Yesterday, January 31, 2018, Kralendijk court of law sentenced the killer of the Royal Caribbean Crew Member, Adriana Morales De Florencio, to 17 years in prison, report news outlets from the small Caribbean island of Bonaire. In what can be described as the most horrific and inhumane murder of a cruise ship crew member in decades, the prosecutor asked for a 22 years sentence and $20,880 compensation for Morales family. Instead, the judge sentence was 17 years and a compensation of $1.107 and 70 cents, not enough even to cover Adriana’s burial.

The suspect received this sentence for manslaughter and for illegal firearm possession. The Public Prosecutor had asked that the suspect is convicted for murder, but the judge found (premeditated) murder not proven in this case. It is hard to believe that a court can give such a sentence to such a horrific murder, not to mention the humiliating compensation sum. We know that no sentence will bring Adriana back to her family and friends but the court needs to show respect for Adriana’s family.

Bonaire news media gives only the initials of the killer R.E.G.S. however, several Mexican news sources identified the man as Raysley Sambo, 45-years-old from Bonaire. They even posted a picture of him.

The murder of Adriana Morales De Florencio

Adriana Morales was a 23-year-old student from Puebla, Mexico, who was working on the Royal Caribbean ship Navigator of the Seas. On Thursday, April 20, 2017, Navigator of the Seas arrived in Bonaire where Adriana disembarked the vessel to buy a souvenir and never came back. The police station reported the evening on the cruise ship Navigator of the Seas that an employee was missing when the ship departed. From that moment on Police started looking for the missing woman. During the days that followed more and more information came in and the search was expanded, also the FBI assisted in this case in the next port, Miami.

From the first weekend of her disappearance, CCTV video images from businesses inside and outside the cruise terminal were collected and viewed. On Friday morning, April 28, the missing woman and a man could be identified on video images. On the same day, the man was also identified and three house searches were carried in connection with the disappearance of Adriana Morales de Florencio, where an illegal firearm was seized. A suspect was also arrested in connection with the violation of the firearms law.

On Saturday, the police found a property with which the suspect could be linked to the police investigations. At the end of the Saturday afternoon, research was conducted where the lifeless body of a woman was found. The tattoos on her body were recognized as those of Adriana Morales. Her parents were immediately informed. 

Raysley Sambo killed Adriana by stabbing her multiple times with a knife and then buried her to hide the body. He wanted to have sex with her, but Adriana refused, after which he killed her by stabbing several times with a knife in her neck. After he left Adriana in cold blood in a wheelbarrow and waited until the night to bury the body and to erase his tracks. 

The death of Adriana is the most painful and irreversible loss of her loved ones and her coworkers. We, as crew members empathize with the loss, hardship, pain and the sorrow of all who knew her. 

To Morales family: We share your pain that you will forever carry in your hearts from the loss of your daughter. No child deserves such a faith. God give you strength for the loss of your angel. Rest in Peace Adriana.

Message to all crew members

We, the crew members are shocked by this gruesome murder of one of our own colleagues. Traveling the world in some of the most beautiful places we can’t imagine that something like this can happen. Unfortunately, it did, in one of the remote, peaceful places, the island of Bonaire. Therefore we share this advice with all of you: 

• Don’t trust anyone in the port. 
• Never take a taxi if you are alone. 
• When you visit a port always travel in a group with trusted fellow crew members, NEVER alone.
• From our experience with working on ships and traveling the many ports-of-call in the world have taught us to always encourage novice crew members to maintain near locals and areas frequented by tourists, as well as avoid offers by taxi drivers and guides of private tour experiences.