Australia's honeymoon killer

AP – FILE - In this undated file photo released by Townsville Coroners Court on June 20, 2008, Gabe Watson, …

By ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press Rod Mcguirk, Associated Press – 1 hr 9 mins ago

CANBERRA, Australia – An American man returns on Thursday to the United States where he could face prosecution for drowning his wife during their 2003 honeymoon on the Great Barrier Reef, a crime for which he has served 18 months in an Australian prison.

Gabe Watson, 33, was deported on a commercial flight Thursday from the southern Australian city of Melbourne to Los Angeles accompanied by two Immigration Department staff and three Queensland state police officers, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said.

Watson had been in immigration custody since completing an 18-month prison sentence earlier this month after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of his wife of 11 days, 26-year-old Tina Watson. Australia, a stanch opponent of capital punishment, delayed his deportation until it received a pledge from the U.S. government that it would not seek the death penalty against Watson.
Prosecutors in Alabama, Watson's home and a pro-death penalty state, want to try him again over his wife's death, and are expected to seek murder charges.
Bowen said Watson returned voluntarily after both Alabama and U.S. federal authorities guaranteed that he would not face the death penalty.
Watson's lawyer, Adrian Braithwaite, said his client was happy to go.
"He's looking forward to returning home and successfully defending himself if there's a trial there," Braithwaite told The Associated Press.

SHOOT: This guy took 11 days to murder his wife.  Doesn't this make the prospect of marriage even scarier for women?  And what do you call the equivalent of a black widow?  A black widower?  Or a bride goon.