it took long enough, but Australia is extraditing this guy.
you can see here that her body lays on the seabed, her new husband, who was a trained rescue diver just hangs there, and another diver is rushing to her aid.
he's eligible for death penalty, however the DA here had to promise OZ that it wouldn't be sought in order to get his sorry ass back here.
AP
CANBERRA, Australia – An American man returns on Thursday to the United States where he could face prosecution for drowning his wife during their 2003 honeymoon on the Great Barrier Reef, a crime for which he has served 18 months in an Australian prison.
Gabe Watson, 33, was deported on a commercial flight Thursday from the southern Australian city of Melbourne to Los Angeles accompanied by two Immigration Department staff and three Queensland state police officers, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said.
Watson had been in immigration custody since completing an 18-month prison sentence earlier this month after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of his wife of 11 days, 26-year-old Tina Watson. Australia, a stanch opponent of capital punishment, delayed his deportation until it received a pledge from the U.S. government that it would not seek the death penalty against Watson.
Prosecutors in Alabama, Watson's home and a pro-death penalty state, want to try him again over his wife's death, and are expected to seek murder charges.
Bowen said Watson returned voluntarily after both Alabama and U.S. federal authorities guaranteed that he would not face the death penalty.
Watson's lawyer, Adrian Braithwaite, said his client was happy to go.
"He's looking forward to returning home and successfully defending himself if there's a trial there," Braithwaite told The Associated Press.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an extradition order for Watson, and Los Angeles police will take him into custody after he arrives at the airport, his spokesman Aaron McLear said late Wednesday.
Los Angeles International Airport police Lt. Joaquin Mendez said he didn't have details of Watson's arrival, but said it would be standard procedure for him to be taken from the airport into local police custody once he is processed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Watson was dubbed the "Honeymoon Killer" by the Australian media after his wife drowned during a 2003 scuba diving trip on the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland's tropical coast with her husband, an accomplished diver.
In 2008, the Queensland state coroner found there was sufficient evidence to charge Watson with her death, and he was officially charged with murder a few months later.
In 2009, Watson — who had remarried — traveled to Australia to face trial.
Officials in Queensland state argued he killed his wife by turning off her air supply and holding her underwater. When Watson pleaded guilty to the lesser manslaughter charge last year, he was sentenced to 18 months — a punishment Tina Watson's family and Alabama authorities slammed as far too lenient.
Queensland Coroner David Glasgow said a possible motive for the killing was Tina Watson's modest life insurance policy.
Alabama Attorney General Troy King has said he believes Watson devised a plot in Alabama to kill his wife on their honeymoon, which would give the U.S. state jurisdiction to charge him. King has argued there are no international standards on double jeopardy that prevent Alabama from trying Watson again over the death.
Bowen said it was not an issue for Australia whether there was a new prosecution.
"My role has been to ensure that we fulfill our treaty obligations, we've done that," Bowen told reporters in Canberra. "Double jeopardy is not covered by our treaty obligations."
"There is various speculation about what Mr. Watson may or may not be charged with — I've seen some speculation that they would be different charges to what he's been charged with in Australia — but that is not a matter the Australian government has a role in," he said.
Under Australia's Extradition Act, a person cannot be deported to face prosecution on a capital charge unless there is an assurance the death penalty will not be imposed.
Watson - a former bubblewrap salesman - served 18 months behind bars for the manslaughter of his wife Tina, who drowned during a honeymoon scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef in 2003.
Tina died just seven minutes into her scuba dive on the SS Yongala, near Townsville. Alabama prosecutors believe Watson, an experienced diver, turned off her oxygen supply in order to receive a large insurance and compensation payout.
The lawyer for honeymoon killer Gabe Watson says he is not convinced Alabama prosecutors will not seek the death penalty, despite assurances by the US government last week.
Watson’s lawyer, Adrian Braithwaite, said on Sunday he had asked to see physical evidence of what assurances the US had given the Australian government but was refused because it was regarded as a ‘‘confidential diplomatic document’’.
‘‘I want to see the correspondence for myself because at the moment I am not satisfied it would be in his interests to return to the US,’’ he told AAP.
he has since seen it. and watson is due in US today.
CBS
Gabe Watson, the Alabama man tagged "The Honeymoon Killer" after his bride Tina died while scuba diving on their honeymoon, has finished his journey from Australia to Los Angeles where he was promptly taken into custody by Los Angeles police.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a deportation order for Watson with the intention to return him to face charges in Alabama.
Watson was deported by Australia after he completed an 18-month prison sentence there. He pled guilty to the manslaughter of his wife Tina Watson, 26, in 2003. Australian prosecutors had pursued a murder charge claiming he shut the valve on his wife's air tank while scuba diving. Watson claims his wife panicked while diving and he was unable to save her.
It is widely believed lame duck Alabama Attorney General Troy King has indicted Watson on murder charges claiming the conspiracy to commit the crime happened here in Alabama. The results of the grand jury have not been publicly released.
As Gabe Watson was airborne from Melbourne to L.A., Tommy Thomas, his former father in law spoke out to CBS 42 about his family's feelings and what they would like to see now.
Thomas says any kind of sentence is somewhat irrelevant. What he and his family want to see is Watson face a jury for killing Tina Thomas Watson on their honeymoon eight years ago. Thomas says a guilty verdict is the only thing that will bring justice for Tina's death and some semblance of peace for her family.
i'm never going to understand these desperate losers who marry wife-killing convicts. or any convict who will never leave prison.
Herald Sun, Aussie paper:
HONEYMOON killer Gabe Watson passed time in prison reading steamy love letters from his new wife, Kim Lewis.
The Courier-Mail has obtained one of the letters as well as fresh photographs showing Watson relaxing with his wife and dogs.
The graphic letters discuss sexual fantasies and give unusual nicknames for parts of the anatomy.
Watson is now back in the US where he is expected to be charged with the murder of his first wife Tina, who died 11 days after their wedding while diving on the Great Barrier Reef in 2003.
Ms Lewis bares a striking similarity to Tina.
In a plea deal with Queensland prosecutors, Watson pleaded guilty to Tina's manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 months' jail.
He faces life behind bars if convicted in Alabama.
Here's what I don't get about this dick, what was his motive? Insurance? And....isnt there another woman involved who they also is suspected in the plot and is standing by her ugly man?
LOS ANGELES -- An Alabama man accused of murdering his wife while they were on their Australian honeymoon in 2003 has waived his extradition rights in California, and authorities have 30 days to return him to his home state.
Gabe Watson made his initial court appearance in Los Angeles on Tuesday, wearing khaki pants and a green hooded sweat shirt that said "South Sydney" on the back. Watson, who wasn't in handcuffs, did not say anything before Superior Court Judge Hilleri Merritt as he bowed his head behind a glass partition.
One of his attorneys, Brett Bloomston, told The Associated Press that the 33-year-old has waived extradition proceedings and wants to return home.
"He would have already been back in Birmingham if the attorney general had allowed him to come back and turn himself in," Bloomston said.
Alabama Assistant Attorney General Don Valeska said prosecutors were following the normal procedure used in cases involving serious crimes. Watson probably would not be returned to Birmingham for at least three days, when he will be taken to the Jefferson County Jail, Valeska said.
Bloomston said Watson's legal team will ask for an expedited hearing to have him released on bond as soon as he arrives in Birmingham.
Watson served 18 months in an Australian prison after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the drowning of his wife, Tina Watson, during a scuba diving trip on the Great Barrier Reef. He arrived in Los Angeles on Thanksgiving after he was deported from Melbourne, Australia.
Australia, a staunch opponent of capital punishment, delayed his deportation until it received a pledge that U.S. authorities wouldn't seek the death penalty.
Prosecutors believe Watson devised a plan to kill his wife of 11 days in Alabama before the trip, which gives the state jurisdiction over her death.
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Watson was indicted by an Alabama grand jury on capital murder in the course of kidnapping, and capital murder for pecuniary gain. The charges were sealed until Watson reached the U.S.
Australian officials argued that Watson killed his 26-year-old wife by turning off her air supply and holding her underwater. Queensland Coroner David Glasgow said a possible motive for the killing was Tina Watson's modest life insurance policy.
Bloomston said a $33,000 insurance payment was made to Tina Watson's father, not her husband. but he applied to get it! right away!
---
Associated Press writer Bob Johnson in Montgomery, Ala., contributed to this report.
5/23/11
this trial was to begin today, i had my calendar marked for it. but now there is no new date. rats.
AP
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- An Alabama judge has declined to dismiss a capital murder charge against a man charged with killing his wife during a 2003 honeymoon diving trip to Australia.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Tommy Nail denied motions Thursday to dismiss the charge against 33-year-old Gabe Watson in the death of his 26-year-old wife, Tina.
Defense attorneys had asked the judge to dismiss the charge based on double jeopardy. They said Watson has already served 18 months in an Australian prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Nail also refused to dismiss the charge based on defense attorneys' assertions that Alabama prosecutors did not have jurisdiction to bring a charge in the state.
Watson's trial had been scheduled to begin May 23, but it was delayed because of budget cuts in Alabama's court system.
A trial date has been set for a Hoover man accused of killing his wife during a scuba diving trip in Australia.
The trial will start Feb. 13, 2012, according to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.
Gabe Watson pleaded not guilty Jan. 31, 2011 to charges of murdering his wife during an Australian honeymoon in 2003.
Prosecutors contend Watson murdered wife Christina “Tina” Thomas on Oct. 22, 2003, just 11 days after their wedding, while the couple was on a scuba diving expedition on the Great Barrier Reef.
new post
shades of Natalee. this one was out snorkeling with a guy i am trying to get info on.
her boyfriend, seen in photo here is worried. er...why was she in aruba with some other guy?
the resort where they were staying
WASHINGTON - It has happened again. An American Tourist has disappeared in Aruba, and this time, she is from our area.
35-year-old Robyn Gardner of Frederick, Md., vanished from the same resort town in Aruba last week where Natalee Holloway was last seen in May 2005. Holloway disappeared during a high school senior trip. Her body has never been found.
Gardner was on the island with Gary Giordano of Frederick, who police have now detained for questioning.
Giordano told investigators Gardner never made it back to shore after the two went snorkeling. He reportedly has changed the details of his story several times.
Gardner's boyfriend of two years, Richard Forester, does not buy Giordano's account. He is asking for help to find her.
"I want to let people know this is going on," Forester said. "She's been missing six days, and every day she's gone raises fear that she won't be coming back."
Giordano was detained while trying to leave the island. He continues to be questioned about his dealings with Gardner.
Gardner was last seen on Tuesday, August 2 at the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino in Oranjestad, Aruba, according to the Natalee Holloway Resource Center.
Gardner is described as 5'5" and 120 pounds, with blond hair and brown eyes. She has tattoos on her left arm (back of her shoulder to her elbow), her rib cage, and her right bicep.
If anyone has information leading to Gardner's location, please contact Fred Panneflek with the Aruban authorities at 011-297-597-5201.
A man who says he's been Gardner's boyfriend for 2 1⁄2 years says he received an email from Gardner three hours before she was reported missing.
Richard Forester, 41, tells Channel 7 the couple argued before Gardner left, and that the email expressed her love, saying they'd sort things out when she got back.
Aruban authorities are conducting a large scale investigation in connection with the disappearance of Robyn Gardner, an American tourist who disappeared on a snorkeling trip at Nanki in the Colony. On Sunday local authorities were at the site with the suspect, Gary Giordano, filming and measuring at certain spots.
According to sources, Giordano declared they had already gone to the site and decided to return to snorkel there the next day. They had swam out until they could not stand anymore and Giordano decided to swim back and it was when he arrived at the shore that he noticed that Gardner was not with him anymore and he called authorities.
Giordano was arrested on Friday as he was leaving the island, having already given extensive declarations to the police. His lawyer on Aruba, Michael Lopez, has advised him to make use of his right to remain silent.
hell. she's chum. and his story of her being 'swept out to sea' is going to be hard to disprove unless they find an intact body. not likely. SCUBA and snorkel murders are pretty convenient. but i think he's told 2 different versions. and did he report her missing right away? i'm not sure. and i'd like to know how the current is at the site where they were diving.
Gardner traveled to Aruba with Giordano, whom she had met on an online dating site and saw frequently.
His lawyer said police had not said he should stay when he said he was leaving, but waited for him to go to the airport to make the arrest. In the meantime, after Giordano’s arrest, his local lawyer, Michael Lopez has advised him to use his right to remain silent as he has already given extensive declarations to the investigators. Lopez was with Giordano when he gave his declaration.
Aruban authorities detained Gardner's companion Gary Giordano when he tried to leave the island. The 50-year-old apparently has an extensive rap sheet which includes domestic violence.
i have my doubts she died in the water. she could be anywhere on the island.
i think the FBI is entering case.
nancy grace was practically orgasmic tonight because this is same place Natalee Holloway vanished. HELLO NANCY! BOMBSHELL! THERE IS NO CONNECTION! jesus christ, get a grip woman.
Robyn Gardner, 35, was last seen Aug. 2 in an area known as “Baby Beach” for its shallow calm waters, said Ann Angela, a spokeswoman for the Aruba public prosecutor’s office. On Friday, authorities investigating Gardner’s disappearance detained her 50-year-old companion, who had reported that she had failed to make it to shore after snorkeling, officials said.
completely free speech. i would like to hear locals' comments/opinions.
i'm a diver, how is the current where they were snorkeling? thankyou smilies/smiley.gif Lady Cop
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written by Gerard , August 10, 2011
It is a beach enclosed by a reef, with only a small opening.If you go out in the open sea the current is at least 3 miles, so very dangerous for unexperienced swimmers
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written by Jeff , August 10, 2011
My wife is LEO here and we are EXPATS who live here. The current is nothing and would also push you right into the reef or further up the beach , not out to sea !!!!! I dont think he even took her there. I think a crime was commited somewhere else on the Island. FBI is assisting now. Please disregard nancy Dis-Grace as she talks through her A**.
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written by Jeff , August 10, 2011
Gerard is right , the current in the open sea is probably 3 miles an hour. The only way she drowned though in my opinion is that she could have panicked. The reality is , If they were snorkeling along the reef , she could have climed out of the water as the waves would have pushed her right up on it. This all within shallow water and easily seen. Also , a little further down the reef opens up at least 100 yards wide with small waves pushing you into the mouth of Baby Beach and comes into a shallow sand bottom onto the beach. There is more to this Guy's story than the story he is giving.
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written by Lady Cop , August 10, 2011
Thankyou Gerard
i am wondering if she was even in the water. she could be anywhere. someone here in the states who knows her well says she would not have gone out to sea and didn't like to snorkel.
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written by Lady Cop , August 10, 2011
yes nancy grace was nearly beside herself with glee trying to make it sound like the Holloway case. what a twit.
this guy in custody has quite a domestic violence history. not a good outlook here. thanks for your replies! i wish i could come down and dive your beautiful island waters!
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a 2003 story on Gary Vincent Giordano. combine this with a few violence allegations and he's not exactly a trustworthy character. doesn't mean he's a murderer.
Gazette.net Maryland.
An Urbana man was arrested last week in connection with the theft of merchandise from the Target store in Germantown over the last three months, police said.
Gary Vincent Giordano, 42, of the 9700 block of Royal Crest Circle in Urbana, was arrested at his home Thursday and charged with three counts of theft over $500 and one count of theft by scheme over $500, police said.
Employees at the Target in the Milestone Shopping Center reported that an unidentified man entered the store March 4 and began placing items into a shopping cart -- including PlayStation2 game systems, DVD players, scanners and other electronic items, police said.
Employees observed the man removing Target stickers from each box, according to police. Realizing he was being watched, the man abandoned the shopping cart, fled from the store and got into a silver Mercedes Benz station wagon, police said.
Through its investigation, the Montgomery County Department of Police's Career Criminal Unit discovered that the man was the same suspect who shoplifted from the Target Feb. 1 and March 1, according to police. The man also stole merchandise from the Target in Frederick April 24, police said.
"Through our Career Criminal Unit, they work with a lot of loss prevention agents at the different stores to see if there's a pattern," police spokeswoman Officer Joyce Utter said.
Police identified Giordano, who was arrested by the police's Repeat Offender Section, as the suspect involved in the thefts, according to police. He was released after posting a $2,500 unsecured bond, police said.
Gazette.net Maryland
Aruban authorities have called off the search for Robyn Gardner of Frederick, 35, who went missing 8 days ago on the Caribbean island, according to Gardner's boyfriend, Richard Forester of Bethesda.
Gardner went missing Aug. 2 while on vacation in Aruba.
The authorities did not give a reason for calling off the investigation, he said.
Forester said that he may go to Aruba next week if the search does not continue.
He does not trust the Aruban authorities to handle the investigation, and they are not opening up to him about it, he said.
“I want the FBI involved,” he said. “I was told that the FBI would be involved, I was told that Interpol would be involved — I have not received confirmation on either.”
(08-10-2011, 04:09 PM)LytoMe Wrote: LC,
Question about the "Honeymoon Killer", I am unaware of the legal system abroad...How is it possible to be charged with murder in 2 countries?
he did 18 months in Oz after pleading guilty to manslaughter. that has no bearing on our ability/right to charge him with murder here of a US citizen. he is also a US citizen and Oz deported him.
wed. night. nancy grace spent the entire show on this case, trying like hell to turn it into Natalee ll. it's NOT.
one thing that's concerning to me is that the Aruban authorities cannot hold this guy unless they come up with some evidence.
in this picture taken Wednesday Aug. 3, 2011, Gary V. Giordano, left, speaks with Aruba's police detectives.
Giordano, 50, called police in Aruba around 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 2 to say that he and Gardner got separated while snorkeling and she never made it back to shore. Video and photos obtained by the AP show him assisting police in a helicopter and boat search of the Dutch island's coastline.
police have the woman's computer, which they are considering sending to the Netherlands for analysis, and the couple's rental car but no physical evidence of a crime. All they have is the fact that the woman is missing and nagging doubts about Giordano's explanation.
![[Image: RobynGardner2_20110808203133_640_480.JPG]](http://media2.myfoxdc.com//photo/2011/08/08/RobynGardner2_20110808203133_640_480.JPG)
![[Image: RobynGardner_20110808203132_640_480.JPG]](http://media2.myfoxdc.com//photo/2011/08/08/RobynGardner_20110808203132_640_480.JPG)
![[Image: alg_facebook_robyn-colson_1.jpg]](http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2011/08/10/alg_facebook_robyn-colson_1.jpg)
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![[Image: April%2009%20shark%20snorkel%20-%20web.jpg]](http://www.uepi.com/images/April%2009%20shark%20snorkel%20-%20web.jpg)
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jesus christ, get a grip woman. ![[Image: ng.aruba.missingwoman.hln.640x360.jpg]](http://www.cnn.com/video/crime/2011/08/10/ng.aruba.missingwoman.hln.640x360.jpg)
![[Image: Baby-Beach-Aruba-1.jpg]](http://www.worldbeachvacation.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Baby-Beach-Aruba-1.jpg)
![[Image: 640_800px-baby_beach_aruba.jpg]](http://www.coastalcities.org/pictures/640_800px-baby_beach_aruba.jpg)
![[Image: baby_beach.jpg]](http://www.arubabound.com/photos/bch/baby_beach.jpg)
![[Image: ap_robyn_gardner_dm_110810_wg.jpg]](http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/ap_robyn_gardner_dm_110810_wg.jpg)
![[Image: robyn.jpg]](http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_296w/WashingtonPost/Content/Blogs/crime-scene/201108/Images/robyn.jpg)
![[Image: gary-giordano-320.jpg]](http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2011/news/110822/gary-giordano-320.jpg)
![[Image: 4e432a0eb6ff8.image.jpg]](http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/santamariatimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/f7/2f7899e4-add3-5ca2-84ce-99920a9974d2/4e432a0eb6ff8.image.jpg)