AUSTRALIA DEPORTS ‘HONEYMOON KILLER’ GABE WATSON TO US

Gabe Watson pleaded guilty last year to the manslaughter of his wife

An American man known as the “honeymoon killer” has been deported from Australia and is heading for the US.

Gabe Watson, 33, was jailed in Australia for the manslaughter of his wife while scuba diving during their honeymoon on the Great Barrier Reef.

Australian officials said Watson had left on a flight accompanied by police.

The Australian government had been awaiting a guarantee from the US that he would not face the death penalty if he were re-tried at home in Alabama.

Australia's Immigration Minister Chris Bowen told local media that the assurance had been received from the US.

Watson left the country at about noon local time on Thursday accompanied by immigration officials and police officers, Mr Bowen said.

Watson is thought likely to face murder charges in Alabama.

After his wife's death in 2003, Watson was initially charged with murder in Queensland.

It was alleged he turned off his new bride's air supply during a diving trip and held her underwater.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in 2009 and completed an 18-month term in prison earlier this month.