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Inset: Bradley Dawson and Christe Chen (Instagram). Background — left to right: Chen (Facebook) and Dawson (FBC News).
A Tennessee man will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for the brutal murder of his newlywed wife during their honeymoon in Fiji.
In December 2024, Bradley Robert Dawson, 41, was convicted of murdering Christe Chen, 36, during an alcohol-fueled argument just five months into their marriage — and two days into the couple’s stay at the luxury Turtle Island resort in the Yasawa Islands, an archipelago that makes up the Western Division of the Melanesian island country.
“What should have been a truly joyous and memorable vacation was turned into a nightmare for the deceased and her family, causing much pain and sorrow to them,” Justice Riyaz Hamza of the High Court of Lautoka wrote in a sentencing opinion obtained by Fox News.
The convicted killer faced a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. The court recently determined that Dawson will be eligible for release after serving 18 years of his sentence.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the murder occurred on July 9, 2022. Dawson was arrested soon thereafter in the city of Nadi — after fleeing on a kayak and traveling to a nearby, neighboring island.
Hotel staff made the grim discovery after another guest at the elite resort filed a noise complaint. Chen was found suffering from massive blunt-force trauma wounds to her head. The previous evening, the couple were heard arguing. The next day, they failed to show up for breakfast or lunch. Other vacationers told police the Dawsons seemed happy on the evening of the altercation, but later heard “loud banging sounds” coming from their room.
A hotel manager eventually sent a housekeeper to enter the room — despite the “Do Not Disturb” sign hanging on the door.
The bathroom was covered in blood spatter. Chen’s body, bleeding and covered in broken glass, was propped up against the broken toilet. One of the victim’s arms was left dangling inside the water tank.
The trial occurred during seven days in late September 2024 and early October 2024, according to the judgment in the case. A final day of closing arguments was held in November of last year.
During the trial, Tomas Mawi described what he saw after changing the bedsheets and folding the couple’s clothes.
“Whilst he was doing this, he looked at the louvres of the washroom,” the judgment reads. “When he looked through the louvres, he could see blood stains on the wall. When he saw the blood stains he had felt scared. The witness had then walked to the washroom. The door was closed. He had then pushed the washroom door open just to peep inside. At that stage he had seen Christe sitting beside the toilet seat leaning on the toilet. All her hair was falling down covering her face.”
Dawson, for his part, argued that his wife was simply too drunk that night — and had fallen down during an argument that turned into a scuffle in the bathroom.
The court rejected that version of events:
If what the accused says is to be believed, there was no reason for the accused to have left the deceased in that state and leave the bure. After all this was his newly married wife and they had come to the Turtle Island Resort to celebrate their honeymoon. Furthermore, the injuries sustained by the deceased cannot be attributed to a mere fall as a result of losing control of herself. As depicted in the post mortem report, the injuries on the deceased were extremely serious. The injuries were found on her face, right upper limb, back and left lower limb. The Pathologist Dr. Avikali Mate, has testified that those injuries could have only been caused by blunt force trauma.
An autopsy also determined that Chen had a “gaping wound” near the top of her back above several smaller cuts.
“This Court is of the opinion that the injuries to the deceased were caused as a result of the accused punching her several times while she was in the toilet,” the court’s judgment goes on.
Christe Chen Dawson was an award-winning pharmaceutical scientist who graduated from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Her research was focused on social determinants of health, particularly in low-income areas. Before her death, she worked for the Kroger chain of grocery stores as a pharmacist in the Memphis area.
“No mother should have to know this is how her daughter’s life ended, and by the hands of the very person who took a vow to love, honor and cherish her,” Chen’s mother, Xiao Wei Liu, told the murderer in a victim impact statement obtained by Fox News. “I can only hope that the rest of your life is filled with misery, loneliness and despair.”
The woman’s father, Tao Chen, said he struggles each and every day to find meaning in “a life that now feels empty.”
“I hope the memories of what you did to her in her last moments haunt you — because you are a monster,” the victim’s mother also told Dawson.
He has 30 days to appeal his sentence.