Source : Perth Now news
A DNA profile likely belonging to accused wife-killer Robert Crawford was found under his alleged victim’s fingernails, a court has been told.
The former RAAF pilot is on trial for murder, accused of killing his wife Frances Crawford and staging the scene to appear as though she had fallen from a mower off a retaining wall.
He has pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution alleges he did so after 20 years of his infidelity was uncovered, leading to marriage issues, and out of fear of losing his million-dollar home or lucrative superannuation in a potential divorce.
Mr Crawford instead told police, in evidence shown to the court, he believed his wife had tried to move the mower, as she was worried it would be damaged by automatic sprinklers.
Ms Crawford was found dead on their Upper Lockyer property on July 30, 2024.
She was cold, her hair soaked in blood, lying nearby a fallen ride-on lawnmower.
On Friday morning, a DNA analyst told the court DNA likely belonging to Ms Crawford, and to a lesser extent Mr Crawford and his children, was found on various parts of the mower mechanics, including the steering wheel.
Ms Crawford’s DNA was determined to likely not be on the throttle.
The court was told DNA evidence could not necessarily determine whether touch happened, nor when or how it could have occurred.
A DNA profile likely belonging to Mr Crawford was also found underneath Ms Crawford’s fingernails.
Blood found on a bath mat inside the couple’s ensuite was also found to likely belong to Mr Crawford, with Ms Crawford ruled out as a likely contributor.
A bloodstain found on the rock retaining wall was determined to likely belong to Ms Crawford, and, to a lesser extent, her children’s DNA could have possibly been present.
The jury also saw evidence Ms Crawford asked the household Amazon Alexa to turn on a pump for one hour in the early evening of July 29.
The court was previously told water was pumped from a tank lower down the property to fill the sprinkler system.
Photos taken of Mr Crawford’s body after Ms Crawford was found dead were seen by the jury.
In them, Mr Crawford has what appears to be small red marks on his elbows and a red rash on his upper shoulder.
CCTV footage of the couple on holiday the weekend before Ms Crawford’s death, seen by the jury, appear to show Mr Crawford without easily detectable red marks to his arms.
The trial continues.
