A terrible tragedy seems to have taken place on the cruise ship MSC Magnifica. According to the Italian police, a 45-year-old German passenger was arrested in connection with the disappearance of his wife during a 10-day Mediterranean cruise.

After the end of the voyage, the crew noticed that one passenger didn’t disembark from the cruise ship in Civitavecchia. The German passenger identified as Daniel Belling checked out with his children and did not report his wife Xian You, as missing. The crew of the MSC Magnifica searched the ship for the woman, which seems to have disappeared without a trace. Ship’s officers then alerted the police, as they also thought it odd that the husband didn’t report his 36-year-old wife as missing. Police searched for the man with the two children, who are four and six years old, and found them at Ciampino airport in Rome. The husband was arrested according to media reports and is now questioned in detail about the disappearance of his wife.

Police authorities say that during the interrogation the man gave very contradictory statements. Daniel Belling is not willing to cooperate with the police and will be formally charged in court on Friday with the murder of his Chinese wife. He said he knew where his wife was, or he had an explanation for the incidents, but he would only tell the prosecutor.

During the cruise, on February 10, a violent argument between the man and his wife happened at the onboard shop, the staff member on duty said. In doing so, the husband threw his wife's shoes which she was wearing. The case is investigating the Border Police, along with the prosecutor of Civitavecchia.