The husband of a slain Tennessee pharmacist found dead in Fiji this month may have beat her to death.
According to a post-mortem exam obtained by DailyMail, Christi Chen Dawson was found beaten to death with blunt force trauma to the head, and her husband, Bradley Robert Dawson, is the prime suspect.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Dawson was reportedly excited about her honeymoon to Fiji with her husband. Now, Dawson is sitting in a jail cell in the South Pacific, accused of killing his wife, Fox 13 reports.
Investigators said that Dawson murdered Chen while staying at a resort on the Yasawa Islands. The Fiji Sun reports that investigators believe Christe died on July 9. Her body was located inside the couple’s hotel room.
Dawson, who was “nowhere to be found” after police found his wife’s body, was eventually detained and questioned. When asked to submit his DNA for forensics testing, Dawson would not cooperate.
DailyMail reports that sources indicated that Dawson attempted to flee on a kayak before police caught up with him.
The defendant’s case is expected to be sent to the High Court in Lautoka, where he can request bail. Police Prosecutor, Inspector Arvind Kuma, is pushing for a DNA sample request through a court order, which would require Dawson to submit his DNA to investigators.
Friends, who’ve described Chen as “super-sweet” and “kind,” are shocked after hearing of her death.
“I am in shock. I just texted all my friends and my husband telling them I hope it’s not real but my husband told me it is real,” Chen’s friend, Rena Schomburg, told DailyMail. “She was so excited to get married and to have babies.”
Chen was a pharmacist at a Kroger store in Memphis, while Dawson worked for Youth Villages as an IT professional.
“Bradley Dawson was an IT professional at Youth Villages. He has been suspended pending further information. It is our understanding Ms. Chen was his wife, and our condolences go out to her family,” ,” Youth Villages said in a statement to FOX13.
The pair lived together in the Cooper-Young area of Memphis.
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[Featured image: Bradley & Christe/Instagram]
