Man who murdered spouse throughout Fiji honeymoon earlier than escaping by kayak is jailed for all times | EUROtoday

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A person from Memphis, Tennessee, has been jailed for all times in jail for murdering his spouse on a non-public island throughout their honeymoon in Fiji.

Bradley Robert Dawson, 40, was convicted in December of murdering his spouse, Christe Chen, who was then 36, on the unique Turtle Island resort within the Yasawa archipelago two days after the newlyweds arrived within the South Pacific nation in 2022.

He then fled by kayak to a close-by island.

The Turtle Island resort, the place the pair stayed, is an unique and distant 500-acre island that accommodates solely 14 {couples} at a time. Yasawa is a bunch of about 20 volcanic islands within the west of Fiji, a nation of 930,000 individuals.

Dawson must serve at the least 18 years in jail earlier than he might be thought of for launch, a Fiji High Court registry official in Lautoka stated. He was sentenced by Justice Riyaz Hamza on Wednesday.

Hamza informed Dawson he had proven disregard for Chen’s proper to life and her private liberty.

“Your conduct after the incident was appalling. Having inflicted serious and life-threatening injuries to the deceased you fled the scene of the crime, leaving the deceased alone and helpless,” Hamza stated, in accordance with The Fiji Times newspaper.

Chen’s physique was found within the couple’s room by resort employees with a number of blunt trauma wounds to her head after the couple was heard arguing and didn’t seem at breakfast or lunch the subsequent day.

Dawson pleaded not responsible to the cost and was tried over eight days.

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His lawyer Anil Prasad informed the court docket that prosecutors had failed present ample proof to convict Dawson, the Fijian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Prasad stated that whereas the prosecution alleged that Dawson was planning to flee Fiji, authorities did not acknowledge that lots of the couple’s private belongings remained on the resort.

Prasad additionally stated Dawson had no accidents to recommend he had been concerned in a bodily altercation along with his spouse.

But the decide stated he was glad past affordable doubt that Dawson and nobody else had dedicated the crime.

Dawson labored within the data expertise division at Youth Villages, a nonprofit youngster welfare and assist group primarily based in Memphis. An on-line data search confirmed no felony arrests for Dawson in Shelby County, which incorporates Memphis.