A ghostly picture of Tina Watson lying lifeless on the ocean floor was entered as evidence today in the murder trial of Gabe Watson, who is accused of drowning his wife during a honeymoon scuba dive. The photo, taken by another diver, inadvertently captured Tina Watson in the background with her arms splayed and lying motionless. Watson and his bride were both 26 when they went to Australia on their honeymoon in October 2003 where they planned to dive in the Great Barrier Reef's historic Yongala dive site. Watson claims his wife, a novice diver, panicked and when he tried to help her, she accidentally knocked his mask off. By the time he recovered, he said his wife had sank beyond his reach. Accused "Honeymoon Killer" Tears Up During Murder Trial While his wife floundered, Watson surfaced to get help and a dive organizer went down to retrieve Tina Watson's body and then tried for 45 minutes to resuscitate her. Arrington told the jury that he would produce two witnesses who were on the dive with the Watsons who confronted Gabe Watson after the dive. The defense team did contact the computer maker who said it is designed to beep if the battery is incorrectly installed, Bloomstom said. When Watson said his wife panicked, they told Watson they didn't believe him. By the time he fixed his mask, she has sunk out of his reach, his lawyer says. The prosecution claims that Watson grabbed his wife, turned off her air long enough to kill her, then turned it back on and let her sink to the bottom. Watson has already served 18 months in an Australian prison for negligent manslaughter, which is essentially an admission that he failed to save his wife's life when she got in trouble. Alabama is prosecuting the case because it claims that Watson plotted while in the U.S. to kill his wife and collect what he expected to be $130,000 in life and travel insurance. Watson's lawyer argued in his opening statement that his client did not receive any insurance money for his wife's death, that they were in love and her death was a "tragic accident." Bloomstom also claimed that Tina Watson was a green diver sent on a dangerous "red flag" dive, that the shop did not have her take an orientation dive, and that she was outfitted with 20 pounds of weights, too heavy for her body.
– A chilling photo of dead newlywed diver Tina Watson sinking near her apparently unconcerned husband has been entered into evidence in his Alabama murder trial. Prosecutors say expert diver Gabe Watson killed his wife in the waters off Australia during their 2003 honeymoon to collect $130,000 in life insurance. He turned off her air long enough to kill her, turned it back on, then let her sink to the ocean floor, they charge. Watson says his wife panicked underwater and knocked off his face mask. By the time he adjusted it, she had sunk too far away for him to help her, according to his attorney. Watson then swam to the surface for help and later "calmly" explained what happened to authorities, an Australian police officer testified yesterday, reports ABC News. But he became agitated when police refused to return his mini dive computer, which helps track a diver's activity underwater, the officer added. Other divers, one of whom apparently took the underwater photo of Watson, challenged him after the dive that he didn't help his wife, prosecutors allege. Watson has already served 18 months in an Australian prison for negligent manslaughter for failing to save his wife of 11 days. Watson, now 34 and remarried, teared up at one point during yesterday's testimony.