12:30 p.m. Saturday. She went overboard about 2 a.m. Saturday, Coast Guard officer Reid Crispino said.

The 550-foot ship, carrying about 700 passengers, was on its way back to Long Beach after a weeklong cruise to three ports in Mexico.

Married Feb. 6

The Rostons were married Feb. 6, the ship’s staff captain told the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

One passenger said the couple seemed to be having a good time. “She was a petite strawberry blonde . . . about 5 feet 2 inches tall,” said passenger Dick Heinrich, an assistant chief deputy at the Cook County Sheriff’s Department in Chicago. “They seemed to be enjoying each other. They had a cake delivered to their table and everyone sang ‘Happy Honeymoon to You.’ ”

Heinrich said he “noticed what appeared to be hair and earring posts” when he went for a stroll on the same deck where Roston reportedly went over a rail 4 to 4 1/2 feet high. Heinrich said he reported his findings to the ship’s crew.

A spokesman for the San Diego County coroner’s office said the cause of Karen Roston’s death is under investigation.