Newlywed Memphis pharmacist Christe Chen, 36, was found ‘beaten to death in luxury Fiji honeymoon bungalow‘ on July 9 at the secluded $3,500-a-night Turtle Island Resort 

Victim was so badly beaten she could not be embalmed, her parents had body cremated before taking her ashes home to the US 

Chen and husband, Bradley Robert Dawson, 38, married in February, arrived at resort two days earlier

After the attack, he fled on a kayak to an island 1.2 miles away where he was found by a local 366 hours later 

Autopsy report states that Chen suffered multiple traumatic injuries to her body and blunt force trauma to the head

Dawson appeared in Lautoka High Court on Tuesday evening, carrying a suitcase, with bail not set, he will only reappear on August 18 

Speaking through his attorney, Dawson claims what happened to his wife ‘was an accident’

Chen’s parents said they will take civil action against Dawson if he is not held criminally liable for their daughter’s murder 

The body of a newlywed American pharmacist who was found beaten to death in the bathroom of a luxury honeymoon bungalow in the South Pacific island nation of Fiji was so trauma ridden that it could not be embalmed and had to be cremated before her parents could take her home to the United States. 
Christe Chen, 36, from Memphis, Tennessee was found dead on July 9 at the secluded $3,500-a-night Turtle Island Resort. She and her husband, Bradley Robert Dawson, 38 – who she married in February – had only checked into the resort two days earlier. 

The couple got married after a whirlwind romance in February, three months after they first met, and Chen’s parents paid for their only child’s honeymoon.  
Tragically, their daughter was found bloodied on the bathroom floor of the couple’s luxury bungalow. Reports state that she had suffered multiple traumatic injuries to her body, and blunt force trauma to the head, according to the autopsy report. 

Dawson appeared at the Lautoka High Court on Tuesday evening, clutching a small blue suitcase in anticipation of a bail hearing. However, the date was rescheduled to August 18. 
Facing homicide related charge in the death of his wife, Dawson has maintained Chen’s death was an accident, but Ronald Gordon, a lawyer representing Chen’s estate and her parents, confirmed on Tuesday that they will take civil action against Dawson if he is not held criminally liable for her death and have not ruled out legal action against Turtle Island Resort.
Gordon is set to oppose any bail application for the suspect: ‘The family will follow the proceedings to ensure justice is served for Christe given the horrific injuries she endured,’ Gordon said, while confirming that Chen suffered major blows to her body.
‘The deceased was unable to be taken back to her home because of the nature of her injuries … so she had to be cremated here in Fiji and her ashes were taken back,’ Gordon said.

Chen’s parents were told of her murder after receiving a midnight phone call from the State Department, two or three days after she was killed, he added.
They arrived in Fiji on July 13. ‘They thought it was a prank call,’ he said. He added that there was a suggestion that Chen and Dawson had argued.  
‘She is the only child of her parents and obviously they are quite devastated and they want to ensure that justice at the end of the day is given to her.’
He added that Chen was Dawson’s second wife, and said that he had visited Fiji two years earlier on vacation with his first wife.

On the day he was discovered, Dawson had told a local man that he’d left Turtle Island in the dead of the night on a kayak after he and his wife got into a heated argument.
Police told the family that Dawson had had left his GPS watch and phone at the hotel. He had his wallet and passport on him when he was found.
On the day he was discovered, Dawson had told a local man that he’d left Turtle Island in the dead of the night on a kayak after he and his wife got into a heated argument.
Last week, Dawson’s lawyer, Iqbal Khan, said his client was too distraught to talk for days after he was charged with Chen’s murder: ‘Something surprising happened, Bradley’s okay now but he was really distressed when it happened. Last week he was in a desperate condition but he’s picking up now. It is a horrendous thing to happen on your honeymoon,’ Khan said.

Remote Turtle Island Resort is located on a private island off the coast of Fiji. The secluded resort charges up to $3,500-a-night and hosts just 14 couples at a time. Turtle Island Resort is on a small island of the same name off the coast of Fiji’s mainland. The resort is known for being one of the most luxurious in the island paradise.
The couple from Memphis, Tennessee, were staying in the lap of luxury at the exclusive five-star resort, which has just 14 villas across the 200-hectare island.
They married in February, but delayed their dream trip honeymoon until July. 
Only resort staff live on the remote tropical island, 350km north-west of Fiji’s capital Suva, which has restricted details of the tragedy from being released. 
According to one local the couple are said to have fought on the day of Dawson’s death, adding: ‘There was a heated argument.’
Resort staff said only that there was an incident which was a ‘private matter’ for the couple. Fijian police refused to comment on the case.

Before their ill-fated honeymoon, Chen and Dawson shared a new  $250,000 home in the Cooper-Young area of Memphis. 
Chen worked as a pharmacist at Kroger while Dawson worked as an IT professional for Youth Villages, a non-profit which helps children. She relocated the country music capital from Colorado to Tennessee to pursue a pharmacy degree, then settled down there.
The nonprofit where Dawson worked has announced that he is suspended pending further information.