Man Faces U.S. Murder Charges After 18 Months Served in Australia
Posted on Nov 29, 2010 2:30pm PST
As reported by CNN, David Gabriel "Gabe" Watson, has completed an 18-month prison term in Australia for a manslaughter conviction for his newlywed wife's scuba-diving death, and has returned to the states to face a grand jury in Alabama on the same charges.
Dubbed "The Honeymoon Killer" by Australian media, Watson pled guilty in 2008 for criminally negligent manslaughter. He completed his sentence in Australia two weeks ago.
In October of 2003 Watson was honeymooning with his then-wife Tina - he remarried five years after her death - when she died during a dive the two embarked on in the Great Barrier Reef.
On October 28, per Alabama's assistant district attorney general Donald Valeska, Watson was indicted on murder for pecuniary gain and kidnapping where a felony occurred.
The two indictments are based on the idea that Watson planned his wife's death while he was in Alabama.
Watson arrived in Los Angeles from Australia on November 22 and was arrested. The next step will be a hearing to get him extradited to Alabama. Australia had held up the trip as the country has a policy not to extradite suspects that may be facing the death penalty.
Sandi Logan, a spokesman for the Australian Department of Immigrations and Citizenship, stated that U.S. authorities assured the Australian government that Watson would not be facing a death penalty upon his return. She said, "We have informed Mr. Watson and his legal representatives of this assurance. We are now satisfied that our international obligations have been met. The death penalty would not be sought, imposed or carried out."
An Australian inquest took six years to complete its investigation of Tina Watson's death. The drowning didn't appear accidental to Townsville, Queensland, Coroner David Glascow and he pressed charges.
Watson told Glascow that his wife appeared to be panicking while at a historic shipwreck off the reef and 45 feet underwater. During the inquest Glascow noted inconsistencies in Watson's statements and that "some of Gabe's explanations lacked credibility".
Tina Watson's father told Glascow that Watson asked Tina to maximize her life insurance before they got married. The insurance company also confirmed that Watson asked about Tina's insurance after her death.
In Australia, Watson's attorneys state that he only pleaded guilty for "failing to rescue his wife (because) he merely did not do enough to save her."
Watson's lawyer, Brett Bloomston, and his firm, said that Alabama prosecutor's actions are, "a desperate attempt at attention. While we strongly disagree with the motive, tactics and spirit of the prosecution, Gabe Watson and his family look forward to his being, once-again, vindicated for 'unjust' charges that he did anything intentional to cause the death of his wife, Tina. The state of Alabama will know, what the Australians already know: that Gabe Watson is not guilty of causing the death of his wife."
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