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A Tennessee man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife on their Fiji honeymoon, according to multiple reports.
On Tuesday, Feb. 11, Bradley Dawson appeared at the High Court in Lautoka, where he was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison before he can be considered for release following the July 9, 2022, murder of his wife Christe Chen, local outlets the Fiji Times and the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) reported.
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The Associated Press added that a court official confirmed the news on Friday, Feb. 14. The sentencing came after the suspect, 40, was found guilty in December 2024 of killing Chen, 36, at the Turtle Island resort in the Yasawa archipelago two days after they arrived in the country. Dawson then took a kayak to a nearby island after the killing, the news agency stated.
Justice Riyaz Hamza told Dawson at the sentencing, “Your conduct after the incident was appalling,” per the Fiji Times.
“Having inflicted serious and life-threatening injuries to the deceased you fled the scene of the crime, leaving the deceased alone and helpless in your [room]. Her body was discovered several hours later,” Hamza added, according to the outlet.
Chen’s body was discovered in their room at the resort by staff with “multiple blunt trauma wounds to her head,” the AP reported, after the newlyweds had allegedly been heard arguing before they missed breakfast and lunch the following day.
During the trial in December, Hamza said the fact that Dawson was apprehended at Matacawalevu Village with his passport and personal belongings the next day indicated that he was planning to flee the country after the crime, the Fiji Times reported.
In November, defense lawyer Anil Prasad, representing Dawson, claimed prosecutors had failed to provide enough evidence to convict the suspect, per FBC.
However, Justice Hamza rejected the defense at trial, saying prosecutors had “proved the charge of murder against the accused beyond reasonable doubt,” according to the Fiji Times.
Chen, a pharmacist, and Dawson, a nonprofit IT employee, got married three months after they met.
“It was a shock,” Chen’s friend, Morrice Aperey, told PEOPLE in November 2022, adding, “It happened so quickly.” The resort where the killing took place was the location of the 1980 film The Blue Lagoon, starring Brooke Shields.
PEOPLE has contacted the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the Fiji High Court registry office for additional information on Dawson’s sentencing, but didn’t immediately hear back.