A Tennessee man has been sentenced to life in prison in Fiji after being convicted of murdering his wife on their honeymoon in 2022, according to local media.
Bradley Dawson, 40, was convicted of killing wife Christe Chen, 36, in December 2024.
On Feb. Tuesday, he was sentenced to life in prison. Justice Riyaz Hamza, a judge in Fiji’s Lautoka High Court, said that Dawson will have to serve a minimum of 18 years before he can be considered for a pardon, according to the Fiji Times.
Hamza said that the eight-day trial proved that Dawson engaged in conduct which caused Chen’s death while they were staying at an exclusive island resort, the Fiji Times said. Hamza also said that Dawson intended to cause Chen’s death or was reckless as to causing it, according to the Fiji Times.
Chen, a graduate of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, was working as a pharmacist at the time of her death, CBS affiliate WREG reported.
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Members of the staff had heard the couple arguing before the murder, and Chen was found the next day by resort staff, with multiple blunt trauma wounds to her head. In 2022, a lawyer representing Christe Chen’s parents said their daughter’s body was so badly damaged that she couldn’t be embalmed for return to the U.S. and her remains were cremated.
Dawson fled by kayak to a nearby island after he killed Chen. He was found about 36 hours after Chen’s body was discovered, with his passport and other belongings with him. Hamza said this indicated he planned to flee.
“Your conduct after the incident was appalling. Having inflicted serious and life-threatening injuries to the deceased you fled the scene of the crime, leaving the deceased alone and helpless,” Hamza said during the sentencing, in part, according to the Fiji Times.
