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Frances Crawford’s diary reveals doubts about troubled marriage before her death
Frances Crawford’s diary entries have been presented to a Brisbane Supreme Court jury in the trial of her husband, Robert, who is accused of murdering her and staging her death as a ride-on mower accident. Her notes describe weighing whether to stay in a troubled marriage marked by his infidelity, and the case has also included forensic evidence from the couple’s home and the alleged accident scene.
The notes said she hoped the couple might do meaningful work together and that staying could testify to her faith, while also recording fears about feeling unsafe, losing closeness with her daughter and how friends might react. They set out boundaries and consequences for her husband. A forensic scientist said blood on a towel could have dripped or been spattered, and considered two equally plausible explanations for blood on a rock wall: an injury there or one sustained earlier. Crawford says his wife was moving the mower inside.
In short
- Frances Crawford’s marriage notes were shown to jurors.
- Her husband denies the murder allegation and says she moved the mower.
- Forensic evidence included bloodstains at the home and mower scene.
Explained simply
Frances Crawford was married to Robert Crawford, and they had a daughter. Her diary described a relationship strained by his infidelity and her uncertainty about whether to stay, including concerns about her safety, her faith and her family.
Robert Crawford is on trial in Brisbane, accused of murdering his wife and making her death look like an accident involving a ride-on mower. He denies the allegation, saying she was moving the mower inside. The jury has heard evidence from the couple’s home and the scene, alongside accounts of what Frances wrote about their marriage.
The case matters because jurors must decide whether Frances’s death was an accident or a crime, and whether the evidence proves the charge against her husband.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Daily Mail as “Wife’s pros and cons list before she was allegedly murdered by her RAAF pilot husband accused of staging lawnmower accident”.