Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Pharmacist-Bride Bludgeoned Dead on Fairytale Honeymoon

Episode Date: August 25, 2022

A honeymoon quarrel leads to the brutal death of a Tennessee woman. Christe Chen and husband Bradley Robert Dawson waited five months after their February wedding to take a fairytale honeymoon to Fiji. Just two days into their trip, Dawson reportedly beat his pharmacist wife after a drunken argument.    Chen's body was found by a housekeeper at Turtle Island Resort after the couple didn't show up for breakfast or morning activities they had signed up for. Dawson was arrested two days later. Dawson fled from Turtle Island on a kayak to a neighboring island. Dawson said he wanted to give his wife some space. Police say he was trying to leave the island to catch a plane from another location. Dawson's wallet and passport were missing from his room.  Dawson is set to be back in court on September 1.   TIPLINE: The National Domestic Violence Hotline - 800-799-SAFE or 800-799-7233 Joining Nancy Grace Today: Gary Davidson - Partner, Diaz Reus [ROYCE] International Law Firm & Alliance, www.diazreus.com, Twitter: @DRT_Alliance, Instagram: diazreustarg, Represents Abbey Conner's Family Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst (Beverly Hills, CA), DrBethanyMarshall.com, New Netflix show: 'Bling Empire' (Beverly Hills) John Guard - Chief Deputy – Pitt County Sheriff’s Office (Greenville, NC), Specializes in Investigating Domestic Violence Cases,  Karl E. Williams, MD, MPH - Chief Medical Examiner, Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, PA), 40+ years Forensic Pathologist Charlie Lankston - FeMail Editor, DailyMail.com, Twitter/Instagram:@charlielanks  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Your wedding, your honeymoon, you know, a lot of girls grow up dreaming of that. You know, the other day, my daughter's little friend blurted out that she wanted to have a Disney wedding. And she had already picked out the location at, I guess it's Cinderella's Castle. Yeah, it's Cinderella's Castle at Disney. That's so beautiful. It's in the background of a lot of their photos.

She had this fantasy when she was about nine years old. She's already planned her wedding. Well, here's my question. How does a beautiful young bride who has a dream wedding and a dream honeymoon in the exotic island of Fiji end up dead. How does that happen? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. First of all, take a listen to this. Public records show the Memphis area couple tied the knot in February. The Turtle Island Resort confirming the two were guests at the all-inclusive luxury resort. Fiji police tell ABC News a resort housekeeper discovered Chen's body

lying on the floor of her hotel room earlier this month. The housekeeper alerted hotel management, a medical team later pronouncing Chen dead. You're hearing our friends there at ABC's GMA. I still don't get it. The time in your life when it's supposed to be the happiest before you're busy with raising children and juggling jobs and mortgage payments and car payments, how do you end up dead on a Fiji honeymoon? Take a listen to that, our friends at Fox 13. The couple lived in Cooper Young on Elsie Avenue. Here in the Cooper Young area of Memphis, one neighbor says she saw Chen right before the vacation. She described her as elated she would get to spend her honeymoon in Fiji.

We did some digging and discovered Chen graduated from UT and worked as a pharmacist at a Kroger in Memphis. Bradley Dawson is employed by Youth Villages, a nonprofit that works to improve the lives of children. So these two seemingly were a perfect fit. Joining me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now. But before I introduce the entire panel, let me first go to our friend and colleague, Charlie Langston. First, Charlie, I want to talk about not only the discovery of her body, but who is this woman? Christy Chan. She's gorgeous. She is educated. She has finished her degree. She's a pharmacist, which means you have to pass a rigorous exam. She's already employed helping people. She has seemingly a great husband and he's working at a non-profit. They get married,

they delay the honeymoon until they're ready to go for a couple of months, I think, and then they go to Fiji. What more do I know about Christy? You know, I mean, on the surface, this really was a fairy tale pairing. Everyone has talked about Christy being a wonderful human being, an intelligent human being, who was so overjoyed and elated to be married and to be going on her honeymoon. Now, the two enjoyed a whirlwind romance. They were only together for around three months before they tied the knot in February. But on the surface, it really did look like the perfect pairing. You've got this incredibly beautiful, bubbly pharmacist with an incredible educational background. And then you've got the husband who is, as you said,

seemingly an incredible guy who works with children for a living, works for a nonprofit. It really did look like the perfect pairing. And then they jet off on this incredibly luxurious honeymoon to a $3,500 a night resort. Whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait. I just heard $3,500 a night. Did I hear that correctly? Yes, you did. $3,500 a night? Yes. What is this place, Charlie Langston? It is a very secluded, very luxurious, all-inclusive resort that is located on an island. It is very, very private. The only people who live on the island are the staff who work there. And that is why this whole incident has really been difficult to get to the bottom of because,

you know, this incredibly luxurious resort does not want heinous details of this horrific tragedy getting out to the world and potentially tarnishing its reputation. So staff have been told under no circumstances are they to reveal any information, any details about what went on here. That certainly hinders any sort of an investigation when nobody will talk. And also the nature of the location, the secluded island resort there on Turtle Island, Fiji, makes it very difficult for experts to come in. I'm going to go very quickly to Dr. Bethany Marshall, a psychoanalyst joining us from L.A. Never a lack of business there for a psychoanalyst joining us from LA. Never a lack of business there for a psychoanalyst. Everyone, you can find her at drbethanymarshall.com. Bethany, I just want to examine the

psychology, the expectations that women all over the U.S. have about their wedding, their wedding dress, their honeymoon, the whole Turtle Island resort, $3,500 a night. The dichotomy of this dream come true and then to find her in that condition at this high-end resort is just such a stark dichotomy. Nancy, it is. And, you know, the whole honeymoon of it all is true. It's backed up by science. We have a number of robust research and brain scans of newlywed couples that have, the brains of newlywed couples have been scanned.

And what we've found- Can I just ask you a question? Yes. Who that's getting married and going on their honeymoon is going to have a brain scan? Just curious. Who signs up for that? Well, researchers are very interested

in what they've learned is that the pleasure centers of the brain are so activated it's as if the couple is on cocaine whoa and so so it's really interesting because not only do we know that it's the beginning of people's hopes and dreams it's a wonderful period um as you mentioned earlier from the time that we're children, little girls, we fantasize about marriage and honeymoon and having children. I did. I never did. Never. Not even once. You never did? No. I don't know what that means. I'm really happy. I love David and I love you are. I'm one of the twins. It's more than anything I could have ever, ever imagined. But I never once dreamed of it, not even once as a young girl. No.

Mm-mm. So I don't know what that means. Look up Helen Fisher, the cultural anthropologist, did all this research. She took brain scans of people falling in love, people getting married, people on their honeymoons. And she was the one that first had the findings that their brains looked like people on cocaine. That's how happy they were. I believe you.

I believe you. I completely believe you. So their dreams and expectations aren't just emotional. It's actually backed up by brain scans. And not only that, the idyllic nature of this. Can I just tell you one of their ads? Your private island playground beckons a siren song of the heart to discover the serene tranquility of this wild paradise. I mean, I would like to go there right now if I didn't know about this death. So, Dr. Bethany Marshall, it's the dichotomy of what you're saying. People are so excited

and dreamy that they actually appear to be on, their brain scan appears to be on cocaine. It's really a lot to take in. But this young bride, Christy Chin, a board-certified pharmacist who was very happy in her job, very happy in her marriage, things could not have gone more wrong. Charlie Langston joining us, the email editor at DailyMail.com. I understand that one of the employees found her body, but I want to take a listen to our friend Dave Mack at CrimeOnline.com. lifetime in Fiji. The couple chose the luxurious Turtle Island Resort, an exclusive secluded locale with prices that run thousands of dollars a night. Just 14 couples in private villas can stay at the resort at a time. Each villa comes complete with a personal concierge and gourmet meals. Turtle Island Resort is also a favorite of celebrities. Britney Spears, Kevin Federline, Jessica Simpson, and Nick Lachey have all stayed at the resort according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Turtle Island Resort is also where the

1980 movie The Blue Lagoon starring Brooke Shields was filmed. I just wanted everybody to hear that because that scenery in Blue Lagoon was stunning. I've always wondered where that was filmed. I didn't think it could even be real, but it is, and this is where it happened. That's where Blue Lagoon with Brooke Shields was filmed. It's like paradise. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I want to hear from you, Charlie Langston, against this background. How was this beautiful young bride, Christy Chin, found dead? Well, alarms were initially raised when the couple did not turn up for breakfast on July 9th. And their butler,

who was responsible for cleaning and looking after their private villa. Okay, wait, did you say butler? Yes. Okay, go ahead. So he went to the villa and found a do not disturb sign on the door. He went in because there were concerns about the fact that the couple had not turned up to breakfast. He began cleaning the villa when he spotted blood on the wall of the bathroom. He then went into the bathroom and found Christy Chen's body beaten to just an unbelievable extent to the point where she was barely recognizable.

And her husband was nowhere to be found. I want you to back it up. So the butler does there are only 14 guests at a time at this resort? 14 couples. Okay thank you yes so then 28. So that means to me there are 14 I guess villas? Yes. I'm already thinking of the possibilities regarding the killer. So there are 28 people there and each villa has its own butler. Is that correct? Yes. A concierge who is responsible for making sure that your every wish is catered to essentially. And they didn't show up for breakfast. See, for a honeymoon couple, I would not find that unusual. So I wonder what piqued the butler's interest to go and enter the villa. He didn't enter the villa until around midday. So the couple had not been

seen for several hours. And we understand that prior to this day, they had been at the resort for two days. They had been up bright and early and enjoying this incredible paradise and all of the amazing amenities and meals that the resort has to offer. Okay, so we've already established a pattern that they were early risers and would get up and hit the ground running, didn't want to miss a thing, as opposed to sleeping in. I find that very, very important. And I want to go to Gary Davidson joining us. You may recognize his name. He's a high-profile lawyer joining us, partner at DS Royce. And you can find him on Twitter and Insta.

Gary, it depends on which side of the fence you're on in any particular trial, but I find behavioral evidence, or as it's called, routine evidence, evidence of routine, to be, in my mind, very powerful. Now, it can easily be attacked by opposing counsel, but the fact that they were early risers, and every day of their honeymoon, they were getting up early and going to breakfast and going out to, I don't know, snorkel, hike, whatever they were doing. I find that very interesting, and I also find it a tell. A tell is to possibly when the homicide occurred. What do you make of routine evidence or behavioral evidence, Gary? Well, I would add to that that the fact is they're on a remote island where there's somewhere

less than 100 people presumably attending to them and as other guests. So the possibilities of a crime of passion, and let's be clear, this very much sounds like a crime of passion based on the descriptions of the body. Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. That is really interesting, Gary Davidson. Really interesting. Hold on. Gary Davidson is pegging this as a crime of passion. Now, some people may have gone down the avenue of an intruder coming in to rob or take their

money or valuables. They find her and so they beat her dead and take the stuff. But you're thinking crime of passion. I want to follow up on that, Gary Davidson, and hold the rest of those thoughts because, you know, you're not a great trial lawyer for nothing. So I know you've already come up with a lot of strategies here. Carl E. Williams joining me, Chief Medical Examiner, Allegheny County, that's Pittsburgh. You know, Carl Williams, Dr. Williams, just as a rough estimate, how many autopsies do you believe you've done? Four or five thousand. You stop counting after a while.

The first couple thousand are the most traumatic, you know, and after that it all goes downhill. But I've been practicing for 40 years, and right now my office does 2,000 a year. I've been there for 2,007, so a lot of autopsies. You know what's interesting, Dr. Williams, is someone asked me how many cases I've tried or how many cases I've handled. When I go back and think over the years at an arraignment calendar every Monday of 150 new cases once a week for over 10 years, that's a lot of cases. I can't even count them all. That's a lot of cases. Yeah.

So I hear what you're saying. In your mind, Dr. Williams, following up on what Gary Davidson, trial lawyer at Diaz-Royce, says, crime of passion. What about her death suggests crime of passion? Just a description of the massive amount of trauma, particularly to the face, particularly to the head. Obviously, that's an indication of the pattern of the injuries more than anything else. We don't see that savage of beating as it's described without it making you think that it's a crime of passion. There's no other really explanation for it. So if you eliminate the possibility of the intruder, it just fits into that pattern in

general. You know, I'm curious, Charlie Langston, what more can you tell me about the attack itself? You hear Dr. Williams describe savage, a savage beating. What can you tell us about her death exactly? She suffered what has been described as traumatic injuries to her body and several blunt force blows to her head. This was not a quick or painless death. It sounds as though she went through an incredibly savage beating to the point where her body could not be brought back to the U.S. because it was in such horrific condition. Another thing I noticed, Charlie Langston, joining us from DailyMail.com, is her body was found wedged in between the commode and the wall and that space. And that tells me something. Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst joining us from LA,

it tells me she was trying to escape her attacker. He, and I'm sure the bludgeoning death was by a man, statistically was not a woman, did not kill her and wedge her down there between the commode and the wall, that tiny space where there's only room for a toilet paper dispenser. I think she was there trying to avoid the blows that she was sustaining. Nancy, this poor little thing was trying to get away from her attacker. Where is the husband? Take a listen now to our friends at Crime Online. On the night Jim was killed, Brad Dawson was seen walking the length of Turtle Island in the early morning hours by the night watchman.

After Chin's body is discovered, police begin a search for Dawson that lasts 36 hours. They find Dawson left his GPS watch and mobile phone in the bungalow, but his wallet and passport were missing. What? Charlie Langston, excuse me, what am I hearing? His watch significantly that has GPS on it and his phone, which also has GPS on it, are in the room, but his passport and his wallet are missing? That is correct. Now that tells me a lot right there. If there had been an intruder, they would have taken the watch and probably the phone, maybe, but definitely the watch. Why would they take the wallet and the passport and leave the watch?

So that tells me there was not an intruder. That's just at first glance. But what about it, Charlie? And who is this guy? Who is the husband, Bradley Dawson? I mean, you know, as far as we're aware, he was this, you know, great guy who swept Christy Chen off her feet. He worked for a nonprofit. He spent his days working and helping children. He becomes a source of huge speculation and scrutiny because his wife, his new wife, is beaten to death in a savage attack.

But the night before, the night before that she is found dead, didn't they go to a, quote, family fun night with island staff and the other guests? Now, true, it sounds like a big drunk to me. Everybody was drinking and laughing and having fun on family fun night. But then I understand, Charlie Langston, you would know this better than any of us, that a fight, an argument erupted between the bride and the groom. Over what? A heated argument is what it's being described as. And Mr. Dawson's lawyer has admitted that the two of them did get into an argument. However, you know, we kind of before this heated argument, they had looked like the perfect couple. Well, I understand the argument was about a sexy dance, flirtation.

So we do understand that the reason that the two of them got into a fight is because Christy got angry at her new husband because he was dancing in a sexy manner with another woman and she got cross with him. Okay, Dr. Bethany Marshall, I may not have dreamed of my wedding when I was in the fifth grade, but I can tell you this much. If my husband was sexy dancing with another woman on the honeymoon, fur would fly. Fur would fly. I'm just telling you that.

I'd get mad too, especially on your honeymoon. Well, Nancy, this is really unusual behavior on a honeymoon. I have a couple hypotheses here. Either he had been drinking way too much, he's impulsive, or maybe he's the kind of guy who's pathologically jealous. So he's going to go do a sexy dance to get back at her for some minor infraction on her part. We don't know anything about any infraction on her part. We don't know anything about any infraction on her part. We know nothing about that. Exactly.

I mean, this is all guesswork. I'm just building another tale here, just trying to figure out what might have gone on. Okay, but this is what we do know that we don't have to guess about. All right. A sexy dance. That's what I'm calling it because it made her angry. I know that much.

Gary Davidson, high-profile lawyer joining us. Gary, are you married? I'm calling it because it made her angry. I know that much. Gary Davidson, a high profile lawyer joining us. Gary, are you married? I'm not. Have you ever been? No. Okay, well, I've got somebody to set you up with. So that said, Gary, how many times have you seen major fights erupt over something stupid, like the husband having too many drinks and dancing with another woman. Probably the next morning won't even remember it, except for the big fight that followed or vice versa. I mean, people get shot over things like dancing with somebody else, which really means nothing.

Well, that's true, but it does mean something in the context of a honeymoon. And I think Bethany is correct about that. And it's, you know, I think the point about them not really knowing each other that well, only having been together for a relatively short period of time, eight months, and then to get married, you barely know the depths of a person's emotions at that point. And so what I think happened here was there was some sort of an emotional breakdown on the part of the husband following this argument. And this was a crime of passion, and he took his passion out on his newlywed wife.

Well, I know this. I know they'd only known each other for a few months before their marriage, their whirlwind marriage. But I can tell you this. It ain't his first time at the rodeo. Take a listen to our cut to our friends at CrimeOnline.com. Bradley Dawson's marriage to Christy Chin is his second marriage. And with this marriage, the honeymoon was in Fiji.

With Dawson's first marriage, the ceremony took place in Fiji, Yarrow, Fiji, in September 2019. That's according to a Shelby County Chancery Court divorce filing for that marriage. The relationship lasted just two years. Dawson filed for a divorce in September of 2021, citing irreconcilable differences as grounds. The couple quickly reached a property settlement and a final decree was issued in January 2022. Man, love him and leave him.

Could he at least have surprised me and had the second wedding somewhere other than where he had the second wedding somewhere other than where he had the first wedding and honeymoon. I mean, okay. That said, let's move on to what we know about the night of the death. Take a listen now to our cut number three, Dave Mack. Christy Chen and Bradley Dawson had been at Turtle Island Resort for two days. Resort staff said the couple drank and partied on the beach with other guests. But then the couple argued. According to Dawson's attorney,

Christy Chen had a drunken fight with her husband over his flirtatious dancing with someone else. Interesting how that was worded. That she had a drunken fight with him over his flirtatious dancing with somebody else. So somehow she has turned into the bad guy. And Nancy, according to his attorney. Yeah, exactly. According to his lawyer. So she's found the next day, sometime midday, when a butler goes into their nearly $4,000 a night villa at Fiji to find her bludgeoned dead. The blows, according to Charlie Langston, are multiple traumatic injuries to body, shoulders, lacerations to face, blunt force trauma to head. That's according to a post-mortem report. And I want to go to you Dr. Bethany regarding the blows to the face the blows to

the face because some people may say this is junk science but according to you and me when there are blows to the face I could compare it to a case where the woman has been stabbed in her breast or her genitals. It is very significant, and the injuries themselves tell me a lot about the killer. What do you make of many of the blows being to the face? Nancy, blows to the face are so targeted. To me, it means the lights were on, the assailant saw her, was looking at her in the eyes, had extreme feelings of rage. This is not just somebody who crept into the bungalow at night trying to steal a piece of jewelry or maybe another guest

on the island who became fixated on her and wanted to gain proximity to her, wanted to get to know her better, and then went into a fit of anger. This is somebody who had deep, simmering rage towards her. This was an up-and-close and personal attack. Let me bring in now Chief Deputy of Pitt County Sheriff's Office in Greenville, John Gard. John, thank you for being with us. I believe that, well, in my experience, burglars don't typically come in to kill or rape. However, if they are suddenly confronted with the resident being there, they may beat the resident or shoot the resident. But typically, they'll run. They want to come in and steal

something and get the hay out of there. And that extends to butlers, to the grounds people, to everyone working there. If they're going to steal, they want to take it and leave. If they find out somebody's there, they'll just leave. That's, generally speaking, true in the majority of burglary cases. Would you agree? Well, 100 percent. Absolutely. 100%, absolutely. So why would a burglar or a thief go to so much trouble to bludgeon the bride dead as she's wedged between the commode and the wall? I can tell you in my experience, this certainly is not the first case as far as placement of body has been discovered. In fact, we have had homicides that are in the context of domestic violence here that we work that are very, very similar. What do you mean about the placement of the body? I want to explore that.

As Gary had said about crime of passion, I mean, typically, I mean, you're finding the body in the bathroom and you're going to assume that's probably one of the furthest most points in that villa. It would appear to me that she was backed into a corner. I mean, she's retreating is what it appears to me. And then the body being wedged in the toilet tub area being found there. And then the injuries, I mean, and on top of that, you look at the pattern of behavior in the two days prior up early for breakfast and attending all the things that are planned for them or those there on the island that do not disturb sign. You know, no items.

You know, we look at burglary. I mean, I'm going to assume if you're staying in a place that's charging thirty five hundred dollars a night it wouldn't be uncommon to have high-end jewelry rolex watches things like that none of that has ever come out as missing the only thing missing is the uh passport and the wallet. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. So where has the husband gone? Is he dead too?

Take a listen to our friends at Crime Online. According to police, Dawson tried to leave the country by water. The mainland is a two to three hour boat ride from Turtle Island. Just over a mile away, however, Dawson shows up on a secluded beach on Matakawa Levu Island. A local man finds Dawson covered with cuts and bruises walking toward the village. The man tells DailyMail.com that Dawson said he used a kayak to paddle to the island after having a fight with his wife and asked that the police be called. The kayak Dawson claimed he traveled to the island on has not been found. Okay, I'm really torn right now between Charlie Langston at Daily Mail for some facts and Dr. Bethany Marshall.

Okay, sorry, Charlie. I'm going with the shrink. You know what? When I get angry with my husband, I might stomp out to the backyard. But that's pretty much it because the children are inside. I'm not going to go too far. Right. But to get on a kayak and row yourself off the island? Really?

Am I supposed to believe that? Oh, I would love to argue that to a jury. He was so angry and embarrassed over his sexy dance with another woman that he rode himself off the island with a kayak and he demands police be called. Okay. It was not a quick trip. It was 1.2 miles. Oh, dear Lord in heaven. Thank you, Charlie. So, I mean, after about 30 feet with the kayak, I'm like, okay, I've had enough. I'm going back. Did you say 1.2 miles, Charlie? 1.2 miles. This was not a kind of, you know, frustrated, I'm going to row a few feet in order

to get out my aggression. He went 1.2 miles at, you in the middle of the night it was also pitch black okay so dr bethany a kayak in the middle of the night because he's what angry over the argument and embarrassed because of his sexy dance with another guest really okay let's say they had an argument they're enraged each other they're, the fighting is waxing and waning all night long. Usually when you're in a fight, you do not want to leave the person you're fighting with. This is a known fact. This is why we have anger management groups where we instruct people, hey, if you're having a horrible fight, you know, give yourself permission to leave the room where the loved one is. is dr bethany you know how i hate when you talk like that give yourself permission please stop okay will you try to say it again

in regular people talk okay here's what happens when people are fighting they will not let their loved one out of the room because the minute the loved one leaves the room, they feel abandoned. They become terrified that the other person's going to go cheat, betray, you know, find somebody else. Okay, wait a minute. I never think that. If David and I have an argument, he immediately goes to pick up his dry cleaning and I say, go, go now, go, leave. Nancy, that's why you're still married. And I'm never afraid he's going to hop in a kayak and row away or have an affair or get drunk or high. I know that he's going to come back. I mean, would you say that again?

But Nancy, you're normal. You're normal you're normal okay so most couples who have uh very um conflicted relationships will not allow themselves or allow the other person to leave the room once the fight begins this is well known in my field they will fight and fight almost to the death all night long. They'll fight for hours because the minute their husband, wife, partner leaves the room, they become filled with abandonment anxiety. And then there are frantic attempts to reengage the other person and then pull them back into the room. So it's really unusual for couples who are in the middle of a very severe fight to separate from each other. In fact, in my field, we teach couples that when they're fighting, they have to leave each other for what we call a cooling off period because typically they will not do that on their own.

So this husband to get into a kayak in the dead of night, row 1.2 miles to another island. That does not happen with conflictual couples. Yeah, you know, Gary Davison, I think she's right. Gary Davison, high-profile lawyer joining us. I would love to see you arguing this to a jury that he got into a kayak and rowed away from the island because he was angry and humiliated. I would call it flight.

You know what that is? Evidence of wrongdoing. Evidence of guilt. When you take off like Scott Peterson, dying his hair blonde and taken off with 10 grand fake ID and bleached blonde hair. Oh yeah, and Viagra, that too. But Gary, I mean, it's flight. That's why he left. How are you going to spin that in front of a jury? And on a kayak, no less. Well, on a kayak, presumably, based on what we know so far, with his wallet and his passport. What in the world is somebody on a remote island going to be doing on a kayak in the middle of the night or early in the morning that's a really good point gary davidson yet again which leads me to uh jemai norman at gma 38 year old dawson had allegedly already fled the all-inclusive resort where the couple had been staying

he left his gps watch on the other side of the room but took his wallet and passport had been staying. That was very grainy, but that is where he could catch a flight, perhaps back to the U.S. So, Gary Davidson, you just hit the nail on the head yet again. That's why I believe he left the island, because he couldn't get a flight from this remote area. Then the investigation begins. Take a listen to this. The Dawson's then left the party, but their argument continued on the beach on their way back to their private bungalow about midnight. Bradley Dawson maintains that Christy Chen's death was an accident. Guests next door said they heard arguing, a loud scream, and then silence. Chen was found slumped in the tiny space between the toilet and the wall of the bathroom in their bungalow, covered in blood.

According to a DailyMail.com source, the lid of the toilet cistern was cracked and broken. An argument, a loud scream, and then silence. And that silence must have been deafening. I think that was the last utterance that was ever made by the bride, Christy Chen. How would the lid of the commode be cracked and broken? Does it suggest to you, John Gard, joining us from Pitt County Sheriff's, that her head was slammed into it? That could be a possibility, absolutely.

You know, John Gard, you specialize in investigating domestic violence cases. When I hear a loud argument, a scream, and then silence, that's chilling to me. Absolutely. In a lot of cases, you don't have this, but in this one, you certainly do have witness statements that point that out and can confirm it. And it all started over a dance, a flirtatious dance, or did it? Because John Gard, I remember working at the Battery Women's Center as a volunteer for many years. One woman said her husband beat her just horribly. She ended up in the hospital because she had made, he asked for Mexican that night, and she had made tacos instead of enchiladas or vice versa.

And they were having guests over that night, and that made him so angry he beat her to a state that she had to go to the emergency room. But my point is it's not over tacos versus enchiladas. It's not over the flirtatious dance. It's over something else, John Gard. Absolutely. I mean, there was something in his mind that pushed him to do that. But again, the signs are there, crime of passion, and just what happened post-death that's been reported. Guys, regarding her body, take a listen to Dave Mack.

Christy Chen's family flew to Fiji to have her body cremated. The family's lawyer says the injuries to the 36-year-old's face, head, and back were so severe that her body could not be transported back to the U.S. Reportedly, the morgue attendant feared that the laceration around Chen's eyes were so deep the embalming fluid might leak out. That's why the hospital recommended the body be cremated. A leading U.S. pathologist, Dr. Michael Bodden, however, tells Fox News Digital that Chen's remains could have been returned in a sealed casket for further forensic analysis. Dr. Williams, agree or disagree? Yeah, I agree with that completely.

I've received bodies. You can pack them in formaldehyde powder. It's ugly. It's ugly when you get them back. You can have funeral directors hospitalized because of it. There's absolutely no reason that that body could not have been shipped anywhere for a second autopsy. So that was a grave mistake, but that's what we're left with. Charlie Langston joining us from DailyMail.com.

Where does the case stand now and where is Bradley Dawson, the groom? Bradley Dawson is currently behind bars in Fiji. He's on the mainland. Now, he has secured the services of a lawyer. He refused to give DNA evidence to Fijian officials after he was arrested, and he insists that he is not guilty of his wife's murder. However, those are the charges that he has been, you know, kind of faced with by Fijian officials. He is insisting that his wife's death was a tragic accident. I'm not quite sure. You know, I'm not the legal expert, but in my mind, a woman who was very clearly, severely beaten to death, I don't understand how that's an accident.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from domestic violence, please call a hotline toll-free 800-799-SAFE, 800-799-7233. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.