RSSJustice? Alabama Husband David Gabriel Watson Gets One Year in Prison for Death of Christina “Tina” Mae Watson on Honeymoon
What a disgrace! David Gabriel Watson plead guilty to manslaughter charges in the death of his wife, Tina Watson, while on their honeymoon in Australia in 2003. Watson pleased guilty to the lesser charges of manslaughter and will only serve one year in prison. Unbelievable, where is the justice?
The fairy tale: David Gabriel Watson & Christina “Tina” Mae Watson
In move that outraged the victim’s family, David Gabriel Watson will serve just one year of the four-and-a-half-year sentence in the death of his wife of 11 days, Christina Mae Watson. She died in 2003 as the couple dove off the tropical coast of Queensland. The suspended sentence is not unusual in such crimes in Queensland.
Watson, of 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.
The horror: David Gabriel Watson seen in this pic as his wife’s body in seen on the bottom of the ocean as he does nothing to rescue her.
Even though David Gabriel Watson is considered an expert scuba diver and has training in rescuing panicked divers, he claims he panicked himself during the dive where his wife sunk to the bottom of the ocean and died and he did nothing, NOTHING to save her. How does an individual who has training in saving lives do absolutely nothing to save his wife who was in distress?
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.
Prosecutors believed that David Gabriel Watson had shut off the air supply to his wife’s oxygen. The fact remains, there is no believable explanation that a certified and expert diver trained in rescuing others can give as to why he did nothing to help his wife and prevent her from drowning. Australian courts should be ashamed of themselves for accepting this plea deal.
OUTRAGE from the family of Christina “Tina” Mae Watson:
Outside court, Christina’s father, Tommy Thomas, said his family was in disbelief over the sentence for the man who went by the name Gabe. Christina was called Tina by family and friends.
“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 Gabe Watson murdered our daughter.”
Posted June 6, 2009 by Scared Monkeys Bizarre, Crime, Legal - Court Room - Trial, Murder, World, WTF | 8 comments |
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8 Responses to “Justice? Alabama Husband David Gabriel Watson Gets One Year in Prison for Death of Christina “Tina” Mae Watson on Honeymoon”
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I heard they can re-try him in the U.S. without double jeopardy.
This is really sad. When a husband does nothing to save his wife, it is murder and he should pay the penalty of at least life imprisonment. This guy had asked his new wife to take out a new life insurance policy with a large amount and make him the benificary. When she did’nt follow through, I think he got angry and decided to commint the murder anyway. The testimony of the dive master on the dive should be enough to put him away forever.
I hope that the family can get some help in the United States to get justice for their daughter.
This is an outrage and a complete failure of justice!
I have a great suggestion just where all prosecutors worldwide can ram those weak laughable plea deals. I think I shall save the exact location for another post.
Today I don’t feel like blowin my whole load in one shot.
This guy is a murderer (period)
Wow, this man wins the Ted Kennedy Chappaquiddick Award.
The man was trained to save divers in distress and he fails to save is Scuba diving wife???
What a crock.
I Live in Australia and have been following this case for a while and it upsets me being an Australian. The sentence is a joke, and unlike our judges most Australians are outraged over the sentence of this crime.We feel for Tina’s family and will lobby our politicians for a better sentence for the crime he did.It’s not over yet.
It was my understanding that the diver in the photo was not Gabe. It was another diver posing for a photo and happened to catch the photo of Tina on the ocean floor.
As an aussie too I’m outraged, the footage alone of this guy removing flowers from her parents from the grave shows how little RESPECT he has for Tina or her family, I won’t even call her his wife cos she never married HIM only a lie !
This sentence is a joke and humilating to the Australian public, I hate how it always falls through the loop holes, when everybody KNOWS better !! It is definitely not over and we will lobby and fight along side the US !! The public will NOT take it as lightly !
he did what he tought was best and went to get help. the australians allowed the ms charge because there was not enough evadince to convict on murder. there is no concrete, varifiable motive, justice has been served