Death of Tina Watson

Christina Mae "Tina" Watson (née Thomas), 26, of Helena, Alabama, died on 22 October 2003 while scuba diving at the wreck of the SS Yongala off Townsville, Queensland, Australia, during her honeymoon with husband David Gabriel "Gabe" Watson. Tina had earned her diving certification shortly before the wedding and had limited open-water experience; Watson was a certified rescue diver with more dives logged, though his own open-ocean experience was also limited. The couple declined an offered guided orientation dive with a dive master before entering the water.

According to Watson's account, Tina signaled distress underwater, accidentally dislodged his mask and regulator, and sank before he could reach her; he said an ear problem and lack of relevant training prevented him from retrieving her, and he surfaced to seek help. Other divers, including eyewitness Stanley Stutz, reported seeing Watson in an underwater "bear hug" with a flailing Tina before he headed to the surface while she sank to the ocean floor. A photograph inadvertently taken by another diver, Gary Stempler, later showed Tina lying face-up on the seabed. Dive instructor Wade Singleton retrieved her after roughly ten minutes underwater; a doctor's 40-minute resuscitation attempt aboard a nearby boat was unsuccessful.

An autopsy by forensic pathologist Professor David Williams found evidence of air embolism and listed drowning as the cause of death. A Queensland coronial inquiry examined inconsistencies in Watson's accounts and dive-computer data, and prosecutors raised the possibility that Watson had turned off Tina's air supply and held her until unconscious. Tina's father alleged Watson had asked her to increase her life insurance and name him sole beneficiary shortly before the wedding. In 2008, the Queensland Coroner charged Watson with murder.

Watson returned voluntarily to Australia in 2009 and, at trial on 5 June 2009, pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter, which was accepted; he was convicted of manslaughter. Prosecutor Brendan Campbell noted Watson had given police sixteen differing accounts and had failed his duties as a "dive buddy." Watson was sentenced to four-and-a-half years, suspended after twelve months. Queensland's Director of Public Prosecutions stated there was no reasonable prospect of proving murder beyond reasonable doubt. Following an appeal by the state, the Queensland Court of Appeal increased his sentence to eighteen months in September 2009.

After his release in November 2010, Watson was deported to Alabama, where prosecutors—after securing assurances the death penalty would not be sought—charged him with murder and kidnapping, alleging the crime had been planned in the U.S. A key diving expert, Colin McKenzie, later retracted earlier testimony after reviewing full dive records, concluding Watson lacked the competence to have saved Tina and doubting any intent to kill her. On 23 February 2012, Alabama judge Tommy Nail acquitted Watson, ruling the prosecution's evidence "sorely lacking" and insufficient to establish financial motive. The dive company involved separately pleaded guilty to safety-standard violations and was fined.