Prosecutors claimed Watson talked about insurance with his wife before the honeymoon, including a policy from her job in Hoover, and he tried to collect on insurance after her deathEarlier today, Tina Thomas Watson's father fought tears as he described to a Jefferson County jury how he found out his daughter died on her honeymoon and why he became suspicious that defendant Gabe Watson killed her.Watson did not call his in-laws to tell them she died while diving inside the Great Barrier Reef in Australia on Oct. 22, 2003, testified Tommy Thomas. He served 18 months in prison there before he was released and sent to face the Alabama charge.To convict him in Alabama, prosecutors had to show some element of the crime occurred in the state. Then defense lawyers Brett Bloomston, Joe Basgier and Mike Hanle asked Nail to dismiss the case, a motion that routinely is made before the defense case begins.Bloomston said the only eyewitness who saw Gabe and Tina Thomas Watson together underwater testified he thought Gabe Watson was trying to save his wife's life. "The evidence is sorely lacking that it was an intentional act," Nail said this afternoon in a response to a defense motion for acquittal after the prosecution completed its case. "I don't think anyone knows for sure what happened in the water down there," Nail said. "I'm just thrilled for Gabe," he said. The Thomas family found out from the defendant's father more than a day after the death, he said.The dismissal by Nail came this afternoon after the prosecutors had rested their case against Watson.Tommy Thomas was the last witness for the prosecution. Montre Carodine, a law professor at the University of Alabama, said the judge's decision to end the trial without the defense even presenting evidence was a "serious indictment" of the prosecution's case, particularly considering it was a capital trial.
– It's normally just a legal routine: After the prosecution rests, the defense stands up and asks the judge to dismiss all charges. Today, though, a judge in Alabama surprised everyone and agreed to do just that. As a result, Gabe Watson, accused of drowning his wife on their honeymoon in Australia in 2003, is a free man, reports the Birmingham News. "The evidence is sorely lacking that it was an intentional act," said Judge Tommy Nail. "The only way to convict him of intentional murder is to speculate. Nobody knows exactly what happened in the water. I'm sure we'll never know." Tina Watson drowned while they were scuba diving, and the only witness thought Gabe was actually trying to save her life underwater. Watson served 18 months in prison in Australia after pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge related to negligence, notes AP.