Guide Note

June 19, 2008: Australian authorities charged Daniel Gabriel "Gabe" Watson of Hoover, Alabama, with killing his wife, 26-year-old Christina "Tina" Watson, while the newlyweds were diving at the Great Barrier Reef during their honeymoon in 2003.

Fast Facts

1. October 11, 2003: Gabe and Tina Watson married¹
2. October 22, 2003: Tina Watson drowned while scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia¹
3. June 2008: Australian coroner ruled there was evidence of foul play²
4. Authorities suspect Watson allegedly murdered his wife to collect insurance money³
5. June 19, 2008: Arrest warrant issued for 31-year-old Gabe Watson
6. Watson was expected to be extradited to Australia
7. Faces up to life in prison if convicted

Gabe and Tina Watson set out for a shipwreck dive at Australia's Great Barrier Reef on the morning of October 22, 2003. Prosecutors theorize that Gabe Watson might have turned off Tina's air supply during the dive and then turned it back on after she was dead or dying. Gabe Watson was an experienced diver and was acting as his new wife's "dive buddy" during the expedition.⁴