Watson Murder Case - Issues, Statements & Sources

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Having been married to a sociopath, I can totally believe that he killed her. Especially with the possibility that she "cheated on her" prior to the marriage.
The way he twists the story around is so much like my ex, very spooky!
I think when somebody has a personality disorder like this the normal "motives" for murder are out the window.
My husband is doing research on predicting murders in domestic violence. Gave Watson would probably test pretty high on that scale from the things Tina and her family have said about him. Especially "he'll kill me if I don't get certified" .
 
David Gabriel Watson, 33, was jailed in Queensland in 2009 after he admitted the manslaughter of his wife Tina, 26, who drowned during a dive on the Great Barrier Reef.

The sentence was condemned by Mrs Watson’s family and US prosecutors, who have been battling to obtain crucial evidence in the case from Australian authorities.



However, Queensland’s Attorney General Cameron Dick has now agreed to hand over documents to prosecutors in Alabama who want to extradite Watson and try him for murder.
Mr Dick had previously refused requests from Alabama’s Attorney General Troy King until he was assured that Watson would not face capital charges, which carry a possible death sentence.
The deal was only settled after Mr King agreed that US authorities would not pursue the death penalty against Watson, known as Gabe, who is from Alabama.
"I am pleased that Mr King has finally provided an undertaking in appropriate terms, stating that Alabama will not pursue the death penalty in any possible criminal action against David Gabriel Watson in relation to the death of his wife," Mr Dick said in a statement.
"Queensland has always been willing to co-operate with Alabama authorities on this matter. However, we also had to ensure that our actions were consistent with Australia's long-standing opposition to the death penalty."
Mrs Watson, a novice diver, had only been married 11 days when she died during a scuba expedition to a shipwreck with her husband off the coast of Townsville in 2003.
She was pictured lying prone 80ft down on the seabed moments after her death in the background of a fellow diver’s holiday snap.
Watson, a trained rescue diver, who swam to the surface rather than saving her, claimed his wife had got into trouble minutes into the dive and knocked his mask off when he tried to help her.
He told police that she sank too quickly for him to retrieve her and decided to seek help rather than attempt a rescue himself.
One of the dive leaders pulled Mrs Watson, who was still wearing her mask, regulator and tank filled with air, to the surface but efforts to resuscitate her failed.
Australian prosecutors initially charged Watson with murdering his wife by turning off her air supply and holding her underwater after an inquest found that was the likely cause of her death.
The coroner said a possible motive was her modest life insurance policy.
However, the bubble-wrap salesman pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in 2009 and received a one-year term, which was increased to 18 months when the Watson family, who believed the sentence was far too lenient, appealed.
Watson, who has since remarried, is due to be released from jail in Australia in November and is likely be deported back to the US to face a murder charge over his wife’s death. If convicted he could face a lengthy jail term.
Mr King has said he believes Watson devised a plot in Alabama to kill his wife on their honeymoon, which would give the state jurisdiction.
He also says there are no international standards on double jeopardy that prevent the US state from trying Watson again over the death.
Queensland officials gave Alabama prosecutors some evidence earlier this year, but had refused to release any more documents over the death penalty issue.
Australia is strongly opposed to capital punishment. Under the country's Extradition Act, a person cannot be deported to face prosecution on a capital charge, unless there is an assurance the death penalty will not be imposed.
Queensland police have been instructed to hand over the evidence "as quickly as possible," Mr Dick said.
 
I'm sorry if this was previously posted. I could not find it. I was going to post this on the original thread, but it appears that the original thread is locked to new posts.

Does anyone know how many dives Watson had under his belt? The fact that he was a rescue diver doesn't necessarily mean that he had tons of diving experience.
 
This case will be heating up in the next few months as the time draws near for Watson to be released from prison in Australia. Below is an interesting perspective from an Australian investigative journalist:

The Dark Side of Reporting | lindsaysimpson.com

What is new about this report is that Queensland authorities are not fully cooperating with the U.S. prosecutors in turning over evidence, even after Alabama prosecutor said he would not seek the death penalty.
 
I believe the lack of cooperation with the Alabama authorities is because the Australians think it is a stretch for Watson to be tried again in the US for something that happened in Australia, even if it is legal to do so.
 
leadwight - Correction - he was never put on trial. The case was never prosecuted. He pled out. I think the problem is that the Australian government does not want a case that at first, they said was murder, then turned around and said they couldn't prove it, to be proven and successfully prosecuted in another country. That would make their justice system look bad and it would be bad for tourism. Therefore, they don't want to give up the evidence. I don't think they really give a hoot about Waton's rights or double jeopardy. It's just a means for an argument to block a trial from happening in the U.S. Bottom line, they didn't want to spend the money to put him on trial and they don't want to be made to look bad. That is why they are not cooperating and they really just want this to all go away. What better way to do that than withhold evidence?
 
I believe I read he had a total of around 55 dives with only two or three in the twelve months prior to October '03
 
leadwight - Correction - he was never put on trial. The case was never prosecuted. He pled out. I think the problem is that the Australian government does not want a case that at first, they said was murder, then turned around and said they couldn't prove it, to be proven and successfully prosecuted in another country. That would make their justice system look bad and it would be bad for tourism. Therefore, they don't want to give up the evidence. I don't think they really give a hoot about Waton's rights or double jeopardy. It's just a means for an argument to block a trial from happening in the U.S. Bottom line, they didn't want to spend the money to put him on trial and they don't want to be made to look bad. That is why they are not cooperating and they really just want this to all go away. What better way to do that than withhold evidence?

What a ridiculous thing to say.
 
What a ridiculous thing to say.

Yes it's absurd and offensive. The reason is the QLD DPP would not hand over the evidence to the Alabama authorities was because of Australia's opposition to the death penalty (since the Bali nine case I believe they are expressly prohibited from co-operating in a foreign case where the accused faces the death penalty but aren't 100% sure on that).

However this link indicates the Alabama AG has promised Gabe will not face the death penalty so the QLD AG has agreed to release the evidence as soon as possible - http://www.cabinet.qld.gov.au/mms/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=71416

This is news to me, my understanding was the Alabama AG wasn't in a position to make that promise (he can only promise he wont push for the death penalty but any succesor can reverse that decision)
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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