BRISBANE, Australia (5 Jun 2009) — The family of drowned American bride Christina Watson say her killer husband's one-year jail sentence is an embarrassment to Australia. Tommy Thomas was in the Brisbane Supreme Court today to watch as former son-in-law David Gabriel "Gabe" Watson was sentenced to 12 months behind bars for unlawfully killing Christina, his wife of only 11 days. Christina, known as Tina, drowned on the couple's 2003 honeymoon when the pair was scuba diving with a tour boat off the coast of Townsville. Originally charged with murder, Watson this morning pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter, which the Crown accepted. Prosecutors subsequently asked for a five-year term, with a minimum of 18 months, but Justice Peter Lyons instead handed Watson a four-and-a-half year head sentence, suspended after he has served 12 months. He will serve the time in an Australian jail and will be deported immediately upon release. Reacting outside court, Mr Thomas, supported by Tina's sister Amanda Thomas and friend Amanda Phillips, said the court process was "ludicrous". "I believe probably the entire Australian nation as well as our nation back home shares in the shock that we've just seen," he said. "It's total injustice, it's ludicrous what we have seen. This is in no way, shape or form even beginning to get justice for our daughter." Mr Thomas said the outcome of the case was "an embarrassment I think to everyone involved". "It's an embarrassment to all Australians, it's an embarrassment to police here, the police in our country and to everyone who has been involved in this investigation," he said. "I'm sure that it's an embarrassment to all the people who were out there on that day, who did everything they could to try to save our daughter." Mr Thomas said he did not believe Watson's claim that he "panicked" and that was the reason he left Tina to die. "Now after five and a half years he's simply allowed to get up and say 'I panicked' when we know for sure that he did not because none of his actions as a certified rescue diver or otherwise were indicative of panic in this situation," he said. "As long as it took him to surface, there's no way that he panicked." He did not accept that Watson was only guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. "We believe that Gabe Watson murdered our daughter and we will continue to believe that," he said. "This is not justice, this is not over." At an inquest into Tina's death last year, the Queensland Coroner found Watson had switched off his wife's air supply while underwater and, after she suffocated, switched it back on and went to the surface as she sank to the sea bed. Watson, 32, was subsequently charged with murder and last month flew from his home in the US to face a Queensland court. But today in court the Crown accepted a plea of guilty to a charge of manslaughter. Crown prosecutor Brendan Campbell said Watson had unlawfully killed Tina by failing in duty of care to fulfil his obligations as her "dive buddy" during the scuba dive. He said when Tina grabbed for his oxygen supply he did not give it to her and then swam away from her as she sank to the bottom of the sea bed. | 
