Husband charged years after wife drowned while kayaking in Queensland

Police have charged a 55-year-old man with his wife's murder, years after she drowned while kayaking.

Graeme Davidson and his wife, Jacqueline Robinson, were kayaking together on Lake Samsonvale near Forgan Cove in Joyner, north of Brisbane, on November 27, 2020, when the 54-year-old woman entered the water and drowned.

When she was brought to the shore, witnesses and emergency services performed CPR but she was declared dead at the scene and her death was deemed non-suspicious.

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Police conducting routine investigations for the coroner over the next two years uncovered evidence that led to it becoming a homicide investigation.

Detective Acting Inspector Steve Windsor said evidence was pieced together over several years before the dead woman's husband was arrested yesterday.

"It wasn't a straight-forward investigation," he said.

"It involved talking to experts and a number of witnesses and basically putting a lot of small pieces together to form a bigger picture."

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Police will allege after Robinson's death, Davidson claimed money from her life insurance policy and moved to Thailand.

Davidson lived in Thailand for several years but was arrested yesterday after returning to Queensland to visit family in Brisbane.

Windsor said police had considered extraditing the man but ultimately chose not to, for reasons he did not disclose.

Davidson has been charged with one count each of domestic violence murder, fraud and attempted fraud.

He remained behind bars tonight after his case was briefly mentioned in court this morning.

Outside court, Davidson's lawyer said he couldn't say anything about the case at this stage.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).