Cruise Passenger Receives 26-Year Sentence After Wife’s Mysterious Disappearance

A man has finally been convicted of a cruise ship murder which happened seven years ago. Daniel Belling was sentenced to 26 years in prison by an Italian court for murdering his wife in 2017 aboard MSC Magnifica.

Man convicted while absent

However, Belling, who holds dual German and Irish citizenship, remains free. Following the incident, he was arrested and remained in prison until 2018. At the time there was no compelling evidence so he was released under Italian law. He was convicted in absence in Rome. 

Wife’s body has never been found

He was arrested in February 2017 trying to board a flight to Dublin with his children and with no sign of his wife, Chinese national Xing Lei Li, 38. Crew members had conducted a head count of passengers and determined she was missing. Belling did not inform anyone she was not on the ship. A body has never been found.

Belling maintains his innocence and claims his wife left the ship voluntarily during a port call in Greece. Following the verdict,he said he has “no intention of going to jail.” 

He was last known to be living in Dublin but his current location is unknown. Since the initial arrest, Belling has insisted he was not responsible for his wife’s disappearance.

Legal Process Far from Over

Since 2018, Belling has made a number of different claims about his wife’s whereabouts, saying she is likely in China or the disappearance was caused by her depression. 

The ten-day Mediterranean cruise departed Civitavecchia in Italy and made port calls in Malta, Greece and Cyprus.  He was charged with “causing the death of his wife and disposing of the corpse, hiding it or otherwise causing its destruction.”

The verdict was handed down by a lower court and the legal process is far from over, Belling’s Italian lawyer said. “It will take years,” Luigi Conti explained. Conti also said he doesn’t know Belling’s current location.