Lawyer: honeymoon death suspect not expert rescuer

NEW YORK (AP) — An attorney for an Alabama man charged with murder in the honeymoon death of his wife says the man was an accomplished diver, but not an expert at rescues.

Attorney Joseph Basgier told CBS’s “Early Show” toay that Gabe Watson had only taken a half-day rescue class two years before the newlyweds went for a dive along the Great Barrier Reef in 2003. Watson pleaded guilty in Australia to manslaughter and served prison time for not doing enough to save his wife.

He was brought to the U.S. on Thursday and now faces murder charges in Alabama in the death of his wife, 26-year-old Tina Watson.

Alabama Attorney General Troy King says Australian authorities showed too much leniency to Watson. Prosecutors believe Watson hatched a plan to kill his wife while they were in Alabama.