Gabe Watson grand jury set in Alabama

By Peter Mitchell (link)

A grand jury is set to be convened later this month in Alabama where prosecutors will attempt to have Gabe Watson charged with murder for the 2003 Queensland honeymoon dive death of his wife Tina.

A court date is temporarily scheduled for the week beginning October 18 in Alabama's most populous city, Birmingham.

When the jury of 18 Alabama citizens is convened to decide if Watson should be charged with capital murder, Watson will not be present.
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He is locked up in a Queensland jail cell serving the final weeks of an 18-month jail sentence after agreeing to a manslaughter plea deal with Queensland prosecutors.

If at least 12 of the 18 grand jury members agree Watson should be charged with capital murder, with a maximum sentence of life in jail without parole, it will give Alabama prosecutors the green light to push ahead with a full blown trial for the 32-year-old bubble wrap salesman.

Alabama's decision to prosecute Watson came after the Alabama government, Alabama law enforcement and Tina's parents were outraged by the 18-month sentence handed down to Watson by the Queensland judicial system.

Alabama authorities allege Watson began planning to kill Tina before the newlyweds left Alabama for the Queensland honeymoon.

Watson and Tina were married for just 11 days when she died during the scuba diving expedition on the Great Barrier Reef.

If Watson is charged by the grand jury, it is likely he will be deported under Australian guard from Brisbane to Los Angeles where he would be taken into custody after his plane landed on US soil.

The Queensland government has agreed to hand over evidence collected in the Queensland investigation after Alabama consented not to pursue a death sentence against Watson.

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