A newlywed Memphis pharmacist was found bludgeoned to death in the bathroom of a bungalow at a luxury Fiji hideaway on her honeymoon – and her husband, now charged with her murder, was found 36 hours later after kayaking to a Little fled island 1.2 miles away in the middle of the night, can exclusively reveal.
Christe Jion Chen, 39, was found dead on July 9 at the remote $3,500-a-night Turtle Island resort.
She had sustained multiple traumatic injuries to her body and blunt force trauma to her head, according to a post-mortem report viewed by .
Chen and her husband, Bradley Robert Dawson, 38 – whom she married in February – had checked into the resort just two days earlier. He has since been arrested for her murder and is being held in prison in nearby Lautoka. His lawyer, Iqbal Khan, told that his client denies the charges.
has learned the alarm went off on July 9 when neither Chen nor Dawson showed up for breakfast – their personal butler then went to the couple’s bungalow and found a ‘do not disturb’ sign on their door. Then they didn’t show up for lunch, at which point their butler – who personally cleans their bungalow – used a spare key to unlock the door.
The butler – known as “Hauspapa” – discovered Chen lying on the bathroom floor, bleeding, around noon.
Christe Jion Chen, 39, was found dead on July 9 at the secluded $3,400 Turtle Island resort in the Yasaw archipelago — the jewel in the South Pacific country’s multibillion-dollar travel industry — while she was honeymooning with husband Bradley Dawson, 38 .Pictured: Chen and Dawson on a previous vacation
Chen and Dawson wed in February but postponed their honeymoon to the tropical paradise until July. She was found dead at the luxury Turtle Island Resort on July 9 – two days after their honeymoon. Dawson has since been arrested for her murder
Sources have told the 50-year-old had started cleaning other rooms in the bungalow before spotting blood stains on the bathroom wall. When he went to investigate, he found Chen beaten to death.
He then alerted hotel management, who called Fiji Police in the nearby town of Lautoka, just under an hour from Nadi International Airport.
At the same time that officers recovered Chen’s body, they also sent a team to search for Dawson, who was nowhere to be found, a source told .
He was found around 3 p.m. the next day on Matacawalevu Island, about 2 miles from Turtle Island, on Sunday, July 10, by a local man sitting on the deck of his home and spotting Dawson walking toward him the beach.
Manoa Ratulele, 49, told that Dawson told him he paddled a kayak to the island in the early hours of Saturday morning between 2am and 3am after he got into an argument with Chen.
“But he ended up on a secluded beach and I don’t know what he did after that,” Ratulele said.
He told that Dawson was bruised and bleeding from his palms and feet, injuries that may have been caused by falling onto a nearby coral. Dawson seemed “distraught” too, so Ratulele offered him water and help. ‘
“At first he refused food and water and insisted he was fine, but I insisted he had some water and after that he said, ‘Please, I have to call the police,'” Ratulele said.
The couple’s personal butler – known as “house daddy” – discovered 37-year-old Chen lying bloodied on the bathroom floor of their luxury bungalow around noon on July 9
Bradley Dawson, 38, is being held here in a cell in Lautoka on mainland Fiji awaiting a bail hearing next week
Dawson used a kayak to paddle 1.2 miles from Turtle Island Resort to Matacawalevu Island in the middle of the night on Saturday, July 9. He was found by a local 36 hours later
Ratulele said he’s alarmed because the entire Yasawa group of islands is dotted with resorts and tourists are often seen on the beaches, which back the azure waters the area is known for — but Turtle Island Resort guests are rarely seen as they leave the island.
“I was a little worried because these are very wealthy people, we don’t find them on our beaches. We get backpackers, snorkelers, and surfers, but not Turtle Island folks, they’re a rarity here. These are millionaires and they’re never far from the resort minders,” he told .
Ratulele said Dawson kept insisting on calling the police, telling the villagers he was very drunk.
“We treated him like family, there was nothing alarming about him, but when he kept asking about the police, we were a little scared,” Ratulele said.
“He didn’t tell us he killed his wife, but I could still smell alcohol on him. He kept repeating that we had a fight and didn’t offer a beginning or end to this story, but kept saying, “We had a fight”.
A team of three police officers soon arrived on Matacawalevu Island to take Dawson back to Turtle Island Resort and then to Lautoka on Fiji’s main island of Viti Levu, where he was charged with murder.
Turtle Island Resort Turtle officials confirmed the incident in a statement to , saying: “We can confirm that an incident took place between a couple on the island on July 9, which led to a tragic outcome and the filing of has led to charges.
“We have fully cooperated with the police who have conducted a thorough investigation and have now left the island.
“Out of respect for those affected and as this is an open legal matter, we are unable to comment further at this time. We are deeply saddened by the event and offer our sincere condolences to Ms. Chen’s family and friends.’
The tropical island on which the resort is located hosts at least one honeymoon couple per week, and only 14 couples can stay on the island at a time. When guests arrive in Fiji, they board a small seaplane for a short flight to the private Turtle Beach.
The 200-acre island, dotted with 14 villas separated by lush vegetation and sea views, is a peaceful and private oasis, and its 12 private beaches are among the top draws.
Located on the private island, Turtle Bay costs a whopping $2,400 to $3,500 a night, a booking agent at the resort told .
Turtle Island Resort is located on a small island of the same name off the coast of mainland Fiji. The resort is known as one of the most luxurious in the island paradise
The 1980 film The Blue Lagoon starring young Brooke Shields was filmed at Turtle Bay Resort
Turtle Island Resort in the Yasaw Archipelago – the jewel in the South Pacific nation’s multi-billion dollar travel industry
The island, which costs $3,400 a night, has 14 private bungalows and guests are brought in from the mainland by small plane. Each bungalow has its own private butler
After Dawson’s arrest, prosecutors said he refused to submit his DNA for forensic testing.
Magistrate Sekonaia Vodokisolomone told the court Dawson had committed an “chargeable offence” and the case would be referred to the Lautoka High Court, the Fiji Sun reported.
The judge said Dawson’s bail application would have to go to the High Court.
Chen and Dawson shared a new $250,000 home on Elzey Avenue in the Cooper Young neighborhood of Memphis, where they both lived.
Chen worked as a pharmacist at Kroger while Dawson worked as an IT specialist for Youth Villages, a non-profit organization that helps children.
The nonprofit said Dawson has been suspended pending further information.
“It is our understanding that Ms. Chen was his wife and our condolences go out to her family,” Youth Villages said in a statement to FOX13.
A friend of Chen’s, Rena Schomburg, told that Chen was an only child and used to go on extravagant trips with her mother, posting pictures of them on social media.
She described her friend as “super sweet, friendly, would do anything for anyone, outgoing, generous and so funny”.
Schomburg said she never met Dawson but suggested Chen might have met him while running a marathon.
“She didn’t have bad bone in her body,” Schomburg said.
Another friend, Matt Koenig, told he was shocked by her murder.
“Christe was caring, funny, generous, the kind of person who can make friends with anyone,” he said. “It’s a tough day.”
Before leaving for Fiji, Chen eerily told a neighbor how excited she was to spend her honeymoon in paradise.