Gabe Watson was released last week from an Australian prison, where he served an 18-month sentence for the manslaughter of his wife, Tina, during their 2003 honeymoon at the Great Barrier Reef. Australian prosecutors initially charged him with murder, arguing that he killed Tina by turning off her air supply under the guise of giving her a "bear hug" underwater. But as part of a plea bargain, Watson agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Townsville Coroners Court / AP
Gabe and Tina Watson pose for an engagement photo. They had been married for just 11 days when Tina was slain.
Haunting photos from their scuba-diving trip show another diver posing for an underwater photo while their instructor rushes to rescue Tina's lifeless body, which was sinking to the seafloor. The 26-year-old bride had been married only 11 days.
Watson's plea deal angered his wife's family and authorities in their home state of Alabama, who believe he plotted to kill his wife even before they left the U.S. on their honeymoon. Prosecutors are expected to allege that Watson killed his wife in order to collect a life insurance payment, The Australian newspaper reported. He has since remarried.
A former bubble-wrap salesman, he was dubbed the "Honeymoon Killer" by Australian media, which have followed his case closely.
Australia is a staunch opponent of capital punishment and won't deport anyone to a country where the person could be executed. But Immigration Department spokesman Sandi Logan told Australian reporters today that his government has received assurances that Alabama prosecutors "will neither seek, impose or apply the death penalty to Mr. Watson on his return to the United States."
"It is certainly our understanding that they are keen for him to return to the U.S. We will certainly facilitate that return," he said, according to the Australian Associated Press.
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Another unnamed immigration spokeswoman told The Associated Press that Watson would be deported "as soon as possible," but gave no exact timetable. Watson has been held in an immigration detention center in Melbourne since his release from prison last week. His lawyer, Adrian Braithwaite, said his client might try to seek asylum in Australia if he doesn't see proof that he won't face the death penalty in the U.S.
"He'd be applying for a protection visa, essentially an application for asylum," Braithwaite told the AAP. But if Watson is confident he won't be charged with capital murder in America, he'll "most likely" return to the U.S. voluntarily, his lawyer said.