The evil lawyer who lured his ex on holiday – then threw her overboard

Lonnie Kocontes, 62, suggested a romantic cruise with his former wife, Micki, but he had an ulterior motive

- GAIL SHORTLAND

It was out of character for thrifty lawyer Lonnie Kocontes to spend money on a holiday, so when he suggested to his ex-wife Micki Kanesaki that they take a Mediterranean cruise together, it seemed like a turning point in their recently reconciled relationship.

Typically, it turned out that Lonnie hadn’t opted for anything too luxurious. The then-named Island Escape ship was a budget cruise liner that had been converted from a ferry, but Lonnie had arranged it all off his own back so Micki was impressed with the effort he was making. It hadn’t been plain sailing between Lonnie and Micki but perhaps the cruise was a sign they were heading towards calmer waters.

The couple had met when Lonnie was a lawyer and Micki was a paralegal. They’d married in 1995, making Micki his second wife, and they settled in Ladera Ranch, California. By 2002, they had divorced but they continued to live together while they sorted out dividing their assets. Micki suffered from arthritis and couldn’t work as a paralegal any more, so she turned to investing, which was lucrative.

Meanwhile, Lonnie met Amy Nguyen through a dating website and she would become his third wife. They married in 2005 and the couple moved in together. Lonnie told Micki that they should sell their home so they could split the proceeds, but Micki had paid off the mortgage and believed she was entitled to stay in the house. Lonnie filed a court motion to try to force her to sell.