Newlywed thug beat wife to death on Fiji honeymoon then left her body in pool of blood

Bradley Robert Dawson has been found guilty of murdering his new wife, Christe Chen Dawson, during their honeymoon at the Turtle Island Resort in Yasawa, on July 9, 2022

A newlywed thug beat his wife to death on their honeymoon and then left her in a pool of blood at a luxury resort in Fiji, a court has heard.

Bradley Robert Dawson, now 40, has been convicted of murdering his 36-year-old wife, Christe Chen Dawson. The victim, a recent graduate of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, was found brutally beaten inside the couple's luxurious honeymoon suite at the Turtle Island Resort in Yasawa, on July 9, 2022.

Her husband, from Memphis, Tennessee, was arrested at Matacawalevu Village a day later and was found with several items in his possession, including his passport and some personal belongings. Delivering his judgement on Thursday, Justice Riyaz Hamza said the fact that Dawson had his passport and personal belongings with him, indicated that he intended to flee the island country.

Dawson pleaded not guilty to murder charges and claimed his wife's death was an accident. But the judge said he was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Dawson had committed the offence as he told the court: "I am of the opinion that the defence's version cannot be believed, and the same version is rejected. Having analysed 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 defence 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."

The victim was working as a pharmacist at Kroger Pharmacy at the time of her death. The court heard her body was so badly beaten that it could not be flown back to the US. Instead, her family had her cremated and her remains were then brought back to her parents in Memphis.

Ronald Gordon, a lawyer representing Chen's estate and her parents, said she had to be cremated in Fiji due to the nature of her injuries and her ashes taken back home. He told the Daily Mail: "The family will follow the proceedings to ensure justice is served for Christe given the horrific injuries she endured.

"The deceased was unable to be taken back to her home because of the nature of her injuries … so she had to be cremated here in Fiji and her ashes were taken back." Mr Gordon said Chen's parents were informed of their only child's death through a phone call at around midnight from the State Department, a couple of days after she was killed.

They initially believed it was a prank call, he added, and were told by police that Dawson had left his phone and GPS watch at the luxury resort. Mr Gordon also claimed Dawson had married once before, and that he had travelled to Fiji with his first wife two years previously. He had married Chen in February in an intimate ceremony of just 20 people, and one unnamed friend said they thought it "was some kind of a whirlwind romance," The Daily Beast reported.

The couple, who married in February 2022, were having a heated argument the night before the murder, it was claimed at the time. Dawson is scheduled to be sentenced in Fiji on January 27.