Source : Perth Now news
The injuries suffered by an alleged murder victim were “difficult to reconcile” with claims she died by a lawnmower falling on her, a pathologist has told a jury.
The body of Frances Crawford, 49, was discovered next to a ride-on mower below a retaining wall on the couple’s property west of Brisbane in the early hours of July 30, 2024.
Former RAAF pilot Robert John Crawford, 49, last week in Brisbane Supreme Court pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife.
The jury was previously shown bodyworn camera footage of Crawford telling police officers he woke up to find Frances no longer in bed with him after she apparently went to move the lawnmower from the path of automated lawn sprinklers.
The jury on Thursday heard evidence from pathologist Andrzej Kedziora, who performed an autopsy on Frances.
Dr Kedziora was asked about a large area of red discolouration on Frances’ neck and a scratch mark on her chin.
“Would you say that’s consistent with a lawnmower being picked up and dropped down on her chin multiple times?” crown prosecutor Chris Cook said.
“I have great difficulty reconciling this scenario with this injury,” Dr Kedziora replied.
The jury was shown photos of haemorrhages and abrasions around Frances’ face, neck and eyes, leaving some people observing the trial sobbing and in tears.
The insides of both Frances’ eyelids showed “pinpoint” or petechial haemorrhages where increased blood pressure in the head had burst the smallest veins, Dr Kedziora testified.
Frances did not have any diseases or vitamin deficiencies that could have caused the haemorrhages, the jury heard.
“These particular haemorrhages are often seen in cases of various types of asphyxia … strangulation is one of the types of asphyxia,” Dr Kedziora.
Mr Cook has previously accused Crawford of strangling his wife and staging her body to look like a fatal lawnmower crash.
Dr Kedziora told the jury that Frances’ haemorrhages and her bleeding from the nose were consistent with multiple types of asphyxia including suicide and accidental traumatic asphyxia.
Frances was wearing ugg boots and socks along with pyjamas when paramedics arrived, Dr Kedziora said.
The autopsy found small pieces of grass stuck to Frances’ bare feet and a longer piece between her toes, the jury heard.
Crawford’s defence barrister Saul Holt will have the opportunity to cross-examine Dr Kedziora on Friday.
Sprinkler sales manager Terry Randell testified earlier on Thursday that he was familiar with the type of automatic water flow control box installed at the Crawford’s home.
The jury heard the control box was set to test or manual start mode and not “auto run” mode that would send water to the pop-up sprinklers at about 5am.
“If it’s not set to auto run, what would happen?” Mr Cook said.
“Nothing happens,” Mr Randell said.
Under cross examination by Mr Holt, Mr Randell said commercial-grade sprinkler control boxes had a fail safe that would switch manual mode to automatic after eight minutes, but he had not seen this feature in the Crawford’s home unit.
The trial continues before Justice Lincoln Crowley.
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