The body of Tina Watson (circled) lies on the sea bed after her husband had swum to the surface Posted on 11/28/2008 4:08:08 PM PST by BGHater
An American scuba diver has been charged with murdering his wife by drowning her during their honeymoon at the Great Barrier Reef.
The move allows authorities to begin the process of extraditing David Gabriel Watson, of Birmingham, Alabama, to face the charges in Australia.
Watson's wife, Christina Watson, drowned on October 22, 2003, while the couple was diving at a shipwreck off Queensland's coast, eleven days after their wedding.
The body of Tina Watson (circled) lies on the sea bed after her husband had swum to the surface
The alleged murder only came to light after a photograph showing Mrs Watson drowning emerged.
The picture was taken by another diver who was photographing a friend in an underwater pose, unaware that a third man was desperately swimming towards the prone figure to try to save her.
By then it was too late to help 26-year-old Tina Watson, whose husband had returned to the surface.
The husband was an experienced diver and had been acting as a so-called dive buddy for his less-experienced spouse on the day she died.
He told police she panicked underwater and then sank away from him.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
This is an old story.
Seems there always is a flurry of these after good BC topics get started.
FRY his disgusting, perverted BUTT! GUILTY! GUILTY!
I could understand if they had been married 25 years, but on the honeymoon? Damn.
11 days and he’s ready to drown her? That’s practically “annulment territory” so you don’t evenhave to get all bent out of shape about property settlement and such.
My husband of 30 years and I just had a hearty laugh at your comment. Thanks.
Ditto!
I just finished reading the rest of the article. It said possible motive was she had a modest life insurance. I can't imagine anyone killing for a modest insurance, but I guess there are people who kill for even less.
Remember this from shortly after it happened. Glad to see they are charging him.
I remember the original story, but is the attempt to extradite that old?
Those of us who understand the humor of the remark are in an exclusive club. I get a little sick of people telling me how lucky my husband and I are to have kept our marriage intact. There was some luck, but most of staying together has been because one or both of us had to learn to sit down and shut up. If you want to stay married you can't always get your way, or have the last word. And you need to be able to laugh at yourself.
The story might be old, but the actual murder charge was just handed down. The story back in Alabama was the Aussie’s were not going to press charges.
Drown him. SLOWLY. With a bit of waterboarding [say a day or two].
>This is an old story.
>
>Seems there always is a flurry of these after good BC topics get started.
Conspiracy?
A Year Waterboarding sounds even better for the Scumbag Pervert Murderer!
George Joseph Smith, please call the office!
The article doesn’t give much information and appears that only a now produced photograph is providing circumstantial evidence only.
Based only on information given it is highly plausible and the women did in fact panic and sink while the husband didn’t have enough air to give chase.
The guy sounds like a real piece of work. From another article:
Kneeling before a freshly dug, unmarked grave at Southern Heritage Cemetery in Birmingham, Alabama, is a tall, thickset young man with dark hair and an oval, expressionless face. He is reading the card on a bunch of flowers. He gets up, goes to his car and removes a pair of bolt-cutters. With the efficiency of a seasoned handyman, he cuts through the wire bicycle lock binding the flowers to a stake in the ground. He tosses the flowers away, dumps the severed wire in a rubbish bin, strolls to his car and drives off.
The grave is that of Christina Watson – Tina to her friends and family – who died, aged 26, on her honeymoon. The man destroying the flowers laid there by her father is 31-year old David Gabriel Watson – Gabe – Tina’s husband of 11 days. Until police caught him on a hidden camera, Gabe denied it was he who, for almost a year, had been destroying his dead wife’s flowers.
How could he possibly know she was drowning?
Its not like she could scream or anything - he could hear her if she did.
If you are not physically looking, a war could be going on around and you wouldn’t know it.
At least if I am remembering right.
At least two things are certain: He knew she was drowning, and he took his good ol' time getting to the surface for help.
Glad to know I have four more years before I have to worry about my wife drowning me while scuba diving.
“Are there any details on what he did to “murder” her? How did he actively take her life?”
“Mr Glasgow found it was likely Mr. Watson had turned off his wife’s air supply, restrained her in a bear hug and then turned the oxygen supply off after she had fallen unconscious before leaving her to fall to the ocean floor.”
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24719907-5006786,00.html
Agreed. I always tell people who comment on my 28 year marriage that part of it is luck that life never threw us an obstacle that we didn’t somehow handle together— and it just so happened we never gave up on the same day.
What a sorry piece of you know what!
An “experienced” diver would have stayed with the victum and signalled for help. Banging a metal object (like his diver’s knife) can be heard from great distances. I notice that he was wearing an octopus regulator. This means he had a spare mouthpiece to share with her if she had run out of air. Also, he had to know she would be fully drowned in the time it would take him to surface and get “help.”
The motive seems a little weak though. They may have been “married” only 11 days, but did they cohabit for a long time before. Was there conflict....another woman....? Questions that would require a stateside investigation. I suspect the man is guilty of murder or just neglient homocide (allowed her to drown when the opportunity arose).
However, I don’t think he should be extradited until Federal and State police do some investigating. If they can come up with a tainted history on the couple, the case against the accused would be better prosecuted in Austriala.
“How could he possibly know she was drowning?”
Its actually quite obvious if you’re paying attention to your dive buddy. Also, a diver does not normally sink to the bottom as he describes.
“If you are not physically looking, a war could be going on around and you wouldn’t know it.”
Having had a 7 foot Goliath grouper sneak up on me I can attest to your statement. However, if you are diving with someone you love you would pay attention to them. Plus he admits she came to him in a panic and he didn’t help.
“Based only on information given it is highly plausible and the women did in fact panic and sink while the husband didn’t have enough air to give chase.”
In other stories the facts are a bit more illuminating. For one the other very experienced divers on board did not buy his story.
You don’t sink because of panic. There are only two ways to sink at that depth. First is you are overweighted, second you release the air out of your BC.
Women that panic generally shoot for the surface. Unless of course they can’t.
In a pretend hug, he disconnected something on her breathing apparatus and allowed her to sink to the bottom. Did nothing to help her despite his expertise as a diving expert.
“Are there any details on what he did to “murder” her? How did he actively take her life? “
Evidence is sketchy but they think he turned her air off and then turned it back on at the surface. She had air in her tank at the surface and her gear was working properly.
“In a pretend hug, he disconnected something on her breathing apparatus and allowed her to sink to the bottom. Did nothing to help her despite his expertise as a diving expert.”
Its actually quite easy to turn someones air off without them knowing. When I went through the training my instructor did it several times to practice out of air situations. She should have went for the surface but he probably had her over weighted.
Too bad there isn’t a way to try him here in the states especially in Alabama with its death penalty. I know there is no death penalty in Australia.
I just read the accounts.
Shoot him!
“I can’t imagine anyone killing for a modest insurance, but I guess there are people who kill for even less.”
These are the Findings of Inquest into her death.
Read #52 regarding her life insurance.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/06/23/findings.pdf
“...air out of your BC”?
Not being a diver, I don’t know what a BC is, and I assume you don’t mean “Birth Control”. ;-P
Please elucidate...
“You don’t sink because of panic.”
True, but in a panic rational thinking is thrown out the window.
Well, we just hit 22 years. Time to start looking at travel brouchures. :-)
BC = Buoyancy Control
Its the air bladder divers wear. You can pump air in to give yourself more buoyancy or let air out to have less.
Works kinda like an elevator. Properly used you can remain at the same depth without any work. Being a novice diver she most likely did not have good control.
Oh, and as far as being overweighted just about EVERY novice diver overweight themselves.
“True, but in a panic rational thinking is thrown out the window.”
You’d also lose rational thought if the person you just married 11 days before had refused to help you.
Very sad case. I think he murdered her but it will be hard to prove. Regardless, he should be punished for getting her killed which he most certainly did.
I’ve seen and read of many cases where men push their wives or girlfriends to go diving and the women end up like this. Most of the time its because they didn’t really want to do it and weren’t prepared.
“Oh, and as far as being overweighted just about EVERY novice diver overweight themselves.”
True, but you’d think her expert diver of a husband would help her out with that.
I know I was very careful of my son when he went through certification and his early dives.
BC does not = Bouyancy control! It’s Bouyancy Compensator.
“BC does not = Bouyancy control! It’s Bouyancy Compensator.”
yeah yeah yeah
That reminds me, I need to go diving.
It’s all in their breathing habits which cause them to feel the need for more weight. You cannot convince these people they can get by with less weight because they actually do need it until they learn to start breathing correctly which only comes from experience, relaxing, and getting comfortable in your gear and environment.
“That reminds me, I need to go diving.”
“driftdiver” where are you drift diving?
““driftdiver” where are you drift diving?”
Usually off west palm beach (pompano) but sometimes in the keys.
Also go shark tooth diving in the gulf. All the while trying not to think of why so many sharks teeth are there.
I can’t get my way?
I can’t have the last word?
Tell me about it! We’ve been married over 44 years and that’s the truth.
“Also go shark tooth diving in the gulf. All the while trying not to think of why so many sharks teeth are there.”
LOL!
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