Bradley Dawson and the Fiji Honeymoon Murder Case

Bradley Dawson, a 38-year-old Memphis IT worker, was convicted in December 2024 of murdering his wife Christe Chen during their honeymoon at Turtle Island resort in Fiji in July 2022, and in February 2025 a Fijian judge sentenced him to life in prison with a minimum of 18 years before he can be considered for release. The Fiji honeymoon murder case, tried before Justice Riyaz Hamza at the Lautoka High Court, turned on a post-mortem report, crime scene photographs, and Dawson’s flight from the island by kayak with his passport and cash.¹

The Couple

Dawson worked in IT at Youth Villages, a Memphis-based child welfare nonprofit. He had finalized a divorce from his first wife on January 11, 2022, and married Chen about a month later.² A records search found no prior criminal arrests for him in Shelby County, Tennessee.³

Chen, 36, was a pharmacist at a Kroger supermarket in Memphis after earning her degree at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy. She had previously worked as a pastry chef.⁴ Friends called the relationship a “whirlwind romance,” noting the couple married roughly three months after they met, and some said they had never met Dawson before the wedding.⁵

What Happened at Turtle Island

The couple arrived at Turtle Island, a private-island resort in Fiji’s Yasawa archipelago, on July 7, 2022.⁶ On the evening of July 8, other guests heard them arguing at dinner. When Dawson and Chen failed to appear for meals the next day, resort staff entered their villa and found Chen motionless on the floor with multiple blunt trauma wounds to her head.⁷ Fiji police said she had been “beaten to death.”⁸

Dawson was gone. He had left the island by kayak and was apprehended the following day at Matacawalevu Village carrying his passport, $1,000 in cash, two credit cards, and his wallet.⁴

Chen’s injuries were severe enough that her body could not be embalmed. Ronald Gordon, an attorney for her parents, said her remains were cremated in Fiji and the ashes sent home. He described “multiple blunt force trauma wounds to her head and face” and said the evidence “doesn’t look like it was an accidental pushing.”⁹

Dawson’s Shifting Account

In a police interview after his arrest, Dawson admitted to a “drunken argument” that turned physical, saying it broke a windowpane and damaged the bathroom toilet. He told police Chen “was next to the toilet. She was hurt. There was blood and a cut on her face,” and that he left the room, returned to find her unresponsive, “freaked out,” and fled by kayak. Authorities told ABC News he initially confessed but stopped cooperating once he had legal representation.⁴

A month later, in an August 2022 jailhouse interview with ABC News, Dawson told a different story. He said the couple “never had any physical arguments in our relationship” and that he left on the kayak to “give her some space.” He called Chen “my everything” and said police never told him she had died at the time of his arrest.¹⁰

His defense attorney Iqbal Khan told reporters there were no eyewitnesses and suggested Chen might have died from a fall while drunk, arguing a murder conviction required proof of intention or premeditation that did not exist.¹¹

The Trial and Verdict

The trial ran eight days before Justice Riyaz Hamza at the Lautoka High Court, with 14 witnesses. Prosecutors relied on the post-mortem examination and crime scene photographs to establish that Dawson caused Chen’s death on July 9, 2022, and that he either intended to kill her or was reckless as to whether his actions would.¹

At trial, defense lawyer Anil Prasad argued the evidence fell short, pointing out that Dawson had no injuries consistent with a fight and that the couple’s belongings remained at the resort.¹² Justice Hamza was not persuaded. On December 11, 2024, he found Dawson guilty of murder, saying he was “satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Dawson and no one else had committed the offense.” He rejected the defense’s account, and treated Dawson’s possession of his passport and belongings at the time of his arrest as evidence that he had planned to flee the country.⁷

The Sentence and What Comes Next

On February 11, 2025, Justice Hamza sentenced Dawson to life in prison with a minimum term of 18 years before he can be considered for release. Under Fiji law, murder carries a mandatory life sentence, and the presiding judge sets the minimum period that must be served before a pardon can be considered.¹

In sentencing, the judge said: “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 in your bure. Her body was discovered several hours later.” He added that Dawson had shown “utter disregard to Chen’s right to life and her personal liberty.”¹³

Legal expert David Naylor told CNN that once Dawson has served the 18-year minimum he could apply to Fiji’s national Mercy Commission for a presidential pardon or petition to have the life sentence reduced to a fixed term.¹² As of February 2025, no appeal of the conviction or sentence had been publicly announced, and Dawson remains incarcerated in Fiji.

1
Fiji Times. Life in Prison for US National
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Commercial Appeal. Bradley Robert Dawson Murder Conviction Fiji Honeymoon
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CBS News. Memphis Man Bradley Dawson Convicted Killing Wife Honeymoon Fiji
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ABC News. Memphis Man Accused Murder Fiji
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Oxygen. Bradley Dawson Speaks Following Christe Chen Murder Fiji
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People. Man Killed Newlywed Wife Honeymoon Fiji Sentenced
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KCRA. Fiji Honeymoon Murder Bradley Dawson Guilty
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ABC News. American Man Accused Murdering Wife Honeymoon Fiji
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NBC News. Family Cremates Woman Died Honeymoon Fiji Body Was Badly Damaged
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ABC News. Memphis Man Accused Fatally Beating Wife Fiji Resort
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New York Post. Murdered Brides Injuries Were Too Bad to Bring Body Home
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CNN. Memphis Dawson Honeymoon Wife Murder Fiji
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CBS News. Christe Chen Murder Honeymoon Fiji Bradley Dawson Sentenced