Former RAAF pilot faces murder trial over wife’s death
A former Royal Australian Air Force squadron leader has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife, with prosecutors alleging financial motive and infidelity.
Robert John Crawford, 48, appeared in the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Monday to plead not guilty to a single count of murder. Prosecutors say he killed his wife, Frances Elizabeth Crawford, at their Upper Lockyer Valley home in July 2024 and staged the scene to resemble an accident involving a lawnmower.
Crown Prosecutor Chris Cook presented a photograph of the victim’s body beside the mower at the bottom of a retaining wall and recounted Crawford’s statement that he awoke, walked around the property and discovered his wife dead.
The prosecution described Crawford as a former squadron leader based at Amberley who had maintained relationships with other women while married. They said the couple had separated a year earlier and that Crawford was granted limited access to the home in May 2024 under a trial reconciliation agreement that required him to avoid contact with other females, disclose his whereabouts, attend church with his wife and refrain from lying.
According to the Crown, Crawford violated those conditions and, fearing a divorce settlement, sought to retain the family home and a superannuation fund valued at $1.7 million, as well as a property on Thomas Road estimated at up to $2.6 million. The prosecutor argued that these financial considerations motivated the alleged killing.
"Robert Crawford loves money … loved it so much that he killed for it," Cook said during closing arguments.
The trial continues as the jury considers the evidence presented.