Court hears pilot staged wife's death to keep home and superannuation
Prosecutors claim the former RAAF officer manipulated his wife into a fatal accident after a long relationship breakdown, with four alleged mistresses expected to testify.
By Andrew Yang ·
Robert John Crawford, 49, faces a murder charge for killing his wife, Frances Elizabeth Crawford, on July 29, 2024, at their rural property in Upper Lockyer, west of Toowoomba. He pleaded not guilty on Monday in Brisbane Supreme Court. Prosecutors argue he engineered her death to appear as an accidental fall.
Prosecutor Chris Cook told the jury that Crawford’s actions stemmed from a prolonged marital breakdown. The couple was near the point of divorce when Frances died. Cook stated that Crawford was financially motivated to avoid the terms of a separation agreement. He wanted to retain the family home and prevent the division of his superannuation funds.
Cook described the defendant as a "master manipulator" and a "love rat" who maintained a double life. The prosecutor alleged that Crawford presented himself as a man of good Christian values while behaving differently in private. "He was a man who lived a double life for a long time," Cook said. The jury heard that Crawford had affairs with four women, all of whom are scheduled to testify.
Frances Crawford had given her husband a specific list of boundaries to preserve the marriage. These rules included prohibitions on sexual or emotional infidelity, pornography, and masturbation. She was weighing the decision to divorce against giving him another chance to prove himself to her and their children. The court noted that these unmet expectations created the context for the alleged crime.
Justice Lincoln Crowley instructed the jury that the prosecution will argue Crawford killed his wife by strangulation or blunt-force trauma. Her body was discovered near a ride-on lawnmower at the base of a retaining wall on the property. The defense has not yet delivered an opening statement to the court.
The trial is set to continue for three weeks, with up to 47 witnesses expected to take the stand. The jury will visit the crime scene on Wednesday to better understand the physical evidence. This site visit is intended to help jurors visualize the location where the death allegedly occurred.
