Heartbreaking life of mother murdered on romantic cruise: She fled Amish enclave and reinvented herself… before brutal slaying in front of her toddler

Susan Watford, 31, was killed in her cabin aboard a cruise ship, and her husband, Jason Leon Watford, 48, has been charged with her murder. The killing took place in front of her toddler during a trip that was meant to be a romantic cruise, cutting short a life marked by hardship as well as personal and professional achievements.

Born into an Amish community, Watford ran away as a teenager and grew up in foster care in Missouri, where former carers and foster siblings remember her as lively, caring and resilient. She earned a university degree, worked as a Target manager and was raising three children, but also faced criminal charges in her youth and difficult relationships; both of her husbands had served prison time for serious crimes.