Gabe Watson acquitted
Dubbed the 'honeymoon killer', Gabe Watson, was acquitted of his wife's murder by a US court on February 24, due to insubstantial evidence.
Mr Watson had already served 18 months in an Australian prison after pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge involving negligence.
Mr Watson and his bride of 11 days, Tina Thomas Watson, were scuba diving off the coast of Townsville in 2003 for their honeymoon. During a dive with her husband and an instructor, Mrs Watson drowned.
Mr Watson was an experienced diver with rescue certification but swam away from his wife towards the surface while she lay unmoving on the ocean floor. Mr Watson said his wife panicked while diving and knocked his breathing equipment from his mouth.
He was extradited to the United States in November 2010 to face a murder trial for drowning his bride. The trial was set in Mr Watson's hometown in Alabama with a diverse jury.
Although prosecutors tried to prove Mr Watson killed his wife for her life insurance money, an Alabama judge ruled that the case against him had insufficient proof, and acquitted Mr Watson without a jury.
