Drowned Diver captured in u/w tourist photo
Murder or accidental drowning????
There was a recent TV show about this incident, a friend of mine saw it and told me about it. It all sounded a bit strange so I did a little reading of the various reports and it all looks sadly suspicious to me. Not sure we'll ever really know the truth, its been going on for over 4 years so far, but it looks to me like the husband, for whatever reason, decided to get rid of his new bride on their honeymoon. His story is way too full of holes to be believable.
Her name was Tina Watson and her husband is Gabe. If you search those names along with diving death, drowning, honeymoon you'll get plenty of hits.
I believe the guy swimming towards her in the photo is the instructor from another boat who realised something was very wrong and brought her to the surface. They worked on her for about half an hour or more trying to revive her, but to no avail.
The husband's claim; she paniced, knocked his mask loose and by the time he had straightened it out she was sinking away from him and he couldn't swim the 10 feet to her fast enough so he decided to head straight for the surface to get help. They were at about 45 feet, the bottom is about 100. He is a certified rescue diver who, according to his computer, took well over two minutes to surface from 45 feet to summon help. Also, when they first went down with the main group he claims his computer "beeped" at him so they resurfaced and he found "the battery was in the wrong way round" he fixed it and then they began their dive. That sound suspicious to anyone? Ever heard of an electronic device being able to beep, or do anything, with the battery in backwards? Possibly a ruse to get them away from the main group of divers? The computer did show the initial descent and ascent and then descent again. Plenty of other things to raise the red flags if you go through the reports.
Whether he'll ever be convicted of anything, who knows, but its pretty clear what the Aussie and US investigators think.
I think most normal people would be willing to take significant risks to rescue someone, even a stranger, but who knows.
SMN Publisher
well ya! but again that's my jobOriginally Posted by The Publisher
Gabe Watson faces murder charge over wife's scuba death
For those still following this story, the coroner's inquest was concluded last week. Below is an article from the courriermail.com.au
I don't think the verdict is a surprise, there were far too many problems with his original story.
GABE Watson yesterday enjoyed pizza in Alabama as a coroner in Townsville moved to charge him with murdering his wife during a scuba dive.
As the cardboard salesman relaxed with pizza with his parents David and Glenda, Coroner David Glasgow was alleging to a hushed courtroom that Watson, now 31, had held his newlywed wife in an underwater bear hug on their honeymoon almost five years ago and stared into her eyes as she died.
He then let Christina "Tina" Watson go, the coroner alleges, watching her body sink to the ocean floor "eyes wide open" and arms outstretched like "Jesus on a cross" - and calmly swam away.
As the warrant was issued for his arrest at the culmination of the four-week inquest, Watson yesterday stayed holed up in his comfortable home in Hoover, Alabama - the house he inherited from his former model wife.
The Watson family refused to comment before the decision, and would not come to their door after the verdict.
Watson's Alabama-based lawyer Bob Austin said he was "shocked" by the decision and would be discussing the next steps to fight the allegations with his client's legal team.
Mrs Watson's parents, Tommy and Cindy Thomas, broke down as the coroner announced his decision. They were watching proceedings via videolink from the US.
"We had great apprehension about (the) decision," Mr Thomas said, "But we consider the coroner's ruling the next step in the right direction to get justice for our daughter."
Ever since Tina Watson's body was found at the bottom of the Coral Sea five years ago, suspicion has fallen on her husband. They had only been married 11 days earlier.
After a ceremony in October 2003 in their home state of Alabama, the couple decided to honeymoon in Australia.
Watson, a qualified rescue diver with more than 50 dives under his belt, had introduced his wife to his hobby during their courtship.
Even though she was still a novice, they chose to spend part of their holiday on a week-long diving adventure with Mike Ball Expeditions off the coast of north Queensland.
During a dive off the Yongala wreck on October 22, the first dive of the trip, Tina Watson encountered trouble and drowned.
Authorities initially believed the death was an accident, but as investigations continued their attentions turned towards her new husband.
According to his Australian lawyer Steve Zillman, Watson had no reason to murder his new wife.
Mr Zillman this week told the inquest Watson had been denied the presumption of innocence by police and the media.
"The police have, at some point, decided Gabe Watson was guilty of murder and formed a case to support that hypothesis," he said.
Tina Watson's father yesterday said his biggest question also remained "why?".
In his findings, Mr Glasgow said a possible motive was money and that there was sufficient evidence for a properly instructed jury to convict Watson of murder.
"Mr Thomas's evidence is that he discussed with Tina shortly prior to her marriage to Gabe, Gabe's request that she not only increase her company insurance to the maximum but make him the beneficiary," Mr Glasgow said.
"(This) evidence would be admissible in criminal proceedings against Gabe and may be such to provide a possible motive. I am unable to conclude that Tina's death was an accidental drowning."
It has also emerged via the police investigation that another possible motive might have been that Tina Watson had a brief affair before their marriage and her husband, eaten by jealousy, had killed her out of spite.
Police believe Watson turned off her air supply, locked her in a bear hug until she was dead or dying, turned the air back on, and let her go.
Her final moments were captured in a graphic photograph taken by another member of the diving expedition, with her body seen lying motionless on the ocean floor in the background.
The coroner, in his findings, described Stanley Stutz as an "honest and reliable" witness and "a significant observer".
Dr Stutz gave a graphic account of how he saw a terrified Mrs Watson struggling to breathe.
"The look on her face was awful, I had the belief she knew she was in danger, her eyes were wide open," he said.
Dr Stutz said he saw Watson, a heavily built former gridiron player, lock her in a bearhug for about 10 seconds before she sank into the ocean's depths with her arms outstretched like "Jesus on a cross".
Dive instructor Wade Singleton, who was on an orientation dive with three others, found her lying on the bottom "staring up at the fish".
"Then I realised there were no fish and no bubbles," Mr Singleton said.
The coroner said Watson's explanations "lacked credibility" and he had numerous inconsistencies in his version of events.
The high-profile case is the last time a Queensland coroner has the power to formally charge and issue a warrant for arrest after recent changes to the Coroners Act.
Queensland's Director of Public Prosecutions will now prepare a request for federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland to present to US authorities for the extradition of Watson - who refused to travel to Australia to give evidence.
Even if US authorities accept the request, Watson will still be able to fight his extradition in court.
Queensland Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Paul Rutledge said the case would be given the "appropriate priority".
It will be the first major case for barrister Tony Moynihan, SC, as the state's new DPP. He starts his new role on Monday.
Accused scuba dive killer returns to face court
13 May 2009 7:31 AM
Accused scuba dive killer returns to face court
Australian Associated Press
An American man has voluntarily returned to Australia to face a murder trial over the death of his wife while scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.
David Gabriel Watson, 31, was arrested on arrival at Brisbane International Airport at about 5am (AEST) on Wednesday, and will face Brisbane Supreme Court later in the day, ABC Radio reports.
He voluntarily returned to Australia, the report said.
The American man is accused of killing his wife Tina during a Great Barrier Reef scuba dive in 2003.
The Alabama couple were 11 days into their honeymoon.
Watson has since remarried in the US, and his lawyers had indicated they would likely fight his extradition to Australia.
In mid-2008 coroner David Glasgow found that it was likely Watson killed his 26-year-old wife by holding her underwater and turning off her air supply.
Tina drowned during a dive expedition to the Yongala wreck, off the coast of Townsville, on October 22, 2003.
The murder case was adjourned in Townsville Supreme Court in February to give the defence and prosecution more time to prepare.
http://livenews.com.au/news/accused-...09/5/13/206321
"And God created great sea-animals, and every living soul that creeps with which the waters swarmed after their kind..." (MKJV) Gen 1:21
www.vimeo.com/greenturtle
Husband Diver Pleads Guilty in Honeymoon Wifes Scuba Death
David Watson has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of his new wife, Tina Watson, 26.
He was sentenced by Justice Peter Lyons to 1 year in jail.
SMN Publisher
One year!!!!! out of a 4.5 year sentence... that is just....unbelieveable.
It also seems as though he's remarried (er, yeah...I pity his new wife!!!)
From the UK Daily Mail website:
"A husband whose wife drowned during a honeymoon scuba diving trip to Australia has pleaded guilty to her manslaughter.
But in a move that outraged the victim's family, David Watson will serve just one year of the four-and-a-half-year sentence.
Christina Mae Watson had been married just 11 days when she died in 2003 as the couple dove off the tropical coast of Queensland.
Watson, an American from Birmingham, Alabama, was to stand trial in the Queensland Supreme Court for murder, which carried a potential sentence of life in prison, until the prosecution accepted the guilty plea to the lesser charge.
Prosecutor Brendan Campbell told the court the manslaughter plea was accepted on the basis that the 32-year-old Watson - trained to rescue panicked divers - failed in his duty as her dive buddy by not giving her emergency oxygen.
Campbell said Watson allowed his wife to sink to the ocean floor without attempting to retrieve her, and he did not inflate her buoyancy vest or remove weights from her belt.
'He virtually extinguished any chance of her survival,' Campbell said.
Outside court, Christina's father, Tommy Thomas, said his family was in disbelief over the sentence.
'I'm sure that the entire Australian nation as well as our country back home shares in the shock at what we've just seen, because it's a total injustice ... it's ludicrous,' Thomas said.
'It's an embarrassment to everyone involved. We believe that Watson murdered our daughter.'
'We can't believe how low the sentence is - and we're also in disbelief that the initial murder charge was downgraded to manslaughter.'
"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...cuba-dive.html
Lottie
What the hell was his new wife thinking?!
SMN Publisher
OK, the reason for such a short sentence is because he plead guilty to manslaughter, NOT murder. Basically he said he was guilty because he had the training to save her and did not use his training. That really doesn't mean he is guilty or not, the reason he plead that way was to avoid having to defend himself against other charges which may or may not have worked out in his favor.
Just remember, none of us were there so we have no way of really knowing what happened. Also remember how the media makes things look just to make it exciting....just as they talk of sharks as fierce man eaters. And of course the family is very upset, as they need someone to blame if it was his fault or not.
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