A Fiji court has convicted a Memphis man for the murder of his wife during their honeymoon in the island country more than two years ago, the victim's family confirmed Thursday.
As previously reported, Christe Chen Dawson was found dead on July 9, 2022, in her hotel room at the $3,500-a-night Turtle Island Resort in Yasawa. Bradley Robert Dawson was arrested at Matacawalevu Village a day later with several items in his possession, including his passport and some personal belongings.
Bradley Claimed Christe's Death was by Accident
Delivering the judgment, Justice Riyaz Hamza said the fact that Dawson had his passport and personal belongings with him upon his arrest indicated he intended to flee after committing the offense, the paper wrote.
Bradley maintained that Christe's death was an accident. However, Justice Hamza was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Bradley Dawson and no one else had committed the offense, according to the Fiji Times.
"For the aforesaid reasons, I am of the opinion that the defense's version cannot be believed, and the same version is rejected," he said. "Having analyzed all the evidence in its totality, I am of the opinion that the prosecution witnesses were all truthful, credible, and reliable in their testimony. From the totality of the evidence, I am satisfied that the prosecution has disapproved of the defense of provocation. Having considered all the evidence in its totality, I am of the opinion that the prosecution has proved the charge of murder against the accused beyond reasonable doubt."
Christe and Bradley Reportedly Argued Over His Flirtatious Behavior with Another Woman
The couple, who met in November 2021, married three months later after a whirlwind romance. At the time of the incident, the Daily Mail reported that on the night of her death, Bradley and Christe attended a party, dubbed "family fun night," with island staff and other guests on the beach where both were "very drunk."
Witnesses told the tabloid that tensions arose between the couple when Bradley started acting inappropriately with someone else at the party. "They were enjoying themselves and drinking quite a lot but towards the end they looked troubled," the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said.
It's understood the couple then left the party and their argument continued on the beach before they headed back to their private bungalow about midnight, where the fight continued. "Not long after that, guests in the bungalow next door said they heard arguing, a loud scream, and then silence," a source told the publication.
Bradley Caught Fleeing, Claimed He was Kayaking
The next morning, Christe was found bloodied on the bathroom floor by a personal butler. She had suffered multiple traumatic injuries to her body and shoulders, lacerations to her face and blunt force trauma to the head.
On the night Chen was killed, Bradley was seen walking the length of Turtle Island in the early hours of the morning by the night watchman, before he went back toward the private bungalow.
He left his GPS watch and mobile phone in the bungalow, but took his wallet and passport before fleeing across the water in a kayak, 1.2 miles away to a secluded beach on Matacawa Levu Island. He is believed to have been heading towards the mainland - which is about a two or three hour boat ride away - in the hopes of fleeing Fiji.
However, But Bradley never made it that far, and he was discovered - bleeding with cuts and bruises - about 3pm on July 10, by a local man as he walked toward the island's village.
A team of three police officers soon arrived on Matacawa Levu Island to take Dawson back to Turtle Island and then to Lautoka on Fiji's main island Viti Levu, where he was charged with murder. Once he engaged a lawyer, Dawson refused to provide DNA samples to officers.
Bradley is scheduled to be sentenced in Fiji on January 27.
