A man from Upstate New York has been arrested on federal charges after allegedly violently assaulting his wife during a cruise to the Bahamas, leaving her with a broken nose and fractured eye socket. Noel Igor Gomez Saint Kitts, 32, and his wife left Brooklyn on the MSC Meraviglia on November 23. Six days into the trip, authorities say Saint Kitts attacked his wife after suspecting another man was looking at her.
According to the criminal complaint, the assault occurred around 3 a.m. on November 29 while the ship was about 100 miles off the North Carolina coast. Saint Kitts allegedly choked his wife, leaving finger-shaped bruises on her neck, repeatedly punched her head, and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to vomit blood. He reportedly called the cruise concierge, claiming his wife had a nosebleed, but staff noticed her facial injuries and his bloodied knuckles. When questioned, he said he only remembered punching her twice.
The ship returned to Brooklyn on November 30, where NYPD officers and medics were waiting. Saint Kitts has a prior domestic violence arrest involving the same victim and had violated a protective order forbidding any crimes against her. He resides in Plattsburgh, N.Y., and works at a local factory. Because the assault occurred at sea, he faces federal maritime assault charges. A Brooklyn federal judge ordered him held without bail, and his attorney has not commented.