Death of Tina Watson
| Date | 22 October 2003 |
|---|---|
| Time | 11:27 a.m. (AEST; UTC+10:00) |
| Location |
Yongala wreck Great Barrier Reef Townsville, Queensland Australia |
| Coordinates | 19°18′27″S 147°37′31″E / 19.30750°S 147.62528°ECoordinates: 19°18′27″S 147°37′31″E / 19.30750°S 147.62528°E |
| Participants | Tina and Gabe Watson |
| Outcome | Death by drowning |
| Deaths | Tina Watson |
| Burial | Southern Heritage Cemetery, Pelham, Alabama, United States |
| Inquest | Townsville |
| Coroner | David Robert Glasgow |
| Suspect(s) | Gabe Watson |
| Charges | Murder |
| Convictions | Manslaughter (Australia) |
| Gabe Watson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
David Gabriel Watson 5 March 1977 |
| Occupation | Salesman |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | 4.5 years, to be suspended after 1.5 years |
| Criminal status | Released and deported |
| Spouse(s) | Tina Thomas (2003 [11 days]); her death Kim Lewis (2008-present) |
| Parent(s) | David and Glenda Watson |
| Conviction(s) | Manslaughter |
Christina Mae "Tina" Watson (née Thomas; 13 February 1977 – 22 October 2003), a 26-year-old American woman from Helena, Alabama, died while scuba diving on her honeymoon in Queensland, Australia, on 22 October 2003. She was a newlywed, having married a fellow American, David Gabriel "Gabe" Watson, 11 days earlier. He was initially charged by Queensland authorities with his wife's murder. This was changed to manslaughter with a guilty plea. He was subsequently sentenced to a term of imprisonment for her manslaughter.
At trial, evidence presented included Gabe Watson's differing accounts of what had happened on that day, of the couple's diving experience (or lack thereof), and of Tina Watson's life insurance. While he was serving his term, authorities in Alabama flagged an intention to charge him with murder at a later date. After his release, he was deported from Australia to Alabama. Australian authorities would return him to the United States only when an assurance was in place that Watson would not be sentenced to the death penalty if found guilty of murder. He was then charged by Alabama authorities with Tina Watson's murder and was put on trial. On 23 February 2012, Alabama judge Tommy Nail dismissed the murder case due to lack of evidence.
Gabe Watson met Tina Thomas while they were students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Tina took beginning diving lessons and earned her certification just before the two were married in October 2003. Watson, a purportedly qualified certified rescue diver, had planned a scuba trip in the Great Barrier Reef for their honeymoon.
During an excursion on the dive boat Spoilsport to the site of the SS Yongala, a passenger ship that sank in 1911, Tina lost consciousness and sank to the bottom, 100 feet (30 m) below the water's surface within two minutes of beginning the dive. Watson claimed the currents were stronger than they expected and that he responded to a signal from her to return to the dive rope where he noted a look of worry on her face before she accidentally knocked his mask loose. When he recovered his sight, she was sinking too quickly for him to retrieve her and he surfaced to get help. He also stated that an ear problem prevented him from diving deeper to help her and that there was nothing in his training as a rescue diver "about how to get somebody" in trouble to the surface.
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