What are some creative ways to kill your significant other? I’m sure there is a disturbingly large number of people who have mulled that question over. While a lot of people might think about it, very few ever give in to their dark sides and make it happen.
Those who do give in to their urges could be considered among the sickest individuals on Earth. Not only do they commit murder, but they also foster false trust by betraying their partners. An example of this type of person is David “Gabe” Watson.
In 2003, Watson and his new bride of 11 days, Tina, set off for their honeymoon in Australia. The two planned to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef.
Watson had always been interested in diving, but Tina earned her scuba diving certification just two days before their wedding. During the couple’s first real dive, something went terribly wrong.
Within two minutes of the start of the excursion, Tina appeared to lose consciousness and fall to the ocean floor. By the time the other divers managed to get her back to the surface, she was dead.
Watson claimed that strong underwater currents were responsible for Tina’s death. However, other divers on the trip claimed to have seen Watson giving his “flailing” wife a “bear hug,” shortly after which she fell to the ocean floor. Alarmingly, Watson swam away. The photo above shows Watson in the foreground and Tina’s body in the background.
After Tina’s death, Watson told conflicting stories to the police about what happened before fleeing back to Alabama.
Officers in Australia found enough evidence to charge Watson with murder. They believed that Watson had purposely turned off Tina’s air regulator and then held her in a bear hug until she died. The evidence to support those claims was that Tina’s tanks still had air in them when she was brought back to the surface. However, Watson refused to return to Australia to face charges.
Finally, after years of negotiation, Watson agreed to voluntarily return to Australia in June of 2009.
During the trial, he again proclaimed his innocence and pled not guilty. Prosecutors tried to prove that Watson’s motive was a hefty life insurance policy. Despite the evidence, Watson was only convicted of manslaughter and served just 12 months in an Australian prison.
In 2010, the killer returned to the U.S. after serving his sentence in Australia. At the time, the Attorney General of Alabama vowed to try him for murder.
However, despite the media storm around the possibility of a new trial, the judge dismissed it for what he called a “lack of evidence.”
(via NBC News)
Want to know what’s even crazier? After Watson returned home to Alabama, security cameras caught him vandalizing Tina’s grave site on more than one occasion. Draw what conclusions you will from that…