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The allegation of murder has allowed authorities to start trying to extradite David Gabriel Watson, of Birmingham, Alabama, to face the charges in connection with the death of his wife during a dive trip in Australia.
Watson's wife, Christina Mae Watson, drowned on October 22, 2003 during a dive on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The couple had been on a dive exploring a shipwreck of the Queensland coast, just eleven days after their wedding. In June this year, a coroner found there was sufficient evidence to charge Watson with killing his wife. Allegedly, during the dive Watson embraced his wife, as if to hug her. During the embrace, Watson, the more experienced diver of the two, turned off his wife's air supply and held her tightly as she began to suffocate, before swimming away. 
Mrs Watson's body on the sea floor where she was found Originally, Mr. Watson had told police his wife panicked while underwater and sank away from him. Instead of endangering them both and following her to the sea-bed, he opted to raise the alarm with fellow divers. During the coroner's inquest, police testified they initially thought the death was an accident, however suspicion was raised when Watson changed details of his account. The coroner had commented around the circumstances of the drowning, saying exactly happened remained unclear, however a possible motive was Tina Watson's modest life insurance policy. Justice Keiran Cullinane has said that Watson was required to appear in court on February 3rd, 2009 to answer the indictment; however the judge has no power to force the American to return to Australia to face the charge. Although Australia and the United States have an extradition treaty, the process can take months and Watson's lawyers can make official motions to block such a move.
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