A Tennessee man has been found guilty of bludgeoning his newlywed wife to death inside a luxury Fiji resort while the couple was on their honeymoon.
Bradley Robert Dawson, 40, was found guilty in the High Court in Lautoka on Thursday of the death of his bride, Christe Chen Dawson, but officials said he had tried to flee the island nation. Because the authorities believe that Her family confirmed to WREG.
Kriste Chen Dawson, 36, was found lying in a pool of blood inside a bungalow at Turtle Island Resort on July 9, 2022, with multiple injuries, including blunt force trauma to the head. It was discovered that
Christe Chen Dawson's body was so badly beaten that it was impossible to bring it back to the United States. Instead, her family cremated her and her body was returned to her parents in Memphis.
The couple, who married in February 2022, had a heated argument the night before the murder, the Daily Mail reported at the time.
However, Mr Dawson's lawyer Iqbal Khan said: told the outlet Despite the harrowing reports surrounding her death, “there is no way he could ever be convicted of murder.”
“The evidence they have presented so far does not prove a charge of murder with intent or premeditation. There is no such thing,” he said. “At first glance, it looks like an accident.”
Bradley Dawson, then 38, was not found until the day after his wife's death, after kayaking to a remote island a mile from the resort.
When authorities caught the groom, Dawson was carrying several items, including a passport and other personal items.
High Court Judge Riyaz Hamza believed Mr Dawson intended to flee the country after committing the heinous murder because he was in possession of his passport. The Fiji Times reported.
He has pleaded not guilty to murder charges and claimed his wife's death was an accident.
At the time of his arrest, Dawson had been suspended from his job at the nonprofit organization Youth Villages, where he worked in the IT department.
Hamza ruled Thursday that he believed beyond a reasonable doubt that Dawson was the only person involved in killing his wife.
“For the reasons stated above, I am of the opinion that the defense's arguments are not believable and the same should be dismissed,” he said, according to the newspaper. “Based on a comprehensive analysis of all the evidence, I believe that all of the testimony of the prosecution witnesses was truthful and reliable.
“In view of the totality of the evidence, I am satisfied that the prosecution disapproved the defense of provocation,” Hamza added. “After considering all of the evidence in its entirety, I believe that the prosecution has proven the murder charge against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Kriste Chen Dawson, a recent graduate of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, was working as a pharmacist at Kroger when she was killed.
The convicted murderer will be remanded in custody until his sentencing hearing on January 27, 2025.
