Watson Murder Case - Discussion

[vladimir]

To nobody in particular:

The past tense of plead is pleaded, or pled: He pled guilty to manslaughter.

A case might set a precedent. That case would then take or have precedence over other cases.

 

[Foxfish]

Divedoggie,

Thanks for your responses and I agree with much of what you are saying. You sound like a conscientious instructor. Your conclusions on how to prevent this kind of accident happening are along the same lines as McFadyen's and I suspect others on the forum.

As mentioned previously, I thought your comment about breathing around the regulator when students are panicked was a breakthrough in my own thinking on the topic and sounded a plausible explanation. I was interested to hear from McFadyen if that came up in the discussions with the defense team and other alternative explanations that surfaced.

Oh and have to say that your perspective from the point of view of an instructor was helpful in gaining a lot more insight into what happened. So again thanks.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Wow.. just heard the news... the things that happen when I am slaving away at work Looks like I have some reading back to do!

 

[clownfishsydney]

After a good dinner and a few beers I can say that I am amazed (still) at the crap that the media is writing about this case. On TV here in USA on an obscure channel we watched a show that said that "the witness saw Gabe hold Tina in a bear hug".

How many times do I have to say that no witness, ever, ever, saw this????

The witness said he saw the RESCUER hold Tina in a bear hug.

This is the BS pushed by Queensland Police at the inquest and before. They are the guilty ones in this matter!!!!

 

[Kern]

This is the BS pushed by Queensland Police at the inquest and before. They are the guilty ones in this matter!!!!

Yes, this whole imbroglio, started with the Queensland filth.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Michael .....When you get back to Sydney I'll Shout you one as well!

Foxfish .... When I did a couple educational Chamber Dives the Chamber technician explained some interesting things in the "course" he conducted for us. He explained that a lot of times when a diver complains about their reg breathing "wet" at depth it is because they are in the early stages of being narced so they lose a bit of muscle tone/control. Their lips relax a bit and don't make a good seal on the mouthpiece. He said that many people experience narcosis shallower than they think or think they have never been effected when they have been. I doubt this would be a factor in this case but thought you might find the info interesting as it relates to breathing "around" your reg.

As I have said before some people have made up their minds and will never see Gabe as anything but guilty which is truly SAD! People bandy about the potential of a Civil Wrongful death suit. I wonder if Watson has grounds for a suit as a result of the campaign against him? Is there a way he can recover costs? I pray that Thomas camp is able to let it go and start the healing process. It is tragic that this has been drawn out so long for the sake of everyone involved. Somehow I doubt that any of Tina's loved ones will ever really get over the trauma of this case. I would like to remind people that the Watson's are also Tina's loved ones! Losing a loved one is painful enough without rubbing salt in the wound for years!

The implications of the manslaughter case and precedent set or not set were discussed earlier in this thread by UnderExposed who was well qualified to make such comments.

Finally I want to point out a couple lessons that can be learned here. First lesson someone has already pointed out the danger of believing the media report "Facts" rather than "Stories". Second lesson people need to think long and hard before jumping to conclusions and making accusations about other people's motives/actions. IMHO there are a few people who have a lot to answer for as IMHO their actions have caused unnecessary pain to Tina's loved ones!

 

[Divedoggie]

Divedoggie,

Thanks for your responses and I agree with much of what you are saying. You sound like a conscientious instructor. Your conclusions on how to prevent this kind of accident happening are along the same lines as McFadyen's and I suspect others on the board.

As mentioned previously, I thought your comment about breathing around the regulator when students are panicked was a breakthrough in my own thinking on the topic and sounded a plausible explanation. I was interested to hear from McFadyen if that came up in the discussions with the defense team and other alternative explanations that surfaced.

Oh and have to say that your perspective from the point of view of an instructor was helpful in gaining a lot more insight into what happened. So again thanks.

Foxfish,

Thank you for your insight and participation as well. Your comments have been inspired and enlightening. It has been a pleasure to get to know you and others on this thread.

The 'breathing around the regulator' scenario may or may not be what happened to Tina, but I have seen the phenomenon several times. I'm really pleased that it sparked a breakthrough in your thinking. It was not a stroke of genius on my part, just observation. In addition to the story that I shared about it, a woman who is a friend of mine had this problem during training in the pool. We had to try 4 different mouthpieces before we found one that worked for her and allowed her to seal her lips around it. (She ended up using an aqualung comfo-bite mouthpiece.)

We all discussed another possibility a ways back, as well. Tina may have breathed irregularly, panting through the reg which could have caused Hypercapnia and in turn she passed out. The reg would have been in her mouth, but as she lost consciousness, her lips relaxed and she breathed water around the reg. Again, being found at the bottom with the reg in her mouth is explained.

Students grab the SPG or the snorkel instead of the low pressure inflator. They also press the wrong buttons, or don't press them hard enough, or long enough, or too long. They get caught up in pressing buttons instead of controlling buoyancy.

There are just so many things that inexperienced divers may do wrong, it get away with, because an attentive DM, Instructor or buddy was nearby.

I'm also looking forward to McFadyen's report.

 

[ItsBruce]

Three additional points:

1. It is extremely rare for someone to talk their way out of a legal entanglement. When someone tries, they usually tend to dig themselves in deeper. Anything you say can be used against you. Nothing you say can be used to help you should the matter proceed to court. If you say anything, at all, you may be misquoted and that can be used against you. Then, the only thing you can do is take the witness stand and deny it. Unfortunately, in doing so, you open yourself to all sorts of cross-examination and the jury won't believe your denials anyway. Get a lawyer and let the lawyer do the talking. What the lawyer says is generally not going to be admissible against you. (Having a lawyer with you does not mean YOU should talk.)

Just think where Watson would have been had he kept his mouth closed and not tried to explain what happened. The Australian police might have suspected foul play, but they would not have had anything the could identify as a lie to support their suspicions.

2. I am glad that the legal system has done its job. The prosecution put on what admissible evidence it had. The Court, having heard the evidence, ruled that even if all of that evidence was believed, it still would not support a murder conviction.

While I am glad the case is over, I am a bit sad that we will probably never know what really happened. I find it interesting that the Court's ruling was based on the prosecution's failure to prove an intent to kill (an essential element of murder) rather than that it did not establish that Watson did something that would be considered the legal cause of Tina's death.

I will truly miss discussing the ins and outs of the case with the other members of SB. I am so very impressed with the efforts so many SB members have put into marshaling the facts and analyzing them in an effort to bring clarity to the case.

3. In the event I have not before mentioned it, my deepest condolences to Tina's family and friends over her untimely death. Given the information that came out of the initial investigation and what might be described as Watson's lack of candor (i.e. his failure to admit he was not up to the task of protecting his new bride on a dive), I can well imagine Tina's family and friends would suspect foul play. I'm pretty sure I would have been suspicious. Unfortunately, it is human nature to hold onto suspicions and to see only evidence consistent with that suspicion while ignoring all contrary evidence. Perhaps Tina's family and friends will now be in a position to reevaluate and consider that regardless of what the police initially said, the evidence was only that there was a tragic accident resulting in large measure from Watson's inability to respond in a manner that would have prevented Tina's death.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I too have found the discussion stimulating and enjoyed getting to interact with some knowledgeable and clear thinking individuals. I have learned a few things that will keep me safer as a diver. I am just sorry it came at such a cost to Tina and her loved ones. I wish them all the strength, comfort and wisdom that they need to find peace and the ability to move on in their lives.

 

[MX727]

To nobody in particular:

The past tense of plead is pleaded, or pled: He pled guilty to manslaughter.

A case might set a precedent. That case would then take or have precedence over other cases.

Thanks for catching that. I didn't catch the typo before hitting the post button. It's like breath and breathe to me. I hate poor spelling and bad grammar.