Bail for pilot accused of murdering wife in lawnmower crash

An air force pilot accused of murdering his wife and staging her death to look like a late-night accident on a lawnmower has been granted bail.

Robert John Crawford, 47, was arrested and charged on October 10, 2024 with murder and interfering with a corpse.

His wife Frances Elizabeth Crawford was found dead at a rural Upper Lockyer property, west of Brisbane, in the early hours of July 30, 2024.

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Justice Frances Williams on Friday handed down her decision on Crawford's bail application after reserving her judgment for almost three weeks.

In granting bail for Crawford said she was satisfied the proposed conditions, including a curfew, would reduce the risks of non-appearance.

"There are parts of the Crown's evidence that are contestable ... this modifies the strength of the case and the risk of flight," she said.

Crawford offered $250,000 from his family as a surety when he applied for bail in Queensland Supreme Court on April 14.

His defence barrister Saul Holt at the time told Justice Williams the prosecution's case was "very weak".

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Crawford had called emergency services about 3.40am and told them he had found his wife at the bottom of a retaining wall and a lawnmower had fallen on her.

Holt said there was no conclusive evidence to support the prosecution's claim that Crawford strangled his wife in a state of "murderous rage".

Crawford previously told police his wife got up during the night to move the lawnmower away from automated water sprinklers.

Justice Williams was shown autopsy reports and death scene photographs that Holt said cast doubt on the prosecution's case.

"It's highly unusual to see a prosecution case based on evidence so obviously flawed just based on an analysis of the documents," he said.

Crown prosecutor Chris Cook previously said Crawford was an "unacceptable risk" of fleeing Queensland or interfering with witnesses.

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He said the forensic report favoured strangulation as the cause of death rather than pressure from the ride-on's steering wheel.

"(Frances Crawford) was conscious and actively resisting, not falling off the back of a lawnmower," Cook said.

Crawford's murder charge is due to be heard next on October 8 at Ipswich Magistrates Court for committal proceedings.

He has been suspended from the Royal Australian Air Force and barred from entering defence bases.