Police in Antigua arrested a 24-year-old man from Dominica for the Jan. 19 murder of a San Francisco woman during a cruise stopover to celebrate her sister’s wedding, according to published reports.
Suspect Tishara Daniel confessed to the fatal stabbing of Nina Elizabeth Nilssen, police superintendent Nuffield Burnette told the Antigua Sun.
Daniel was arrested Jan. 29 near the crime scene in English Harbour, Burnette said.
Daniel is scheduled for a court hearing on Monday. He is unemployed, has no prior record and moved to Antigua from Dominica when he was a teenager.
Nilssen had arrived in Antigua with family and friends aboard Star Clippers' Royal Clipper. The family was celebrating the marriage of Nilssen’s 32-year-old sister.
The family disembarked in Antigua for a midday beach barbecue on Pigeon Beach, organized by Star Clippers. Nilssen reportedly was attacked after wandering off alone after the barbecue.
An autopsy found that the San Francisco State University graduate student died from a single stab wound to the neck, according to the coroner’s report in Antigua.
On Jan. 29, Star Clippers said it was dropping Antigua as a port of call on the five remaining Royal Clipper itineraries through April 10. The line is substituting Nevis for the scheduled stop at Antigua.
Star Clippers said it would continue “to monitor the security situation in Antigua and evaluate our options for the next winter season regarding returning to the island.”
