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 motive was made very clear in the article - it was the insurance money. Pleasse read before posting.”
Ahh gee thanks man. I can consider myself educated now.
“And drift...what is it they teach the rescue diver to do if you assess the situation and make the judgement that you as the rescuer are in over your own head?”
they teach them not to hurt themselves. Do you seriously consider this instance to be a hazardous situation for an ‘experienced’ diver? To me it sounds suspicious. Regardless of whether he ‘murdered’ her, he did get her killed.
“Meantime, this pajamas blogoshpere conviction kangaroo court is sad. Sad because we don’t even have real pitchforks anymore, just a bunch of anonymous people chastising each other about inconsequential soap opera digests.”
Isn’t that what FR is? We comment on news stories and inject our opinion. I guess thats only allowed if our opinion agrees with yours.
Well there's a huge difference in murder and just being a coward. Who knows how 'experienced' he was. Some uncertified swimmers are literally fish, and can outsnorkel a resort instructor, and yet not act at all overly confident or arrogant. Some certified 'divers' are total pricks who talk like they're Jack Frikkin-Cousteau, and can't swim without a bcd.
And seriously, there's no need for that other dig about being "allowed if our opinion agrees with yours."
That's out of line, and has no basis in anything I've posted.
I haven't suggested that you or fishkill or anyone not be allowed to express their opinions. I am suggesting that there's an alternative explanation and that this is not the forum to determine the guy's guilt or innocence. I will be glad to get back on a similar thread when and if we hear of the verdict and can read the actual evidence presented at trial. I won't have any problem with celebrating justice if this guy is convicted, but I also won't be surprised if he's not convicted. I simply am dissappointed with anyone who has decided guilt already and won't be happy one way or the other until this guy is dead....in which case, it's still all a tragedy.
We know he was a certified rescue diver. We know he went diving with her. We know she died and that he failed to help her. Its possible he panicked but why go to the surface for help when there are other divers within visual range? Its obvious from the picture they were in close proximity.
He got her killed and deserves our condemnation.
I posted the story as I’m interested in diving and it seemed as newsworthy as many other stories on FR. Reading accident stories is actually a very good way to remind yourself what can go wrong and why you need to follow the rules.
Regarding my dig. You said “Meantime, this pajamas blogoshpere conviction kangaroo court is sad. Sad because we don’t even have real pitchforks anymore, just a bunch of anonymous people chastising each other about inconsequential soap opera digests.”
I found your comments about posters to be out of line. Commenting on current events and public policy is what FR is about. At least I thought so. If we aren’t allowed to do that then perhaps I should move along.
“Well there’s a huge difference in murder and just being a coward. “
BTW, when I said “he got her killed” I was referring to the very act of diving. If she wasn’t experienced enough then he should not have been diving with her. Based on my experience he probably talked her into diving and then rushed her to do dives he found interesting.
I have found this thread to be very interesting and educational, though not especially entertaining. I want to particularly thank the experienced divers who posted. I have learned a lot from you.
Thanks. For the record I didn’t post it to be entertaining. Its a sad story.
Diving can be risky and reminding ourselves of the importance of safety is key. Even tho this may have been murder I still consider it a safety event. The most important parts of safe diving are done before you enter the water. IMO, but I’m not an instuctor or PADI rep.
You’re very welcome, though I should be the one thanking you. Your posts were very informative. As an aside, this is one of the biggest differences I have noticed between liberal and conservative sites. I occasionally lurk on very liberal sites, and my impression is that of ignorant people pooling their ignorance. Here on FR, and on other conservative sites, there are real, bona fide experts who are willing to share their expertise with others. A person can learn so much from reading these threads, whereas if you spend the same amount of time reading a liberal thread all you learn is how dysfunctional an otherwise decent mind can become. And I say this as a genuine, honest-to-goodness ex-liberal. Thank goodness I saw the light!
We both immediately thought of the swimmer....I think it was the horror in the poor woman’s eyes as her potential rescuer abandoned her. I get a chill just thinking about it...
So we slightly disagree. So what? If he is convicted then he deserves everyone's condemnation. If he let her go, he should endure his own and others' recriminations. If he panicked and froze and was unable to save her, he will live in his own hell and deserves pathetic pity.
IF he did indeed pressure her into diving when she had no business doing so...it's not just his fault. In that case, the instructors, the family...they all share some blame, and if we believe in individual liberty and responsibility, then even she carries some of the responsibility, as if that's the case she could've gotten herself or another diving buddy of hers hurt whether he was there or not.
Sad because we don’t even have real pitchforks anymore, just a bunch of anonymous people chastising each other about inconsequential soap opera digests.” I found your comments about posters to be out of line. Commenting on current events and public policy is what FR is about.
Well please forgive me, but there have been many scary street-justice threads such as the lady-with-baseball-bat going after the sex offender and even some remarks sympathetic to Hillary's "from each, to each" commie tendencies.
Yes, FR should be about opinions. But it should not be about anti-rule of law street justice and Louisville slugger-lynching cheerleading. This thread was headed in a similar direction as some of the other recent threads which do a disservice to the site.
“Be careful who you marry.”
Never let your wife pack your parachute.
As driftdiver said,diving is safe and a hell of alot of fun. Just be well trained stick with your dive buddy and don't do dumb stuff when you are diving.
Over the last 14 yrs I have taught over 100 people to dive,and safty is big. Our clases are tough. As a matter of fact they are lot tougher than the PADI recomended instruction.
“But it should not be about anti-rule of law street justice and Louisville slugger-lynching cheerleading. This thread was headed in a similar direction as some of the other recent threads which do a disservice to the site.”
I see your point but have little faith in our justice system anymore.
Nothing more relaxing than a good dive swimming thru the fishes.
If I'm the jury makes me suspect that the FIL was on to him.
I am NOT on a jury. I have a RIGHT to an opinion.
Your reference to a court of any kind is inappropriate. We are NOT in a court of law but childish people will say this sort of thing if they don't like someone else's opinion.
I'm moving on but Sam, you just impress me all to hell with your nonsensical analogies.
Were I on this fine, fine fellow's jury I'd assume his innocense until the cows come home. For now, I think he's guilty based on what I know.
What in the living hell is wrong with this? No wait, don't answer, I'm not going to read it.
No wait, you certainly can answer but I won't read it because once you start engaging in arguments with no basis it's time to move on. Do not construe my lack of any response as agreement. I think he's guilty. And I've broken no laws.
Wrong!
I saw the story (in detail, including his taped conversation with the police) and he is as guilty as sin. First, there was a witness who said he saw one diver giving another diver “a bear hug”.
Second, she was not overweighted but he contends she kept sinking as he tried to lead her to the surface.
He is a certified Rescue Diver, she was a new diver. He knows what to do in this situation. If she is sinking (which would not EVER happen unless she was over-weighted) he could inflate her BCD for her.
He said when he accidentally let her go, she sank faster than he could go down. BS!!!!! Anyone who knows diving, knows that you can easily force fin your way down faster than a “dead” body would float down; even if it was slightly overweighted.
Not only did he not go after her but he said he went to the surface so fast from 45 feet, he was surprised he didn’t get the bends. BIG PROBLEM - his computer says that it took him over 2 minutes to ascend from 45 feet. Not exactly in a big rush to go get help for his wife.
Other divers on the boat said the seas were calm and currents were mild. And, 2 couples on the boat actually told him his story was BS when he told them how the events transpired.
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