Main, left to right: Christe Chen (Facebook) and Bradley Robert Dawson (FBC News). Inset: Dawson and Chen (Instagram).
A man from Tennessee, aged 40, faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life imprisoned in Fiji. His conviction stems from the brutal killing of his wife during their honeymoon two years ago. Bradley Robert Dawson was found guilty of murdering his 36-year-old wife, Christe Chen, in 2022.
After a trial spanning a week, Justice Riyaz Hamza from the High Court of Lautoka declared Dawson guilty of murder. The judge stated that the evidence presented by the prosecution convincingly established Dawson as the perpetrator. Particularly noteworthy was the discovery of Dawson with his passport and personal belongings upon his arrest, hinting at an attempted escape from the country.
Justice Hamza firmly dismissed the defense’s claims, citing them as unreliable. He emphasized the credibility and truthfulness of the prosecution witnesses and their testimonies. The judge concluded that the evidence overwhelmingly refuted any defense of provocation, leading to the irrefutable establishment of Dawson’s guilt for the murder of his wife.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Chen’s murder took place on July 9, 2022, in a hotel room at the luxury Turtle Island resort in the Yasawa Islands, an archipelago that makes up the Western Division of the Melanesian island country. The attack took place only two days into the couple’s honeymoon at the exclusive resort.
Staffers at the resort discovered Chen inside of the room suffering from massive blunt force trauma wounds to her head after another guest filed a noise complaint. The previous evening, the couple could reportedly be heard arguing and failed to show up for breakfast or lunch.
The Turtle Island Resort only takes in 14 couples at a time, according to a previous report from ABC News.
One of those other vacationers reportedly told police that the Dawsons seemed happy on the evening of this alleged fight, but she later heard “loud banging sounds” from their room
“It was as if someone was drunk and unable to control themselves inside,” she said. “And then we heard a loud scream followed by a big loud bang and after that there were complete silence.”
A resort staff member told the outlet they did receive a noise complaint regarding the Dawson room but waited until the following day to check on the couple.
Chen’s injuries were so severe that her family was forced to have her cremated in Fiji because her body could not be cremated and transported back to the United States, Memphis CBS affiliate WREG reported.
Chen 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. She most recently worked for the Kroger chain of grocery stores as a pharmacist in the Memphis area.
“I am excited to see the improvement in medication adherence after patients receive resources to help their disparities,” she said after securing funds for her research earlier in 2022. “The grant will give me a way to deliver training to pharmacy personnel, as well as present this idea to other pharmacists throughout the nation.”
Following his arrest, Dawson told ABC News that he had never been in a physical altercation with Chen, whom he referred to as “my everything.”
“What I can say is I am so sorry for the situation we are all going through now. We were supposed to have amazing holidays and I lost my wife,” he said. “Just thinking she is not here anymore is so painful. I am thinking of her all the time. We were supposed to have an amazing life.”
Dawson is currently scheduled to be formally sentenced on Jan. 27, 2025. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.
