Gabe Watson Trial Update: Honeymooning Husband 'Had Murder On His Mind,' Prosecutor Says

Prosecutors lost their bid to call a witness whose testimony they say showed newlywed Gabe Watson "had murder on his mind" while flying to Australia with his wife, Tina Thomas Watson, who then drowned on their honeymoon there.

As the Alabama attorney general's office suffered that setback in the capital murder case, Watson's defense team attacked an official from a scuba tour company for not giving an orientation to Tina, a novice diver, before going on the deadly dive in 2003.

The so-called "Honeymoon Scuba Death" trial resumed Wednesday with state prosecutors presenting their case against Watson, a 34-year-old bubble wrap salesman they accuse of scheming to drown Tina so he could collect on her life insurance policy. Defense attorneys have countered that she died accidentally near the Great Barrier Reef, because she was an inexperienced diver who panicked.

Tuesday's testimony of dive master Wade Singleton could strengthen the defense's argument. He testified that Tina didn't get a lesson on conditions near a shipwreck and that the guide company's staff didn't evaluate her abilities even though she was a beginner with 11 dives under her belt, the Associated Press reported.

SEE KEY EVENTS FROM THE "HONEYMOON SCUBA DEATH" TIMELINE

Singleton also admitted that he didn't complete a mandatory company form stating that Tina wasn't skilled enough for the dive, WBRC reported. Mike Ball Dive Expeditions, Singelton's employer, was ultimately fined about $6,500 for violating Australian regulations.

Meanwhile, Judge Tommy Nail blocked the jury from hearing testimony from Alanda Thomas, Tina's sister. Prosecutors questioned her about a conversation she said she had with Watson about his flight to Australia with Tina. Thomas recalled that Watson said he'd talked about funeral arrangements for his new wife while they made the long trip to take their honeymoon, according to the AP.

Prosecutor Tina Hammond said the conversation showed Watson "had murder on his mind," the Birmingham News reported.

But Nail prevented the jury from hearing the testimony, citing that the alleged conversation was hearsay.

For prosecutors to convict Watson, they have to prove there was a connection with his home state, such as plotting Tina's murder before they departed on their honeymoon. He's already served 18 months after pleading guilty to negligent manslaughter in Australia. If convicted in his United States trial, he faces life in prison.

Thomas was permitted to tell jurors that Watson told her he was ready to move on with his life at Tina's funeral -- just two weeks after she drowned.

"He told me that I needed to realize that he had his time in Australia to grieve and he was over the grieving process," Thomas testified, according to the AP.

Watson told Thomas he wanted to collect some of Tina's possessions before the viewing of her body. During her testimony from the witness stand, she looked at her former brother-in-law several times. She said she hasn't spoken to him since Tina's funeral.

Tina and Alanda's father, Tommy Thomas, was in court yesterday. He left when the jury was shown photos of Tina's dead body, ABC News reported.

Watson, who has remarried, averted his eyes from the pictures of his first wife.

PHOTOS FROM THE "HONEYMOON SCUBA DEATH" ARCHIVES:

Earlier on HuffPost:

Comments

[MamaBird62]

12:32 AM on 02/24/2012

I think the outcome of this case makes sense. Not enough evidence to go to a jury. Prosecutorial overreach. If there had been enough evidence to even charge him with murder, that would have been done in Australia where the accident happened.

[John Summerlin]

08:12 PM on 02/23/2012

Ok, I just want to point out a few things.
1. His first wife, Tina Watson, died while they were scuba diving during their honeymoon.
2. Four years later he remarried to Kim Watson, his second and current wife.
3. Six years after Tina's death he willingly returned to Australia for his trial, he pleaded guilty of negligent manslaughter.
4. He spent 18 months in Australian prison
5. He was re-aresested when he got off the plane in LA, the prosecution claimed 'he planned it in the US' as their grounds for jurisdiction.
6. He was given an extremely high bail, which he met.
7. Ten years after Tina's death the case came to trial, it was dismissed due to a severe lack of evidence within two weeks.
8. Now Tina's parents have filled a huge number of civil suits.

My personal opinion is that the dive captain and the staff of the dive boat are at fault. Gabe Watson had less than seventy dives when he went on his honeymoon, none of which were in salt water. Kim had no dives besides her certification and advanced certification dives (about thirty). Any competent captain would have reviewed their dive books and forbidden them from diving in an area with extremely high currents like the area where this supposed murder occurred.

Also could someone please explain to me where this 'He got over her in two weeks' thing is coming from?

[JTH2711]

09:54 PM on 02/23/2012

That's about my take as well. What a mess.

[DandaPanda]

08:32 AM on 02/23/2012

That he found 2 women who were willing 2 marry him is quite shocking.

[love1beemurr]

08:24 AM on 02/23/2012

Why don't most of you people get the facts right, first Gabe asked his wife to increase the life insurance policy in which she did!!! Second, she put her dad as the beneficiary, without Gabe's knowledge and her dad told her not to tell Gabe about it ( very bad mistake), so Gabe thought the policy was still in his (Gabe's name).

[sanfran55]

08:14 PM on 02/23/2012

That didn't come out in court.

[love1beemurr]

07:10 AM on 02/24/2012

I wonder why??? You know, the defendants have so many rights its sickening

[sgentilejr]

06:12 AM on 02/23/2012

Amazing as to how many people believe this man is guilty___considering that none of us where there to see what actually happened. There is not even a tiny shred of evidence he murdered her and instead the remainder of this man's life hangs in the balance____ based merely upon "I think he did it and guessing about what actually happened".
I am immediately filing for a divorce and cancelling my wife's life insurance policy and turning over every bank account and every asset we own jointly to her alone____ because I cannot afford to risk being accused of murder by some overly zealous prosecutor if anything happens to her.
Just think___If your wife fell down the steps at home and broke her neck___you can be arrested, held without bail or with outrageously high bail and placed on trail for your life. Marriage sure has hidden risks.

[leigh2160]

01:07 PM on 02/23/2012

You are oviously NOT a Scuba Diver!!!! This man (Husband) was a certified Rescue Diver!!!!! He should of known to stay by a Begginers side. He was her dive buddy, which means you watch out for each other. He could of easily taken her up instead of going to the surface for help. So unless you are a Diver and have experienced what is like to be put in these life saving circumstances, you shouldn't critizes. This has Nothing to do with being married. This Is About Someones Life That Was Taken Away.

[batqween]

06:00 PM on 02/28/2012

I agree leigh2160. I've been on dives where I didn't feel experienced enough and that's why you have a buddy. I've also been caught in currents too strong to swim in and I've had to ascend. I've known only one diver who died and he was in the Coast Guard and figured he was experienced enough to go without a buddy. Thousands of people go diving every year without casualties. That this so-called rescue diver let his new wife fall to the bottom is beyond bull.

[sgentilejr]

05:42 AM on 02/23/2012

Since the life insurance policy was NOT payable to the husband___it is a lie for the Prosecutor to say the mans motive was to collect her life insurance___since that was impossible since her dad was the beneficiary on the policy.
One thing is certain for ALL of us___never take your wife skin diving or camping, or boating, or skiing, or mountain climbing or hiking etc.where you will be alone with her and have no witnesses around______ Because if any kind of an accident happens and she dies___any one of us could find ourselves on trial being accused of murder___ although no one actually saw what transpired. Even if the jury finds you innocent___it will still destroy your life and cost you a fortune financially and probably your job also. On average 15 people die every year while scuba diving in the Florida Keys alone.

[rlpl02]

07:15 AM on 02/23/2012

She lied to him and told him she had changed it and upped the amount by $100,000 like he asked her to do before they got married. She told her dad he wanted her to do that and it was her dad who told her to lie about it. If she had been honest and said she hadn't done it she might have lived till she came home. I think he would have killed her afterwards but there probably would have been more trace evidence.

[amd52]

04:33 AM on 02/23/2012

How very sad, Jail for life is more than appropriate in this case, and the woman that re-married him has some screws loose somewhere.

[darkskiesrbest]

03:19 AM on 02/23/2012

On the beneficiary, amount etc. Most people, including me, changed the beneficiary from our parents to our spouse and increased the amount when we marry.

[tccat4]

02:43 AM on 02/23/2012

Let's hope he won't get off so easy, since he killed his first wife, Tina was married to him for only 10 days, when she was killed by this vampire. Karma won't be so kind, wife #3 better watch out....

[cqdeed]

04:04 AM on 02/23/2012

You still have it wrong. Tina was his the first wife that died. Kim is his second and is with him at his trial.

[tccat4]

04:27 AM on 02/23/2012

Answer to both responses..TY

[rysagr]

01:50 AM on 02/23/2012

not sure why he needed the money he had a good job as a bubble wrap salesman

[teyring532]

02:59 AM on 02/23/2012

I know, the perks are awesome. One scene comes to mind.
(enters a party) "Hey, everyone! I brought swatches from our new packing line!" "Hell's ya, Gabe! Pass them around!"
pop! pop! pop!

[kerryandjanie]

12:50 AM on 02/23/2012

He was a certified diving instructor and a certified diving rescuer who knew just how to rescue inexperienced divers, so there's no excuse he can make that's plausible; he knew how to take off his mask and hold it to another diver's mouth buddy-system, so he wanted her dead. She told her father just before the wedding that he'd asked her to increase her life insurance from $30,000. to $200,000. with him as beneficiary. Her father told her to increase it and then after telling/showing him, change the beneficiary to her father. Too bad she didn't let him know that he wasn't the beneficiary because he probably wouldn't have bothered to kill her if there was no profit in it for him.

[darkskiesrbest]

03:14 AM on 02/23/2012

So you are implying her Father did it for the $200K?

[pauliecat73]

04:06 AM on 02/23/2012

No kerryandjanie are stressing the point that she had spoken with her father about increasing her life insurance and making her husband the beneficiary per her husband urging, but that her father suggested she keep him(her father) as beneficiary. That lead her husband to believe he would reap the reward if she died.

[kerryandjanie]

09:51 AM on 02/24/2012

No, perhaps I shouldn't use "he" instead of identifying who I'm referring to. I was voicing my opinion that the husband thought he would collect $200,000. if his wife died, because he didn't know her father was the beneficiary. Had Watson known he would collect nothing but trouble if he killed her, he probably wouldn't have bothered to kill her.

[Brian Childers]

12:33 AM on 02/23/2012

Two weeks to get over the untimely death of the person you supposedly loved and were going to spend the rest of your life with? Sociopathy right there in that statement.

[rlpl02]

07:17 AM on 02/23/2012

Such true love... made me a bit weepy.

[Brian Childers]

03:47 PM on 02/23/2012

And the judge JUST ACQUITTED HIM. Did not even let the jury decide.

[ejljr]

12:03 AM on 02/23/2012

I hope his new wife sleeps with one eye open!

[Parade Keegan]

11:52 PM on 02/22/2012

Imagine what this guy has had to pay in legal fees? He seems like such a terrible person and I'll be interested in what the jury, who is hearing all the facts, decides in this case.

[Carpenter Aunt]

11:50 PM on 02/22/2012

I watched one of those shows recently, called "Who the "Bleep" Did I Marry." The woman accepted a proposal of marriage after knowing the guy 4 days, then wondered later how she ended up with a creep. DUH! The trick here, is to take enough time to get to know the person you are going to marry, or you might just end up dead.