BIRMINGHAM, Alabama—An Alabama judge has declined to dismiss a capital murder charge against a man charged with killing his wife during a 2003 honeymoon diving trip to Australia.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Tommy Nail denied motions Thursday to dismiss the charge against 33-year-old Gabe Watson in the death of his 26-year-old wife, Tina.
Defense attorneys had asked the judge to dismiss the charge based on double jeopardy. They said Watson has already served 18 months in an Australian prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Nail also refused to dismiss the charge based on defense attorneys’ assertions that Alabama prosecutors did not have jurisdiction to bring a charge in the state.
Watson’s trial had been scheduled to begin May 23, but it was delayed because of budget cuts in Alabama’s court system.
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