A prominent Air Force pilot is facing serious charges following the death of his wife at a rural property near Brisbane. Robert John Crawford, 47, has been accused of murdering Frances Elizabeth Crawford, 47, and subsequently attempting to conceal her death through elaborate means.
Crawford was formally charged with murder and interfering with a corpse on October 10, 2024, after his wife’s body was discovered at their Upper Lockyer property in the early hours of July 30, 2024. During a recent bail application hearing in Queensland Supreme Court, starkly contrasting narratives were presented by both prosecution and defense.
The prosecution, led by Crown prosecutor Chris Cook, argued that Frances Crawford died as a result of strangulation within her home’s ensuite bathroom. Cook asserted that the evidence strongly indicated foul play, stating: “She was conscious and actively resisting, not falling off the back of a lawnmower.”
He further suggested that Crawford, described by witnesses as a skilled manipulator who had previously prompted his wife to seek a protective order due to feeling “very unsafe,” deliberately moved her body to stage a scene involving a ride-on lawnmower.
“People close to Mr. Crawford have provided statements indicating he is really good at manipulating people and painting himself as the victim,”
Cook stated.
Forensic reports reportedly support the theory of strangulation, contradicting the possibility of death resulting from the machinery. The prosecution highlighted suspicious text message exchanges between the couple’s phones, with one message sent to Crawford’s phone at 11:21 p.m. requesting that he move a lawnmower away from sprinklers. Cook suggested this indicated Crawford may have already killed his wife and was using her phone to construct an alibi by sending messages to himself.
“This allows him an extended amount of time to manipulate the scene because he doesn’t call the police until several hours later,” Cook explained.
Crawford reported finding his wife’s body at 3:37 a.m., claiming she had gone out in the early morning hours to move the lawnmower. The prosecution dismissed this account as improbable, noting that
“This is a middle-aged woman going out in the middle of the night with no jacket in a very cold winter. Her family said she would not do that.”
Defense barrister Saul Holt countered these claims, arguing his client’s case was “very weak”. He proposed a $250,000 surety and GPS tracking as conditions for bail, emphasizing Crawford’s lack of criminal history and motivation to clear his name.
Justice Frances Williams reserved her decision on the bail application, indicating further deliberation is required.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
