Watson Murder Case - Discussion

[ACES50]

Bruce
You mention "conflicting statements". As I understand he only gave two, both to the Australian police. I've seen comments about the 16 versions he told but that is all second hand and in no way reliable.

 

[K_girl]

I recognize that Watson provided an implausible explanation and gave conflicting statements. These cause me grave concerns. However, much of the implausible explanation and conflicting statements can all be explained as a combination of stress, poor perception, poor recollection and the natural urge to fill in missing pieces with speculation. It is sort of like traumatic amnesia. Watson's later conduct can be explained as these factors plus anger over how Tina's family was treating him.

I think that it is a quite a bit more than just conflicting statements. I wonder though, how some of his comments could be characterized, such as telling Tina's family that she winked at him as she sank away into the abyss. Or telling her family that he was holding her as she died when he was no where near her when she died. Traumatic amnesia? Hmm.. I think I would be more interested in what a psychiatrist would have to say about that.

 

[K_girl]

Watson has decided not to fight return to U.S.:

Killer Gabe Watson returns 'freely' to United States | Herald Sun

 

[ItsBruce]

I think that it is a quite a bit more than just conflicting statements. I wonder though, how some of his comments could be characterized, such as telling Tina's family that she winked at him as she sank away into the abyss. Or telling her family that he was holding her as she died when he was no where near her when she died. Traumatic amnesia? Hmm.. I think I would be more interested in what a psychiatrist would have to say about that.

Telling the family she winked at him or that he was holding her when she died could easily be explained as an attempt to comfort the family. Assume for the moment that Watson is completely innocent. Is it better for her family if they think she winked at him as she sank away or that he was holding her than that she died alone in the cold depths? Sure, dead is dead, but just as some people need "closure," e.g. a body, they also need to feel a loved one did not die alone. Why do we sit with loved ones on their death beds rather than going out to dive or play golf? It is for the small comfort our presence brings. I can see Watson trying to give some comfort to Tina's family ... especially if he was actually innocent.

 

[ACES50]

Bruce

What if Watson is innocent? If you remember, early on Mrs. Thomas claimed she and Mr. Thomas were working to prevent the payout of a "large" insurance policy, reportedly $1,000,000. That proved to be false. What if the story about him asking her to change her insurance is also false? Where is the witness who can testify he came to her place of employment to claim the benefit? Mr. Thomas said he never liked Watson from the very beginning.
You all bring up some very good points and it makes one think.

 

[Trickie Dickie 99]

Man I hope they get him on that plane quickly. I for one will be happy to see him out of the country and no longer draining the Australian tax pool.

Dare I say that I look forward to the next stage of this Saga when people start second guessing the US Legal System, it's motives and ....

Well he's on the plane now, so they can do what they want with him.

 

[K_girl]

He's in custody:

"Gabe Watson, 33, arrived at Los Angeles International Airport today escorted by three Queensland police officers and was immediately taken into U.S. custody."

"Los Angeles police took Watson into custody upon clearing customs. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, earlier this week signed an extradition order, which would send Watson to Alabama where he will likely face a new trial.."

'Honeymoon Killer,' Gabe Watson, Returns to U.S. to Likely Face Retrial - ABC News

 

[burna]

'Honeymoon killer' in United States custody - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

He will eventually arrive in Alabama where a grand jury has decided he will face two charges: capital murder in the course of kidnapping and capital murder for pecuniary gain.

Doesn't "Capitol" in "Capitol Murder" mean Capitol punishment = death penalty???

 

[K_girl]

At the risk of repeating myself, I question whether the defense will try to discredit Doctor Stutz' anticipated testimony or whether it will use that testimony to cast doubt on the prosecution's theory that Watson turned off Tina's air, waited until she died, and then turned it back on before letting her sink to the bottom.

Well, the defense will more than likely try to say that Watson could not have turned off her air long enough for her to suffocate - you claimed it takes 6 to 8 minutes to suffocate someone and if her air had been turned back on, she would start breathing again.

From Wikipedia on suffocation:

"people act normally but with no warning they simply feel dizzy and then black out in a matter of seconds as the remaining oxygen in the blood stream is consumed.."

Source: Asphyxia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is unrealistic to think that if Tina did black out within seconds of being deprived of air that her lips would have been water tight around her reg and she would not take water into her lungs, suffer a larygnospasm and then drown.

You said that a person who was dead would be expressionless, as Dr. Stutz described Tina as having a fearful expression on their face. He also said her arms were waving about as she sunk down, waved less and less on her way down. Actually I think what Dr. Stutz saw was Tina had been incapacitated and was drowning. Here is what Wikipedia says about the symptoms of a drowning victim:

Eyes open, with fear evident on the face
Uncontrollable movement of arms and legs, rarely out of the water.

Source: Drowning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What Dr. Stutz saw was the evidence of Tina drowning, already rendered incapacitated from lack of oxygen. With the laryngospasm and probably already taken water into her lungs, it was too late for her to recover with her air turned back on. You say the prosecution has to make the jury believe Tina was already dead when Watson swam away - I say, no that is not necessary. The jury only needs to believe that she was rendered helpless and left to die.

Dr. Stutz says he saw that Watson had a hold of her and then let her go to sink to the bottom. That is not consistent with Watson's statement that Tina was sinking too fast for him to reach her and that was the reason he went for help. It wasn't just a simple statement, it was an elaborate statement that he made to police, describing how she was reaching up to him, begging him with her eyes for him to save her. A moment, as he said, he will never forget. Will a jury be willing to listen to that and believe that because of traumatic amnesia - he made that up to fill-in the gaps? Personally, it would not fly for me. He made that statement to police, not Tina's family. It will be one of the biggest problems Watson will face at trial, together with all of his other inconsistent and elaborate statements.

 

[K_girl]

'Honeymoon killer' in United States custody - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)



Doesn't "Capitol" in "Capitol Murder" mean Capitol punishment = death penalty???

This newspaper has gone overboard because no one knows what the grand jury has decided. That has not been announced yet.