Source : Perth Now news
A former pilot accused of murdering his wife after 20 years of illicit affairs was grilled by police in footage showing the moments after her body was found.
On July 30, 2024 former RAAF pilot Robert Crawford told police his wife, 49-year-old psychologist and mother Frances Crawford, had died in a tragic lawnmower accident in the middle of a winter night at their remote Upper Lockyer property.
He was later charged with her murder, for which he now stands trial in Brisbane Supreme Court.
He has pleaded not guilty.
In the second week of his trial, the jury was shown police body camera footage of the morning Ms Crawford was declared dead.
Body camera footage played to the court
“She was just here, she was literally just here,” Mr Crawford told police in the moments after his wife was found dead at the bottom of a retaining wall in their backyard.
The jury, on Monday, saw Mr Crawford sob and sniffle as he recounted his night to police.
Speaking about a holiday the two shared the weekend before, Mr Crawford called their time together “really special”.
Last week, the jury saw evidence Mr Crawford and Ms Crawford had fought while in Kingscliff over Mr Crawford’s sexual and emotional cheating.
Mr Crawford, in the course of the trial, made admissions to sleeping with women and emotionally cheating on his wife over 20 years, including with RAAF colleagues.
“It’s kind of two steps forward, one step back,” Mr Crawford said to police in the body cam footage.
“Sometimes she is in grumpy moods but, I don’t know, it felt like we were making headway.”
In the footage, Queensland Police Sergeant Glen Thomas finds Ms Crawford’s wedding rings on the kitchen counter, confirming with Mr Crawford they did belong to his wife.
For several minutes during their conversations, Mr Crawford slumped his head on the table in silence as the officer looked through his police tablet. No words were spoken.
“How do I tell the kids?” he asked.
Mr Crawford’s two youngest children told the jury at his trial last week they were not supportive of their parent’s reconciliation following their father’s betrayal.
Mr Crawford told the officer in the video that he did not hear the mower start, saying he last saw Ms Crawford before he went to bed about 11.30pm to 12am.
He said the pair had dinner about 6.30pm and played games before he left her to watch TV.
In the footage, Sergeant Thomas pointed out a dressing gown on the kitchen table, which Mr Crawford said belonged to Ms Crawford.
He told the officer he believed he saw Ms Crawford wearing the extra layer the night earlier.
Previously, the court heard evidence from Mr Crawford’s children that Ms Crawford hated the cold and would almost never go outside in winter at night.
In the footage, Sergeant Thomas repeatedly mentioned the cold morning air, asking if Mr Crawford was warm and whether the pair had a fireplace.
More to come
