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A mother and son allegedly attacked an elderly woman on a cruise ship. She was arrested and he was kicked off

The attack on the elderly female passenger inside MSC Seascape’s theater was captured on cruise ship security video

Graig Graziosi
Thursday 17 October 2024 23:08
Kelli Lyn Ryan, 49, was arrested in Miami, Florida, for battery after she and her 23-year-old son allegedly attacked a 65-year-old cruise ship passenger. Her son was kicked off the ship in Jamaica for ‘excessive behavior'
Kelli Lyn Ryan, 49, was arrested in Miami, Florida, for battery after she and her 23-year-old son allegedly attacked a 65-year-old cruise ship passenger. Her son was kicked off the ship in Jamaica for ‘excessive behavior' (Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation)

A 49-year-old woman taking a cruise was arrested back in Florida after she and her son allegedly attacked an elderly woman.

Kelli Lyn Ryan, of Huntsville, Alabama, was taking a cruise on MSC's Seascape ship when she allegedly slapped a woman who was 65 or older. The conflict reportedly took place in the ship's theater.

Ryan was taken into custody when the cruise ship docked in Miami, according to Local 10 News. Miami-Dade police said video of the incident was captured by surveillance cameras on the ship.

The ship's deputy chief of security reportedly told police that Ryan's 23-year-old son, Dylan, also hit the woman multiple times.

He was then kicked off the ship while it was docked in Jamaica due to his "excessive behavior," according to an arrest report.

Dylan's mother was allowed to continue on the ship as it made stops in Cozumel, Grand Cayman Island, and MSC Ocean Cay, which is MSC's private island in the Bahamas, according to the New York Post.

Kelli Ryan was arrested on Saturday and has been charged with the battery of a person 65 or older.

The incident in the theater reportedly occurred around 9.30pm on October 6, according to the surveillance footage.

Police have not revealed publicly what led to the confrontation, and Dylan's current whereabouts are not known. It is unclear if Dylan will also face charges when he returns to the United States.

Last month another cruise ship passenger was arrested in Florida on a rape charge after he allegedly assaulted a 20-year-old passenger on a Royal Caribbean ship.

Juan Campos, 28, was taken into custody at Port Everglades after the Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas docked in early September.

His attorneys have argued that the sexual contact between the two was consensual, but the victim said Campos wouldn't stop after she told him to stop, and accused him of penetrating her with an unknown object, according to the New York Post.

Campos — who is originally from Houston and comes from a family of law enforcement officers — was held on a $20,000 bond after he was taken into custody.

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