MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man will appear in a court in Fiji this week after he was accused of killing his wife during their honeymoon on the island, multiple sources report.
Bradley Robert Dawson’s wife, Christe Chen Dawson, was found dead in their hotel room on July 9. The New York Post reported that Chen Dawson was found by a butler in a pool of blood with blunt force trauma to the head.
Alarm was raised when the couple did not show up for breakfast or lunch, the Daily Mail wrote.
The New York Post also wrote that Dawson refused to submit to forensic testing and was not located until the next day after Chen Dawson was found dead.
Dawson was found a mile away at an island after using a kayak to flee, according to the Daily Mail.
His attorney, Iqbal Khan, says he maintains his innocence and called Chen Dawson’s death an accident, The New York Post wrote.
“On the evidence that they have presented so far, there’s no proof of the charge of murder with intention to kill or premeditation. Nothing of that sort whatsoever,” Khan said, according to the New York Post.
Dawson, 38, was an IT professional at Youth Villages, a non-profit that assists children with mental, emotional, and behavioral problems. The organization confirmed Dawson was an employee but was suspended due to the investigation.
Chen Dawson, 39, was a pharmacist at Kroger and recent graduate of the University of Tennessee Health and Science Center. The Daily Beast reported that Chen Dawson once owned a bakery in Denver.
The two married in February 2022 and lived in the Cooper-Young area in Memphis, according to Daily Mail.
One person who knew Chen Dawson spoke with The Daily Beast and called the couple’s relationship “a whirlwind romance.”
The person, who wanted to remain anonymous, also told the outlet that there were no red flags about Dawson because few people in Chen Dawson’s circle met him before the wedding.
People Magazine reported that Chen Dawson was found at the resort where the 1980 movie The Blue Lagoon was filmed.
Dawson is currently being held without bond. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
