'I think that goes without saying - it's pretty much out there': Jennifer... Has YOUR career been put in limbo? (Gabe Watson gave the information which showed he had killed his wife accidentally. He might have got the idea for the murder by a copying the way another, almost successful, murder was done in the British Virgin Islands.[19][20]. 'And she was still out of arm's reach. Once Valeska finished presenting his case, Nail agreed with defense claims that prosecutors failed to show Watson intentionally killed the woman. Other people had been diving near Gabe and Tina when Tina died. No comments have so far been submitted. The Court of Appeal judges also said that the murder claim was not true. There were emotional scenes following the verdict. Jurors filed out of the basement courtroom without having a chance to weigh in on the case. When Watson finished his sentence in Australia in November 2010, the country deported him to the United States with an agreement from Alabama and federal prosecutors that he wouldn't face the death penalty. Prosecutor Don Valeska said he had never before had a trial end in a judge's acquittal in 41 years of trying cases. During the two-week trial, the defence brought witnesses to testify to Mr Watson's strange behaviour following the death of his wife. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Don Valeska Alabama's assistant attorney general, told the judge the basis of the Grand Jury indictment of Gabe Watson was evidence from Tommy Thomas that Gabe Watson had murdered Tina Watson for insurance money. BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Prosecutors encountered legal hurdles just getting Gabe Watson into an Alabama courtroom to face a murder charge in the death of his wife, who drowned during a honeymoon dive off Australia's Great Barrier Reef eight years ago. Seven days later they published an apology and correction which says: On July 17, 2010 a leading Australian daily newspaper, The Age, published a complete review of the Watson case "Death on Reef Mystery". "I don't think anyone knows for sure what happened in the water down there," Nail said. Watson was never at risk of facing the death penalty as both the U.S. Government and the State of Alabama had given undertakings to the Australian Government, he would not be executed. Her family said they chained the flowers to the grave because Mr Watson had removed tributes in the past. Wirral pub name mocks Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock, Black and white farmers face off in South Africa over murder case, CCTV captures fly-tippers ruining a beauty spot in Tameside, Masked thugs attack man from behind in Birmingham shopping centre, Young girl walks her pet tiger on a leash in Mexico, China releases footage of it's Air Force conducting a live-fire drill, Dog doesn't leave its owner's side and jumps into ambulance, Emmanuel Macron decries 'Islamist terrorist attack' in Paris, London requires new bailout to avoid shutdown warns Sadiq Khan, MET Police bodycam shows busted wedding with over 100 guests, Trump quizzed about QAnon conspiracy theory at town hall, Londoners enjoy night out before Tier 2 restrictions kick in. The screenplay follows much of the work of Lindsay Simpson and Jennifer Cooke, published in their book, Honeymoon Dive,[28] and seems based on this title. The judges were in agreement about most of the trial. The reason Gabe received the one year in prison, was explained by the judge. [17], After being informed by Tina Watson's family that flowers and gifts were repeatedly being vandalized or disappearing from the grave site, even when chained down, Sergeant Flinn investigated. I go, ‘Oh, that’s me,’' he remembered. 'I’m kind of looking around. Strictly Come Dancing 2020: Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman keep apart and the pros deliver a dazzling... Dead at 31 after her chemo was 'paused' due to Covid: Abandoned by the NHS, they are the cancer sufferers... Kidney patients are twice as likely to die from Covid in findings that show 3million people are at 'extreme... 'Put your wellies and mac on, we're going out': Brits joke that they'll dodge Boris Johnson's sex ban by... Life under Tier 3: Drinkers are asked to sign disclaimers before going to the pub in Liverpool after city... or debate this issue live on our message boards. © Copyright 2012 Associated Press. She had only been married to her husband, David Gabriel "Gabe" Watson, for 11 days when she died. Gabe Watson had been accused of turning off his wife's air supply when they went scuba diving on their honeymoon in Australia and trying to cash in on her death. No reason was given as to the reason why the State had changed its mind on calling Mr Glasgow. Similarly, Jill O'Rourke in a review on the website "Crushable",[30] describes "Fatal Honeymoon" as a show, underscoring Lifetime's skill at "making men look irredeemably evil and women look like clueless victims". Mr Valeska told Judge Nail that important witnesses were to be flown in from Australia. [15] Finally, Chesterman said of Gabe Watson, "That the respondent himself promptly provided the information which proved the case against him and that for years he has borne the unjust charge, made very public, of murder are factors requiring substantial amelioration in sentence." Most judges prefer to let even the weakest of cases go to the jury and let them decide if there was sufficient evidence," he said. Joy: Mr Watson hugs his new wife Kim soon after being acquitted of killing his first wife Tina, New life: Gabe and Kim Watson, pictured at the end of the trial, married in August 2008. Speaking Friday on NBC's "Today" show, King said politics did not play a role in the case, noting that a grand jury agreed on the charges. Gabe then married Kim Lewis on August 15, 2008. The judges published their decision on 18 September, 2009. Drowning' at her funeral. Sorry, we Gabe Watson love triangle theory in honeymoon dive killing of Tina Watson. The prosecution said the case was weakened by some of the judge's decisions to keep their evidence from the jury. Tina Watson's best friend and maid-of-honour Amanda Phillips told the court that when she and Gabe viewed her friend's body in the coffin, he commented: 'At least her breasts look perky.'. However, the appeal judges had agreed with the trial judge on most of the issues except the six month increase in the prison sentence. "The more serious the offense, the more reluctant a judge is to take the case away from a jury. Hopefully he can put his life back together,' his father David Watson said. Mr Valeska replied that the question of motive was a question for the jury. In the end, a judge decided they didn't have enough evidence for jurors to even bother deliberating. They said that Gabe had never done anything wrong in the past and he was a good person. He said there was no evidence Watson stood to profit from her death, and he sided with defense lawyers who said the only eyewitness testified he thought Watson was trying to save the woman. [2] This sentence resulted into Tina's father calling the Australian justice system a "sham". ", He added: "You can actually make the case that this is a courageous judge.". [6][7], After hearing that flowers and gifts left for Tina at her grave were being destroyed or were disappearing, even when held down by a chain, Sergeant Flynn investigated it. Gabe Watson was tried for the murder of his wife, Christina, in the Queensland Supreme Court at Brisbane on 5 June 2009. King also said he was proud of his efforts in pursuing the case. The murder case against Mr Watson, 34, was dropped last week after Circuit Judge Tommy Nail cited a lack of evidence at the court in Birmingham, Alabama. In the US, the State is usually referred to as "The People" or simply the "State". Valeska, head of the violent crimes division in the Alabama attorney general's office, said he'd never before had a case like this one. This page was last changed on 3 March 2020, at 15:36. Now, Gabe Watson lives with his second wife, Kim Lewis, in Alabama. In the interview with 20/20 this week he explained: 'I pled guilty to... basically not rendering the proper aid, not saving my dive buddy. They also overcame defense arguments that Watson shouldn't stand trial at all because he already had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served 18 months in prison in Australia. The doctor who performed the autopsy said she drowned in a scuba diving accident.[1]. The state wanted Gabe to serve two and a half years in prison. The appeal was held as soon after the trial as possible because of concerns raised by Tina's father with the trial itself. I stuck out my right hand, she grabbed it with her left, and we both started swimming back to where we came,' Watson said. ), For four years, no one took much notice of the death, as there is a drowning in the Australian state of Queensland about once a week. After an hour-long hearing, Watson was granted bail with a bond of $100,000. Watson buried his face in his hands at the decision; he had faced a sentence of life without parole if convicted. The prosecution called the director of the funeral home which handled Mrs Watson's death to testify that her husband had removed her engagement ring before she was buried. Gabe Watson was charged with murdering his wife of just 11 days, Tina Thomas Watson, 26, during an ill-fated scuba diving trip inside the Great Barrier Reef in 2003. Gabe Watson left the courtroom hand-in-hand with his wife Kim without commenting to reporters. [18], Tina Watson's father told the media in November 2009, two months after the appeal decision, that he thinks Gabe is a copycat killer. Tina's father testified that, immediately before their wedding, Gabe had asked Tina to increase her life insurance policy to the maximum possible and make him the sole beneficiary. The judge said Gabe loved his wife, deeply regretted her death and felt guilty because he had been unable to save her. On February 23, 2012, the case against David Gabriel "Gabe" Watson was dismissed by Judge Tommy Nail in a Birmingham, Alabama County Court. The judge said the state's evidence was 'sorely lacking' and did not prove Mr Watson had any financial motive. He returned to Australia voluntarily and spoke to investigators on a number of occasions. 'You mean to tell me that [Gabe Watson] bought the engagement ring, married her, he and his family paid for a wedding, he planned and paid for a honeymoon halfway around the world, all so he could kill her to get an engagement ring he bought in the first place?'

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