Posted on 06/21/2008 7:04:12 AM PDT by driftdiver
An American tourist was charged with murder yesterday for allegedly drowning his bride of 11 days on a scuba diving trip on the Great Barrier Reef during their honeymoon. Christina Mae Watson, 26, died while diving on a shipwreck near the northeastern Australian city of Townsville while her husband looked on.
Daniel Watson, 31, of Birmingham, Alabama, had claimed during police interviews that his wife had panicked a few minutes into the dive. He said that as she thrashed around in the water, she grabbed hold of his mask and pushed it off his face. He later described seeing her, with her eyes wide and arms stretched out towards him, sink into the deep.
Mr Watson was an experienced diver who had completed a diving rescue course and was acting as a “dive buddy” for his wife, who was a novice. Despite his training, he told police that he decided to go for help rather than attempt to rescue his wife. One of the leaders of the dive trip pulled Mrs Watson to the surface, but attempts to resuscitate her failed.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
The most suspicious thing is that he didn't try to rescue her. If he was a novice diver I could understand. I'm also rescue certified and don't imagine how I could let someone I loved down like this.
I saw this earlier on the news feeds....there was some mention of her increasing her life insurance policy at his request....this murder really disgusted me....hope they throw the book at this guy.
Be careful who you marry.
It certainly doesn’t look good. The photo shows him swimming away and another diver headed in her direction.
I heard his attorney on the news yesterday. He’s trying to establish that the victim’s father hated his client as if that makes him innocent.
I don’t know. The prosecutor will have to prove his acts without any doubt. Stranger things have happened.
Although I sympathize with the family, how did this ever make it into a court room? It doesn’t sound like there’s any evidence that he did it...
His comment that she pulled his mask off is also suspicious. That is a central part of all dive training. It would certainly distract him but takes only a short moment to clear. If he wanted to save her he could easily have at least made an attempt.
He deserves the same treatment, put him down and turn of his air.
“Despite his training, he told police that he decided to go for help rather than attempt to rescue his wife.”
Ah, the ole Ted Kennedy defense.
Rather than trying to save her, he swims to shore to seek help.
I’m sure he thought she would be perfectly fine and healthy as she sank to the bottom.
He should run for Senator of Massachusetts to replace the swimmer when he dies. They both think alike.
Hopefully though justice may at least find the diver creep and stick him in the hole for life w/o parole....or better yet....death w/o parole.
About a month ago they told this story on Dateline or 48 hours or one of those shows. Although he asked her to increase the insurance, apparently her Dad, an insurance agent, told her not to. I don’t know if he knew this. The show was much ado about not so much...the parents were bit bulls and I suspect this is why this is happening now. Not saying he didn’t do it...he did leave her there. And they tried to make him look like a rotten guy, but the woman did marry him. Why do women marry lousy men? Is being alone that horrible that you would rather live with a scumbag than being by yourself? I don’t get it.
He had asked her to increase her life insurance and name him sole beneficiary. She told him she had done so. She hadn’t according to her family. Does Australia have the death penalty?
I dove a few times. The hardest thing is actually putting your face under the water and trusting the equipment with your life. It was a big mental challenge to get over, at least it was for me. I felt kinda stupid because the whole group had to come in early because I was going through my air too fast. I could understand her panic, and you are right, experienced divers know how to deal with us rookies.
“Despite his training, he told police that he decided to go for help rather than attempt to rescue his wife.”
LOL. The groom is a proud graduate of the Ted Kennedy School of Underwater Rescue.
I’m also rescue trained and couldn’t imagine doing something like that. I wonder if he turned her air off when she wasn’t looking. Probably pulled her regulater out of her mouth.
I know that if I was killed under mysterious circumstances and my Father suspected he knew who did it...that guy wouldn’t be around for a court hearing. You know how I know that? He told me so.
Wouldn’t it be great if we started making the punishment fit the crime??
In this case if convicted the perp would be placed in sealed tank and water would be pumped in until it completely filled.
Think about that for a moment. No matter what the guys motive was here or how desperate he may have been. IF HE KNEW, that if convicted this would have been his punishment do you think he would have done this?
Okay so he does it another way. NO PROBLEM. He drugs her and sets the house of fire. If convicted he gets tied to a stake and lit up.
On so on and so on.
Gruesome? Sure. But them so was the wifes death.
Cruel? Who gives a rats ass. The guy is (if convicted) a murdering scumbag.
Life sentences surely do not deter murder. Prisons are oevrflowing with people serving life sentences.
And for those that say the death penalty does not deter muder I say lets try this way for 10 years and then tell me it doesn’t work............
Good proof-reading by the Times/sarc. Who’s Gabriel and who is Daniel? Two different people?
And the story line concocted by the police is that the guy "turned off the air supply of his wife until she was dead, or nearly dead, then turned it back on and let her sink to the seabed."
Uh. Meanwhile, she did no thrashing around...no panicking...nobody else in the dive group noticed anything awry while she was "dying or nearly dying."
OTOH, we have a novice diver and a recently certified diver (read little experience) out in the open ocean near the barrier reef (big, big swells! Can be VERY daunting for even regular divers.)
She panics, he tries to help...and let me tell you...when you're scared yourself, you don't necessarily go grab on to someone who can get you out of control too. That close to death, it's not unreasonable for all societal and human concerns to disappear into pure animal instinct.
So, maybe he did do it. Maybe he didn't but failed to help. But it seem imminently plausable that this is just one of the possible outcomes of a wonderful but very dangerous sport, and the family of the deceased is naturally lashing out and latching on to anything they can for comfort and explanation. Here's a father who gives his daughter away at the altar to a young man he does not know, and then loses her permanently under his care. He's supposed to be understanding if it was an accident?
Seems hard to prove but I’m guessing he did it. All the cases I’ve read about that were accidents were quite different. Loved ones, friends and so forth go to great extent to help. They don’t swim away especially if they are an experienced diver. Rescue dive training specifically addresses this kind of incident and his actions are not compatible.
The fact she’s on the bottom is also suspicious. That means she either dumped the air out of her vest or was overweighted. Possibly both. I can see where he turned her air off, she ran out and panicked. Her training would have been to turn to her dive buddy, him, for his alternate air supply. He could refuse that and she would quickly drown. If overweighted it would make it hard to do an emergency ascent.
In the training and dives I’ve been on women tend to bolt to the surface more often than men. The fact that she didn’t makes it more suspect. If she died from an embolism or the bends from a rapid ascent it would be less suspect.
Hard to prove but his behavior is not typical.
Dive training does not an experienced diver make.
You can get certified in a resort course in these places in a few days.
Seems a little far to go for you to judge his state of mind at that point. She panicked. He panicked. She died.
This is not necessarily murder I.
Only way he could've exonerated himself for some here on this thread was to have gone to the bottom also.
Gallant, sure. But rare when it comes down to it.
One of the news shows had an entire segment on this case only two weeks ago. The parents of the dead woman were interviewed extensively and never once mentioned murder. They used “suspicious” and “inexplicable” instead. I don’t think this is revenge, since the Australian diving authorities were the ones who didn’t believe the guy from day one, and actually did a videotaped reenactment of the incident. Plus, after two years, an eyewitness (diver from another ship) came forward.
The motive seems to have been her life insurance policy, which he wanted her to increase and sign over to him before the wedding. She was so busy with arrangements that she lied and told him she did, when she really didn’t. He didn’t get a penny. Sad for her family, I hope they nail this guy before he runs and hides. As of today, nobody seems to know where he is, not even his lawyer.
Precisely, Mr. Holmes!
He'll end up being a senator some day!
On the true crimes shows, you can observe countless murder defendants in the annals of crime found guilty on circumstantial evidence alone, even less than in this case.
It all depends on any forensic science and/or how skillfully the prosecutor weaves the case, especially the psychology of the principals, i.e., the alleged perp, the victim.....and even of the marriage itself.
Leni
Isn’t there a rule about the regulator? Like if its found in their mouth then they ran out of air. If they’ve spit it out then theres something else that went wrong.
Not 100% reliable but it was something told to me by my instructors.
fryem
“Dive training does not an experienced diver make.”
I thought the story says he was an experienced diver.
“You can get certified in a resort course in these places in a few days.”
You can’t get rescue certified that easily.
“Only way he could’ve exonerated himself for some here on this thread was to have gone to the bottom also.”
Doesn’t look like the water was that deep. I certainly would have tried if my new bride was in danger. It would be different if it was 200’ or deeper.
“Uh. Meanwhile, she did no thrashing around...no panicking...nobody else in the dive group noticed anything awry while she was “dying or nearly dying.””
They did notice, the divemaster is pictured swimming to her. Its quite difficult to watch everyone in a dive group when you peripheral view is limited by your mask, water clarity, bubbles, pretty fish, and other divers.
I’m glad I’m not the one that has to make the decision of his guilt or innocence.
Article says that the father says that the bride said that the suspect said.
Yeah. That's not a very solid prosecutorial case.
Now...when a man marries a woman (uh, did she have any credit card debt maybe? Hmmm?) he becomes liable for her debts, too.
Spouses should set their coverage so that either remaining spouse would be able to pay off the combined debt, or at least enough to allow the remaining spouse to survive on the remaining respective income.
Did he up his coverage, too?
Had the groom died on the trip and had NOT upped his own life insurance to care for HER in the event of his death, then the father-in-law would've derided the groom as an irresponsible fool, too.
The court will decide on facts, but the court of FR kneejerk opinion is a little too quick.
Oh BTW, its not a very dangerous sport. Follow the rules and its extremely safe.
It is a great sport though. I like the drift dives cause I’m lazy.
It wouldn’t be the first time a man killed his wife. They usually wait until after the honeymoon though.
A lot of accidents are caused by guys pressuring their girl friend or wife (who otherwise have no interest) to become divers. The women let themselves be pressured and manage to get thru training. Not a dig against women, just that us guys tend to be pushy sometimes.
My girlfriend and I are going to Pictured Rocks in Michigan’s UP next week. I’ve asked her if she’s taken any life insurance policies out on me.
Florida is warmer ya know. :)more sharks tho
The arms outstretched part isn’t unusual. According to my training unconscious people tend to be found in that position.
I can’t imagine any diver, let alone a rescue diver, swimming away from someone he knew in that position. I know divers who risked their lives for people they didn’t know and had never spoken to.
Well, every sport is safe as long as nothing goes wrong.
"There are old divers, and bold divers, but no old, bold divers."
It is a great sport though. I like the drift dives cause I’m lazy.
LOL. Fair enough. But what happens when the boat driver doesn't show to pick you up where you expect!
I dove at a shack where the following week, not only did they leave two divers in open water (it shouldn't, but it happens) and when they went back to find them, I'm not kidding, they hit one of the ladies and took her foot off with the prop.
"Rescue Certified?" "Experienced?" I'm sorry. I forgot my log book. I'm cool. Let's go.
Having been on the receiving end of unsubstantiated accusations of an improper death, I understand how something like this can get directed toward an innocent. I am somewhat skeptical of the man’s guilt.
I read a prior account of his incident; I don’t recall the exact location, but it may have been on the FOX website. It mentioned that what first aroused suspicions among Australian investigators was that the groom changed key details in his story. Fwiw.
There's a lot of dumb women out there. I can say that because I'm a woman. I was married once and divorced in '78. Raised my two sons alone. Even now, my sons have no idea where their father is. I found out by accident several years ago, that he had moved out of state when I took my car into a Midas Muffler, and they pulled his name up on the database. He'd never bothered to contact our sons. I've never been sorry I divorced him, or that I never married again. Fortunately, I learned a long time ago that I'd rather live alone and be happy, than live with someone and be totally miserable.
“Well, every sport is safe as long as nothing goes wrong.”
I disagree, things can and do go wrong in diving. If you’re following the rules you are not likely to get hurt. A big part is diving within your experience level.
“But what happens when the boat driver doesn’t show to pick you up where you expect!”
Dive with a reputable driver first and foremost. Second I suck air so bad I don’t usually have worries about being the last back on board. :)
The worst boat i was on was a night dive. His light broke after we went in the water. Made it kinda tough finding the boat after surfacing.
Diving is more risky than watching TV, a lot more fun too.
I think it was probably statements made by others onboard the boat that finally brought this into the courtroom.
“Her father says he began to doubt his former son-in-law after a conversation with another diver on the same trip. “After I relayed to him what I was told he told me that didn’t happen. And told me all the reasons why it didn’t happen,” he says.”
This came out in a televised interview I saw a short time ago with 2 older very experienced divers (at least one an instructor for many yrs, 1 may have been an ex-navy diver) on the trip. They felt the husband was lying from the beginning because his account of what happened didn’t make sense and he changed his story when they questioned him on the boat. When they got back home, they were troubled and disturbed and contacted Tina’s father. I don’t think that “story line concocted by the police is that the guy “turned off the air supply of his wife until she was dead, or nearly dead, then turned it back on and let her sink to the seabed.”” was concocted by the police, but was put together by the two older divers.
Wish I could remember more of the details from the show, but the 2 older gentlemen were very confident and convincing.
Sorry buckeye, I don't know if you dive or not, but in a wetsuit at rest your arms float. She's not locked in some panic reach. She looks passed-out or dead, to me.
And what of the picture? The photo incidentally caught the rescue diver behind the intended subject of the photo. The subject and the photographer are noted in the caption to have "unwittingly" captured the moment in the background.
Had the photographer noticed any of the event at all wouldn't he have taken several snaps of her struggling against her killer who was trying to turn her tank off? Wouldn't anyone have noticed---OR HELPED???
Am I suspicious, hell yes!
She was in over her head in a dangerous sport, she panicked, her cowardly new husband panicked, too, she died, parents want blood.
Makes a lot more sense than some made-for-media-news cobbbled up murder mystery.
They don’t actually say much about evidence in the story.
A motive perhaps, but they don’t spell out much more than that.
After we watched the show, my husband and I looked at each other in disbelief because there was no evidence. NONE. The parents are keeping this going. I feel their pain, but unless there’s a smoking gun..this guy will walk.
Ah, the ole Ted Kennedy defense.
Yup.
I’m not surprised the guy with the camera failed to notice. There are a ton of things going on underwater and you get very task loaded. Taking a picture he was probably only seeing the subject of his picture.
Depends on his experience of course but its easy to get tunnel vision and miss a lot of stuff.
If the other divers were suspicious I agree he should be charged and serve jail. If for nothing else then getting his new wife into trouble and then failing to help her.
Haha! You must live farther away from Murphy than I do! If one thing goes wrong for me, usually the recovery fix makes it worse!
A big part is diving within your experience level.
Exactly. This girl was, pardon the gallows pun, in over her head.
I think the guy panicked and let his new wife die. I think he MIGHT have even been horsing around (looks really young and stupid!) and ended up getting his wife killed. But he would have to be extremely and immensely stupid to premeditate a murder in a large group dive with cameras.
If she were my daughter I would probably push as well. Whether it was murder or not he got their daughter killed.
Well, thankfully that's not how the American or Austrlian system works.
Gotta have evidence.
If the prosecutor can't put together a conviction with the "navy" diver and other experienced potential witnesses on the boat, without all the hearsay of a distressed father-in-law, then he must walk.
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