Bradley Robert Dawson, a 40-year-old Memphis, Tennessee resident, was convicted on December 12 for the murder of his wife during their 2022 honeymoon in an upscale Fiji resort. The murder occurred just two days after their arrival. His sentencing is set for January 27, 2025.
The victim, Christe Chen Dawson, 36, who worked as a pharmacist at a Kroger supermarket in Memphis, Tennessee, was found dead in the couple’s room at the Turtle Island Resort, which charges $3,500 per night. The resort is located in the Yasawa archipelago. Medical examiners determined on July 9, 2022, that she died from multiple blunt force injuries to her head.
Justice Riyaz Hamza from the High Court of Lautoka handed down the verdict after a week-long trial. Justice Hamza stated he was convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that Dawson was responsible for the murder.
Chen’s body was discovered by resort staff following a noise complaint filed by another guest, and after the couple failed to show up for breakfast or lunch the next day. Dawson had left the scene via kayak to a nearby island but was later detained by authorities.
According to a Daily Mail report, the disagreement that led to the fatal incident began when Chen saw Dawson dancing inappropriately with another woman.
A witness staying at the resort testified that she heard troubling noises from the couple’s room. Despite seeing the Dawsons enjoying themselves earlier in the evening, she later heard impacts that she likened to sounds made by a drunken individual moving around. Her testimony included hearing a scream followed by a final loud impact, after which all noise stopped.
Resort staff, who received a noise complaint about the Dawsons’ room that night, did not perform a wellness check until the following day.
Ronald Gordon, the Chen family’s attorney, stated that Chen’s body was so badly beaten that it couldn’t be embalmed and had to be cremated. Her ashes were then returned to the United States.
Dawson and Chen married in February 2022, shortly after Dawson’s divorce from his first wife was finalized in January that year. Chen, a recent graduate of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, was employed as a pharmacist at the time of her death.
At Dawson’s arrest, authorities found him with his passport and other personal belongings. Justice Hamza highlighted this as an indication of Dawson’s plan to leave the country. Throughout the trial, Dawson consistently declared his innocence, asserting that he had taken a kayak to a neighboring island to give his wife some space after their argument.
Following his arrest, Dawson spoke to ABC News, denying any history of physical altercations with Chen and referring to her as “my everything.”
The couple’s honeymoon destination, Turtle Island Resort, is a select property that only hosts 14 couples at a time. It was used as a filming location for the 1980 film “The Blue Lagoon.” It was reported that the vacation was paid for by Chen’s parents, who were frequent visitors to the resort.
Dawson, an employee in the information technology department at Youth Villages, a nonprofit organization focused on child welfare in Memphis, Tennessee, now faces a mandatory life sentence under Fiji law.
