Did anyone else see the Dateline NBC lastnight?

[JCAT]

severian wrote,

So, Jcat is it your theory that her death was an accident from her panicking? The controlling husband, angered at her panic ruining ther dive, so he left his panicking wife, and made a slow solitary assent, to teach her a lesson...then made up all the other stuff to cover his butt when he found out she died?

Close. Again, I'm not defending this guys actions at all. After reading the transcript from the Queensland Police interview, I'm convinced as a diver and a husband of 24 years, that he is directly responsible for his wifes death. But, for it to be murder, I'm not so sure. Of course, the laws 'Down Under' may be slightly different as to the burden of proof needed for murder then in the U.S.

Your theory really makes no sense...as a rescue diver he would have been well aware of the danger a panicked diver was in, and though a control freak might be pissed, and throw a tantrum...leaving your panicked newbie diver wife in current at 45 feet is at least manslaughter isn't it? Wouldn't rescue training have made him keenly aware her life was in danger? Wouldn't simple common sense?

Only if he was a good diver and he actually thought she was in real trouble. She might have wanted to turn the dive and he got ticked and left her before she got into real trouble. He might have started up the line, going slowly, waiting on her to show up.

Even if you want to argue all that which is really a stretch, how do u explain the "battery in backwards" and his dive computer "beeping" to indicate the backwards battery?...number 1, the dive computer catalogued that assent(the one to fix the apparent problem) which means it was functioning properly, so on the surface had he replaced the battery like he said he did, "fowards" it wouldn't have worked at all...but it did catalogue his second dive.......so he never did what he said he did(turned the battery around) so why invent that story? It is obviously not true.

Agreed, he does not tell the truth, but why? Could she have turned the first attempted dive and felt uncomfortable enough to return to the boat? Watson makes up a story about his computer to cover the fact that this newly married couple are fighting with each other? He's pushing her to dive?

While I'm wearing my defense hat, allow me to paste 'Watson's' statement about his computer.

you know we got up close to the anchor rope
an ah you know kind of signalled each other lets go down, started to go down just a
couple of feet under the water, my computer beeped at me um you know ‘gas alarm’
which is basically it’s not, means it’s not registering with the cylinder, either you
know out of air, or it’s not working or whatever so you know motioned to her, we
went back up um you know I told her my computer weren’t working, and I said well
hang on a second and I went down you know a few more feet or a couple feet again
just to see, cause normally with mine if it doesn’t register before you’re in the water,
once your under a couple feet the pressure makes it kick in

A integrated computer? I dunno. I'm a analog gauge and separate wrist computer type of diver. I may go integrated one day, but prob. never wireless. Does a wireless set-up have 2 sets of batteries? One for your wrist and one set for the transmitter on the tank? Again, I dunno since I don't know exactly what 'Watson's' set-up was.

The only logical explanation was the whole thing was a ruse to seperate them from the group, to allow him to (as witnessed) bear hug his wife while turning off her air.

To everyone who thinks 100,000 + life insurance is "not enough motivation" just forget it. There are many many cases of murder for this amount...it sounds absurd to any of us that make a decent living, but people kill for this kind of money all the time, I assure you.

Agreed, but I'm just not seeing money as the primary motivation here. What I do see is an immature, ego-driven, control freak who got his wife killed and now wants to cover his butt. A completely self-centered coward.

Hey, I'll post the police interview and Coroners report, if someone will tell me how. Their in pdf format.

cheers to all.

[harb99]

Originally Posted by JCAT

Hey, I'll post the police interview and Coroners report, if someone will tell me how. Their in pdf format.

cheers to all.

if you have adobe (not just the reader), you can select the text - or you can just paste the links

[JCAT]

Ah, maybe it can be posted like this. Give me a bit and I'll post the transcript from Nancy Grace show. (not that I put much stock, if any, in what she or her guests say)

cheers

[severian]

JCAT...you seriously sound like you would make a great defense attorney, are you? I am hearing ya, but I am quite cynical(which is probably why I'll never be picked as a juror) and I still think he is guilty as hell, but I admit you have caused me to think about it a bit more.

Does anyone here have experience with that dive? Are the currents that bad? I mean he seems to suggest the current was like nothing he had ever experienced....seems a bit far fetched....I would guess if the current was that bad the dive op would have been concerned about Tina, and would have at least had a divemaster close to her on the dive. I have done a number of drift dives, Cozumel, Belize, and I am certainly not a very experienced diver, yet none of these currents were difficult to handle...still the divemasters clearly warned us of the currents....Watson seems to suggest this was especially strong current, yet there was essentially no warning about it. I find that hard to believe. Something doesn't fit.

p.s. I still hope he gets life.

[Sansho]

JCAT, thanks for posting the coroners report and police inquiry transcripts. Interesting reading....

[whitworthsa]

[quote=severian;195735]

also why demand the insurance policy change? its not typical for young newlyweds to be talking life insurance. Most twenty-somethings rarely think about their death. Also having just got married there would be little financial loss if she died suddenly, as they haven't been together very long...why on earth would you care? I have been married 9 years today, and i still have no insurance on my wife, i get the willies just thinking about being paid for her death

From what I've read the insurance policy was through her work. I know my work provides what is called a "death benefit" that is in the $100,000 range.

[JCAT]

severian wrote

JCAT...you seriously sound like you would make a great defense attorney, are you? I am hearing ya, but I am quite cynical(which is probably why I'll never be picked as a juror) and I still think he is guilty as hell, but I admit you have caused me to think about it a bit more.

LOL, no, I don't think I would make a good defense attorney, as you and I both agree that something rotten is going on with this case.

Watson contradicts himself several times from what I've read.

LAWRENCE: ok and ah how much, how much air did she say she had?

WATSON: ah we both had over three thousand, I think mine was close to like thirty-five hundred

Now, how would he know this?, if his computer was acting up? (batt in backwards, return to boat)

Later on, 'Watson' makes the following statement.

WATSON: er I think on that dive I think I had close to thirty pounds and I bet she had two eight,
she may’ve had between eighteen an twenty, something like that

30lbs !??! I think this is excessive, and it just jumps out at me. He's wearing that much weight and he can't catch up to her!?

It all stinks.

cheers

[blueeyeddiver]

Just read the latest report....he is being held accountable, as he should be!


Scuba diver charged in wife's underwater death - CNN.com

[severian]

30lbs !??! I think this is excessive, and it just jumps out at me. He's wearing that much weight and he can't catch up to her!?

It all stinks.

I agree...that weight sounded quite excessive...good point about "unable to catch her" you'd think he'd have to win that race simply by dumping his bc air.