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Did Gabe Watson murder his wife?

Is Gabe Watson guilty of murder/manslaughter?

  • Total voters
    16
  • Poll closed .
Maybe its just my naivety, but when I see somebody that looks like me and is generally from the same demographic as me, I have a hard time believing that they could kill their wives. I struggled with the Scott Peterson trial, and there was at least more motive in that one than what this guy faced. I am not a strong swimmer myself. If my wife and I are swimming in the ocean and she starts to struggle, it would be hell for me to try to save her. I'm sure if I were in the situation, fight or flight would take over and I would dang sure see to it that I made it out alive. Cowardly? Maybe. I tend to believe that she found herself in trouble, he tried to help which resulted in him getting trouble, so he did what he had to do to save himself.
 
Tider@GW_Law said:
I actually knew Gabe pretty well through being good friends with his younger brother throughout high school at Hoover and when he was an undergrad at UAB. I can honestly say that this was almost certainly not a result of any ill intent, but more likely just a result of incompetence.
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You're the lawyer - what is the criteria for manslaughter/negligent homicide?
 
I wonder if the Aussie verdict had anything to do with Watson being an American? I'm not saying there is some huge anti-American bias down under, but they may have viewed him as some rich outsider and wanted to punish him.

As for his guilt, I have no idea. I'm not a SCUBA diver so I can't really judge based on that. I read conflicting stories of what happened so there is no way to know the truth.

Getting remarried doesn't mean anything. Men are more likely to remarry then women if their spouse dies.
 
Crimson1967 said:
I wonder if the Aussie verdict had anything to do with Watson being an American? I'm not saying there is some huge anti-American bias down under, but they may have viewed him as some rich outsider and wanted to punish him.

As for his guilt, I have no idea. I'm not a SCUBA diver so I can't really judge based on that. I read conflicting stories of what happened so there is no way to know the truth.

Getting remarried doesn't mean anything. Men are more likely to remarry then women if their spouse dies.
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I don't think so - he actually pled guilty.I think the testimony of the people on the boat who saw him immediately while all of this was taking place was being considered there; I don't know if that testimony was involved in the trial here or not.
When your wife is in distress/danger of dying/is actually dying or already dead, and you show no emotions at all (I believe this was the testimony of some of these folks), something ain't right.
 
tide power fan said:
Trained diver, left her hmmm sounds guilt to me!
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Not proof of guilt, but definitely odd...especially when he is twice her size; that doesn't lend much credence to the "I was afraid for my own life" argument, if in fact that's what he used.
 
tide power fan said:
Trained diver, left her hmmm sounds guilt to me!
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I could be wrong but my understanding is that neither of them were expert divers. I think she panicked and then so did he, and he tried to save her, but couldn't, and went to the top for help. Is that the way it happened? I don't know! About showing no emotions - sometimes a person is in shock and doesn't/can't - show emotions until later, when it "hits" them.

A number of years ago an Aunt and Uncle's favorite niece died. He went all to pieces right away crying, etc., and she showed no emotions at all - at the time. People are different.
 
CrimsonNan said:
I could be wrong but my understanding is that neither of them were expert divers. I think she panicked and then so did he, and he tried to save her, but couldn't, and went to the top for help. Is that the way it happened? I don't know! About showing no emotions - sometimes a person is in shock and doesn't/can't - show emotions until later, when it "hits" them.

A number of years ago an Aunt and Uncle's favorite niece died. He went all to pieces right away crying, etc., and she showed no emotions at all - at the time. People are different.
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I can't swear this is true, but it does correspond to what I have heard since this happened, at least as far as GW's diving experience:
Link



 
Speaking only for myself here, I have the propensity to make knee jerk opinions based on whatever it is I hear in the media, which increasingly makes mountains of mole hills for sensationalism purposes and ratings.

There are many reasons to increase one's life insurance, purchase of a new home, anticipation of children, etc. Why is it when we hear "increase of insurance" we think "motive?" Perhaps we've been conditioned to make that leap, whether or not it's applicable.

Fact is, there is no evidence that supports a murder/manslaughter charge. The trier of fact had no evidence, only a bunch of hypothetical and circumstantial theories. Given the lack of evidence, I think the right decision was made.
 
I think if GW misrepresented his diving credentials (as some have posted on other forums), and wasn't certified like he claimed, then manslaughter is certainly on the table, as any certified diver would have done more than he did.
I also think the dive operators were at fault as it appears they didn't even follow their own company guidelines for pre-dive instructions (or something like that - they were fined for this, I believe) and, if GW misrepresented his diving creds, for not verifying them.
There is a lot here that only GW will know the anwser to, but as others have posted, I wouldn't want to depend on him for anything, and certainly not my life.
 
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