RAAF Squadron Leader Robert Crawford accused of wife’s lawnmower murder breaks cover in Toowooomba

The air force pilot accused of murdering his wife and allegedly staging her death to look like a freak lawnmower accident has been seen for the first time since his release on bail.

Father-of-three Robert Crawford, 47, looked tanned and relaxed as he reported to the Toowoomba Police station around 20km from his Upper Lockyer Valley farm on Tuesday.

The alleged killer who has been described as a ‘master manipulator,’ was not wearing an electronic monitoring device, after cops revealed network limitations at his property would render it useless.

Psychologist Frances Elizabeth Crawford was found dead at their rural home, 100km west of Brisbane, in the early hours of July 30, 2024.

RAAF Squadron Leader Crawford was arrested around 10 weeks later in October and charged with his wife’s murder and interfering with her corpse.

Ms Crawford was found at the base of a rock wall next to a ride-on lawnmower with fatal head and neck injuries.

Police allege Crawford strangled his wife, then used her phone to send fake messages before staging her fatal accident.

He was remanded in custody after he was initially charged but seven months later, Justice Frances Williams granted Crawford bail and freed him on May 2.

Father-of-three Robert Crawford, 47, looked tanned and relaxed as he reported to the Toowoomba Police station around 20 kms from his Upper Lockyer Valley farm.

Ms Crawford was found at the base of a rock wall next to a ride-on lawnmower with fatal head and neck injuries.

Crawford previously told police his wife got up during the night to move the lawnmower (pictured) away from automated water sprinklers

Crawford drove himself to the police station, spending just a few minutes inside the building before hopping back into his Hyundai i30 and heading back to the alleged scene of the crime where he is now living. 

While the specific details on his bail conditions have not yet been released, Crawford did offer to surrender his passports, avoid airports and wear a tracking device.

However, the police prosecution strongly opposed his release asking the court to consider the defendant a flight risk.

‘On 5 August 2024 police seized two passports from Mr Crawford,’ read the prosecution’s submission, seen by Daily Mail Australia.

‘Despite this the applicant then applied for a further passport on 24 September 2024.’

As part of that application Crawford declared he was reporting the ‘loss, theft or damage,’ of his passport and provided an expired passport.

Prosecution also raised concerns about his access to aircraft.

‘He is actually a current member of the Darling Downs Aero Club and has $22,297 in credit,’ it said.

It was also noted that a tracking device was not an option to monitor Crawford’s whereabouts because his property ‘does not have the full coverage network which administers monitoring devices’.

The police prosecution strongly opposed his release asking the court to consider the defendant a flight risk

Prosecution also raised concerns about Crawford’s easy access to aircraft

Crawford asked the court for allowances including trips to see his mum in a Brisbane care home

Crawford asked the court for several allowances including trips to see his mum in a Brisbane care home.

‘My mother was diagnosed with early onset dementia in 2019,’ Crawford’s bail application read.

‘I have a close relationship with both my parents. Prior to my arrest I visited my mother on average every fortnight, sometimes every week if I could.

‘I am very hopeful of being able to visit my mother again.’

The documents also state that he has close family on both the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast who are his support network.

During the bail application, Crawford’s lawyer Saul Holt said there was no conclusive evidence to support the prosecution’s claim that his client strangled his wife in a state of ‘murderous rage’.

Mr Holt told the court Crawford arrived home from his RAAF Amberley base, played piano and ate dinner with his wife before they ‘read the Bible,’ and ‘played games.’

Around 8:30pm, Crawford said they showered together, then watched television when his wife asked him to move the mower before the sprinklers came on.

Crawford says the last time he saw his wife alive was while they were ‘snuggling,’ on the sofa under a heated blanket.

A tracking device can’s monitor his whereabouts at all times because his property is in an area without coverage.

Crawford is now living back in the home he once shared with his wife

The RAAF pilot accused of murdering his wife and allegedly staging her death to look like a freak lawnmower accident has been seen for the first time since his release on bail.

‘I told Frances that I would move it later,’ he said in his statement.

Crawford says the last time he saw his wife alive was while they were ‘snuggling,’ on the sofa under a heated blanket.

However, prosecutor Chris Cook alleged in court that she was strangled in her home’s en suite bathroom, leaving behind her blood and his.

Mr Cook told the court Ms Crawford was carried outside and placed along with the  lawnmower at the bottom of a retaining wall.

He said the forensic report favoured strangulation as the cause of death rather than pressure from the lawnmower’s steering wheel.

The prosecution allege Ms Crawford’s mobile phone sent a message to her husband at 11:21pm on the Signal app, asking: ‘Hey, are you going to put the mower away soon?’

Mr Crawford replied: ‘Yea just doing SDO stuff still’

He then sent two follow up messages saying, ‘Just give me a sec’ and ‘You can just turn the sprinklers off if easier too xx’, according to court documents.

The court also heard that the pair had a troubled relationship after Crawford’s previous infidelity and that his wife was planning to leave him.

Police are seen arriving at the Crawford’s rural property on Thursday, during a major search of the property

At 12:28am, Mr Crawford sent another Signal message to his wife, saying: ‘Hey I’m finished with my revision study stuff, I’m brushing teeth and going to bed soon. Are you coming?’, according to the documents.

He allegedly sent a follow up message at 12:30am saying ‘Helllloooo? Xx Stop watching Korean Netflix and come to bed haha’.

Mr Cook claimed Crawford sent those messages from her phone 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,’ he told the court.

Crawford called Triple-0 at 3.37am, saying he had discovered his wife’s body, the court was told.

Mr Cook said Crawford’s statement about his wife going out to move the lawnmower at such an hour was fanciful.

‘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,’ Mr Cook said.

Mr Cook said Crawford was a ‘master manipulator’ who had caused his wife to seek a protective order from police as she ‘felt very unsafe’.

The court also heard that the pair had a troubled relationship after Crawford’s previous infidelity and that his wife was planning to leave him.

The case will return to court at a later date.

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk