Watson Murder Case - Discussion

[dmoore19]

Bring a stick to this thread and start beating:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/scuba-related-court-cases/355511-watson-murder-case-discussion.html

Nah, no need for a stick, that horse is already dead

 

[kevin316]

I know it has been discussed in detail on here.

I thought it was interesting to see it dissected on a program like Dateline, although it didn't answer anymore questions.

 

[dmoore19]

I know it has been discussed in detail on here.

I thought it was interesting to see it dissected on a program like Dateline, although it didn't answer anymore questions.

I will agree with that. It was interesting to see some of the evidence and hear some of the interviews.

The one thing that turned me towards guilty is the information from his computer and the fact that he tried to say he had the battery in backwards. Shoved me from a question of his guilt vs now I am convinced of it.

 

[ItsBruce]

Here we go agaon:

NO part of his story adds up. computer tells a different story. witnesses. have you not heard or seen any off this. how can you think otherwise?

Since you seem to have such a good handle on his guilt, I was going to ask how it is that he managed to either kill her or be a substantial factor in her death. However, we are not told:

That duche turned her tank off until she passed out, then back on again.

This must have come from a previously unknown eye witness; a forensic expert who can tell the precise time a tank is turned on or off and by whom, or by a psychic of unmatched capability.

I say this because the only other known eyewitness' statements, or at least those in the public sector, seems to negate the possibility of his testifying that Watson turning Tina's air off until she passed out and then turning it back on again. And, even if Watson's fingerprints were found on the valve, that would not be surprising given that buddies often check each others' valves before a dive.

As far as Divedoggie's comment:

If she was having a problem underwater, any half way decent man would sacrifice himself in a second to attempt to bring his new bride to the surface. Gabe is either the world's biggest coward, or a murderer...or both.

All I can say is that I hope Divedoggie does not teach Rescue.

Incidentally, I'd dive with or go to dinner with Don, but not Watson.

 

[mike_s]

forget diving with him.....

can you believe that someone actually married him after all this?


(Yes... he remarried... his "new" wife looks a lot like the dead one. kinda creepy

 

[Kern]

I will agree with that. It was interesting to see some of the evidence and hear some of the interviews.

The one thing that turned me towards guilty is the information from his computer and the fact that he tried to say he had the battery in backwards. Shoved me from a question of his guilt vs now I am convinced of it.

Early error blinded police on dive death | The Australian

In his October 2003 interviews, Watson told the police that his dive computer had beeped during an aborted dive and that he rectified it by removing the battery and replacing it correctly. The battery, he explained, had been put in upside down by him before he left the US for the honeymoon. After setting it up properly, he and Tina descended again and within minutes she was dead from asphyxiation in the ocean about 50 nautical miles off Townsville.

When police tested only the display module and not the transmitter, which is also powered by a battery, they received what they regarded as proof that the dive computer could not have beeped. Their tests showed that a display module with a battery put in upside down cannot beep; in fact it does not work at all.

Blinded by their mistake in not also testing the transmitter, police became convinced Watson was a liar. The police confirmed this in recent interviews. And their investigation proceeded accordingly.

But as an expert witness from the manufacturer of the dive computer has confirmed under oath, Watson's story about the dive computer checks out.

The dive computer in its complete form of display module and transmitter does perform the way Watson had described. If police had tested both parts of the dive computer, they would have established this as fact.

 

[Divedoggie]

Here we go agaon:



Since you seem to have such a good handle on his guilt, I was going to ask how it is that he managed to either kill her or be a substantial factor in her death. However, we are not told:



This must have come from a previously unknown eye witness; a forensic expert who can tell the precise time a tank is turned on or off and by whom, or by a psychic of unmatched capability.

I say this because the only other known eyewitness' statements, or at least those in the public sector, seems to negate the possibility of his testifying that Watson turning Tina's air off until she passed out and then turning it back on again. And, even if Watson's fingerprints were found on the valve, that would not be surprising given that buddies often check each others' valves before a dive.

As far as Divedoggie's comment:



All I can say is that I hope Divedoggie does not teach Rescue.

Incidentally, I'd dive with or go to dinner with Don, but not Watson.

So, what could have killed her? Coroner said she showed signs of asphyxiation prior to drowning. Investigators found that her equipment was working properly and there was air in her tank. The tank off/tank on theory is plausible since she was found with reg in her mouth.

Sure, it's possible that she got herself into trouble and Gabe was nowhere near as capable as his Rescue Diver card insinuated, and he elected self preservation as his option, and was then too ashamed to tell the real story.

Decisions must be made. You are big, strong and experienced. Victim is small, not powerful, and inexperienced. She is within reach and negatively buoyant. Save her!
Regardless of being taught to avoid turning one victim into two victims, are you saying you wouldn't put yourself at any risk for your new bride? Not that there really was much risk in this situation, for an experienced diver, early into the dive in 40 fsw, very mild current, good viz, warm water, functional equipment, additional divers available...

 

[Ayisha]

Just how experienced was Gabe. I know he is described as "an experience Rescue Diver" but do we know what his actual experience was? A few certs and a few vacation dives or was it more than that?

That is about all we know about Gabe's certification and experience. He apparently did regularly dive in Alabama. He had been to about 150 feet. He told the liveaboard that he was an experienced rescue diver and waived the orientation dive, etc.

Do we also know the basic details of the dive environment? How deep was the hard bottom, what was viz like, what was the current like, and how strung out were the other divers that were in the water.

As you found out, the bottom was about 100 - 105 feet. The viz was good. If you look at the photo of Tina laying lifeless on the bottom which was taken from about 15 or 20 feet, there is at least 80 feet visibility. There was slight current at that time.

I don't know what you mean by how strung out the other divers were. The other divers from Gabe's boat had already completed their dive. Gabe and Tina went in later due to aborting the dive, changing the batteries around in Gabe's computer, and then re-attempting the dive. The witness, rescuer, and picture takers were all from a different boat nearby and they were just beginning their dive.

P.S.- In reading more about the ship I see that the hard bottom was about 100 fsw. So that makes it even stranger that a husband wouldn't go to 100 fsw to grab his wife? I'm guessing that he wasn't really all that experienced? Why can't I find this info?

He had previously been to 150 feet, but he felt he could not catch her as she was too "heavy"; he could not clear his ears to descend after her; she had knocked off his mask and when he got it back on, she had fallen too deep; the current carried her away; the viz was bad and he couldn't see where she'd gone; he wasn't trained to rescue anyone in his rescue course and didn't know how; he waved at her and she winked at him understandingly as he went to get help, etc. Take your pick. Those were the varying reasons he gave in the days following Tina's death.

 

[theduckguru]

The more this case is covered by the media the the more I suspect this case has turned into a witch hunt.

 

[dmoore19]

Early error blinded police on dive death | The Australian

In his October 2003 interviews, Watson told the police that his dive computer had beeped during an aborted dive and that he rectified it by removing the battery and replacing it correctly. The battery, he explained, had been put in upside down by him before he left the US for the honeymoon. After setting it up properly, he and Tina descended again and within minutes she was dead from asphyxiation in the ocean about 50 nautical miles off Townsville.

When police tested only the display module and not the transmitter, which is also powered by a battery, they received what they regarded as proof that the dive computer could not have beeped. Their tests showed that a display module with a battery put in upside down cannot beep; in fact it does not work at all.

Blinded by their mistake in not also testing the transmitter, police became convinced Watson was a liar. The police confirmed this in recent interviews. And their investigation proceeded accordingly.

But as an expert witness from the manufacturer of the dive computer has confirmed under oath, Watson's story about the dive computer checks out.

The dive computer in its complete form of display module and transmitter does perform the way Watson had described. If police had tested both parts of the dive computer, they would have established this as fact.

The problem is the information from the dive computer shows his dive profile. It may not show the air pressure in the tank, but the rest of it shows what he actually did. As I recall from the program it took him almost 3 minutes to get to the surface from (again I am relying on my memory)<60 ft. He never went down to get her. He took his time surfacing to get help. Being a rescue diver he should have easily been able to go after her, the hard bottom was at +/- 100', if my memory serves me correctly and it should have taken him close to 3 minutes to go to the surface to summon help. He was stalling to make sure she was dead.