WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.Witnesses recount diving events in Gabe Watson trial

The state's star witnesses took the stand Thursday in the Gabe Watson capital murder trial.   Watson is accused of killing his new bride, Tina, during their Australian honeymoon in 2003. The prosecution says his motive was more than $200,000 in life and travel insurance money.

Dr. Stanley Stutz is an American ER  doctor who was working in Australia in 2003.  He was near the same dive site as the Watsons on October 22 trying to earn his advance open water dive certification. 

Stutz told jurors he saw Tina Watson about 5 meters below him shortly after getting in the water that day. He says she caught his eye because she was in distress, almost laying flat.  Stutz says her arms were moving slightly but that she didn't appear to have much energy. 

He then says he saw Gabe Watson swim over to her and get in front if her.  

"He put his arms underneath her armpits," Stutz recalled.  "At that time, I thought he was trying to save her." 

Stutz says he then saw the couple split apart and saw Tina sink quickly as Gabe swam to the surface away from the boat they dove from. But later in cross examination, Stutz testified he thought Gabe was trying to save his wife.  

"You don't think you saw a murder that day, did you?" defense attorney Brett Bloomston asked. 

"I was surprised  when I got an email saying it was a murder investigation," Stutz replied.

Also on the stand Thursday was Ken Snyder. He, his wife and their best friends, Doug and Ginger Milsap were on the same dive trip as the Watsons. The prosecution was able to qualify Snyder as an expert due to the fact that he has more than 800 dives under his belt.

Snyder described meeting Dave and Tina the day before that Tina's death. Snyder said he immediately took a liking to Tina. He said he asked her are you Roll Tide or War Eagle, and she said "I'm a War Eagle."

He said he also talked about learning that Tina was missing in the water the next day. He said he went to ask Gabe what had happened. Snyder testified that Gabe said Tina panicked in the water and knocked his mask off and by the time was able to fix it she was quickly sinking away. Snyder said immediately bells went off in his head and said he felt the details Gabe gave about the depth of the water, the weights Tina was wearing and how quickly Gabe said Tina sank did not add up.

Snyder said that he then called his friend Doug Milsap over to listen to Gabe's story. Milsap also an avid diver. Both men say they told Gabe Watson his story wasn't adding up. Milsap took the stand late Thursday afternoon and will continue his testimony tomorrow.

After testimony Thursday prosecutors spoke positively about Snyder's comments while defense attorneys called Snyder and Milsap "armchair quarterbacks" because they didn't see what happened in the water. They continued to say that the state has shown no evidence Gabe intented to kill his wife. 

On Wednesday, prosecutors played video of statements Gabe Watson gave to police just days after Tina Watson, his newlywed wife, died on their Australian honeymoon. Watson was seen wiping tears from his face during a couple of moments Wednesday during the playback.

Queensland, Australia, police detective Kevin Gehringer testified Gabe Watson gave them a statement the day Tina Watson drowned. During the cross examination, defense attorneys questioned Gehringer's ability to investigate the case because, at the time of the drowning, Gehringer was a new detective.

Watson's attorneys say, so far, their team has heard nothing they believes proves their client is guilty of murder.

Jurors on Wednesday were shown the dive equipment Tina Watson was wearing the day she died. Gehringer said her equipment did not contribute to her death.

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