BIRMINGHAM - AL -
Douglas Milsap described for the court, Friday, how Gabe Watson acted when he returned to his boat after allegedly trying to save his wife, Tina.
"He was on his knees, I do not remember him having any of his equipment on and he was pounding the side of the dingy going 'Oh my God, I've lost her'," he said.
But after talking with Watson, Milsap testified he didn't believe his story.
"He said 'We were swimming along in the dive, everything seemed to be alright then out of the blue, Tina panicked and she knocked my mask loose and she knocked my regulator loose and by the time I could get my mask and my regulator on...she started to sink and I grabbed hold of her B.C. and she was too heavy and I couldn't hold onto her and I lost my grip on her and she went down'," Milsap said. "And I got angry, like I'm getting angry now and I apologize to the court, but I said 'That's bull [expletive]."
Milsap says everything weighs less under water so there's no reason for Tina to be heavy.
"I just don't think there was anything he could do any different," Michael Moore said.
Moore believes Watson did all he could.
Moore testified he and Watson received their open water, advanced and rescue certifications together. Every dive he took, Gabe took. Moore was not labeled as an expert on SCUBA diving, but he did voice his opinion to the media after his testimony.
"Based on my training and what I know which is exactly what Gabe knows...I think it's a tragedy and I think the training is irrelevant," he said. "I think [Watson] did what he could do and he went to get help and I think that's exactly what it is."
But Milsap says that's not how it is or how it could have been.
"In your training and experience as a diver, do divers who are alive...do they sink," asked one prosecuting attorney. "No," answered Milsap. "Who sinks, Dr. Milsap?," asked the attorney. "Dead or unconscious divers," Milsap said.
