Death of Tina Watson - Trial and Sentence in Australia

Trial and Sentence in Australia

The Queensland state coroner found in 2008 evidence regarded as enough to try Watson for murder. He travelled voluntarily from the United States to Australia in May 2009 to face trial. At the trial on 5 June 2009, Watson pleaded not guilty to murder and guilty to manslaughter. He was convicted of manslaughter. Crown prosecutor Brendan Campbell pointed out that over time Watson had given police 16 different versions of what had happened to Tina and that none of those versions matched what the only eyewitness had seen. When Tina was brought to the surface her respirator was still in her mouth, the air tank was full and tests indicated no faults with her equipment. The prosecutor described Watson as an experienced diver trained in rescuing panicked divers, who had allowed his wife to sink to the ocean floor without making any serious attempt to retrieve her. He did not inflate her buoyancy vest or remove weights from her belt, and failed in his duty as her dive buddy by not sharing his (alternate) air with her.

The prosecutor claimed Watson unlawfully killed Tina by failing in duty of care to fulfill his obligations as her "dive buddy" during the scuba dive. He said that when Tina grabbed for his air supply he did not give it to her and then swam away from her as she sank to the bottom of the sea bed. Gabe was sentenced to four and a half years in jail, to be suspended after serving only twelve months.