Australia: American Daniel “Gabe” Watson charged with wife’s, Christina Mae Watson, Scuba-dive Murder

Murder after 11 days of marriage? Bridegroom has been charged in his wife’s drowning in Australia.

Daniel Watson has been charged charged with the murder of his wife, Christina Mae Watson in Australia. The couple had been married for 11 days and was on their honeymoon on a scuba diving trip on the Great Barrier Reef. It was originally reported that Christina Mae Watson, (Tina), drowned on Oct. 22, 2003 while on diving at the wreck of the SS Yongala, a passenger and steam freighter and sank during a cyclone in 1911 on the Great Barrier Reef near the northeastern city of Townsville.

 Daniel Watson has been charged with her murder and intentionally cutting off his wife’s air supply. According to the family of the deceased Christina Mae Watson, she had told them that before the wedding that her fiancé had asked her to increase her life insurance and change the policy to make him the sole beneficiary.

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.

Yesterday police began preparing a warrant for Mr Watson’s arrest, the first step in what is expected to be a drawn-out extradition battle. It is not known where Mr Watson is living.

The inquest in Townsville heard that police, who believed initially that the death was an accident, started to become suspicious when Mr Watson changed some details of his story.

A postmortem examination found no medical condition that could have explained the death of Mrs Watson. Tests showed that there was nothing wrong with her diving gear. (Times on-Line)

This photo, taken during a scuba diving trip in Oct. 2003, shows the lifeless body of Christina Watson (right) lying on the seabed. Police believe her newlywed husband shut off the oxygen to her air tanks. (The Times Online)

Husband Charged With Killing Wife During Honeymoon Scuba Dive

Authorities believe that Daniel Watson shut off the air supply to his wife’s oxygen tanks, causing her to suffocate and sink to the bottom.  He then turned the tanks back on, police say, to make it look like a simple gear malfunction.

After years of investigation, authorities finally determined that there were enough suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident to charge Daniel Watson with murder.

Husband Charged With Honeymoon Murder
American Accused Of Drowning His New Bride During Dive On Great Barrier Reef In Australia

Newlywed charged with murdering wife while diving at Great Barrier Reef during honeymoon