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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Alabama man who was accused of murdering his wife of 11 days on their honeymoon in Australia was acquitted Thursday after a judge determined there was not enough evidence to convict him.
Prosecutors had claimed Gabe Watson, now remarried, killed Tina Watson by cutting off her air supply while the couple was scuba diving along the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 2003 in order to obtain her life insurance benefits.
But the prosecution’s case fell apart after Alabama Circuit Judge Tommy Nail ruled that Tina’s father, Tommy Thomas, could not testify about the insurance claims, WBRC-TV reported.
Prosecutors had said in opening statements that Thomas would testify that Tina told him Watson had asked her to increase her life insurance to $130,000. According to ABC News, Thomas told Tina “not to worry about it” and to tell Watson it had been increased.
Nail ruled Thursday that this evidence was inadmissible hearsay and ruled in favor of Watson’s motion for acquittal before the case was given to the jury.
Watson previously served 18 months in prison in Australia after pleading guilty to manslaughter over Tina’s death. But Watson only admitted to negligence in his Australian guilty plea and has denied any claims he intentionally killed her.
Watson pleaded not guilty in his Alabama murder trial, and evidence of his Australian conviction was never presented to the jury.
To read more, go to MyFoxAL.com.
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