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Dateline NBC is a long-running American news magazine that largely covers true crime tales. It began airing on March 31, 1992, and has since become one of NBC's longest-running television shows.
The show usually airs on Fridays at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with occasional special two-hour episodes. It began as a general-interest news magazine but has since shifted to focusing on criminal investigations. Dateline's debut docuseries, The Widower, a five-hour true crime drama, will premiere in 2021. Lester Holt hosts the show, which remains a staple of NBC's primetime lineup.
Dateline NBC's "Open Water" episode focuses on Micki Kanesaki's murder by her ex-husband, Lonnie Kocontes, on a 2006 Mediterranean trip. Initially portrayed as an accident, evidence proved that it was a premeditated murder for financial benefit. Kocontes was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to life in prison.
More about Dateline: Open Water
"Open Water," a new Dateline NBC episode. It mainly investigates Micki Kanesaki's tragic death. This was released on August 9, 2025. Initially thought to be an accident, this case turned out to be a horrific tale of murder and deception.
Journalist Josh Mankiewicz investigates the convoluted circumstances behind Micki's killing. It was orchestrated by her ex-husband, Lonnie Loren Kocontes. A seemingly calm cruise quickly became the scene of a horrible crime fueled by deception and greed.
Micki Kanesaki, 52, and Lonnie Kocontes' rocky seven-year marriage came to an end in 2002, and despite the divorce, the two continued to live in California and manage their combined finances.
Kocontes proposed a Mediterranean trip in 2006 as a method to restore their relationship. Micki was unaware that the previous year, Kocontes had secretly remarried Amy Nguyen. Kocontes' motivation for the expedition was far darker: he wanted to profit financially.
On May 25, 2006, Micki went missing while on the cruise. Kocontes said that after taking sleeping medication, he woke up to discover that she was gone. He thought she could have gone overboard after drinking too much wine. He deserted the ship at Naples.
After this, he went back to California. This was done after announcing her missing, and her body was found two days later.
Micki's body was discovered drifting off the coast of Italy, and she was strangled, not drowned, according to an autopsy, which confirmed the worst theory that she had been killed.
Kocontes was able to evade suspicion for two years. But concerns were raised when the FBI opened an inquiry into his financial transactions in 2008. Investigators were drawn to Kocontes' attempts to move more than a million dollars between many accounts. In the end, his ex-wife, Amy Nguyen, came forward and said Kocontes had previously informed her about his plan to murder Micki. Officials started putting up a case against him after learning this.
Kocontes was charged with Micki's murder in 2013. The evidence presented by the prosecution suggested that Kocontes' primary motivation was financial. The proceeds from the sale of their house were among the significant assets he was expected to receive.
Additionally, he updated both his and Micki's wills to ensure that, in the event of her death, he would be the only beneficiary and investigators uncovered Kocontes' intricate plan for the crime. In order to evade detection, he hired a private investigator and booked a cruise with balcony accommodations, which would ultimately be crucial to the investigation.
Although the trial began in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays in the proceedings. As per the Dateline episode, Kocontes was found guilty of first-degree murder in June of that year. Significant forensic evidence supported his conviction.
This included autopsy results showing Micki's murder was a deliberate homicide rather than an accident, and Micki's family received some justice when Kocontes was given a life sentence without the chance of parole.
As per the Dateline episode, the tale of Micki Kanesaki and Lonnie Kocontes serves as a sobering warning of the terrible consequences that can result from deceit and greed.
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