$250k bail for son accused of staging wife's death as lawnmower accident in Queensland
An Air Force pilot accused of killing his wife and staging her death to look like a lawnmower accident is back at home after his family paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to secure his release.
Robert Crawford, 47, was granted bail last week, with his conditions including a curfew and a $250,000 bond.
He had spent almost seven months in custody before being granted bail in the Queensland Supreme Court.
Crawford was arrested and charged with murder and interfering with a corpse on October 10, 2024. He maintains his innocence and is contesting the charges.
His wife, Frances Elizabeth Crawford, was found dead near a ride-on lawnmower on a rural property in Upper Lockyer, about 1.5 hours drive west of Brisbane, in July 2024.
Prosecutors accused Crawford of strangling his wife in a 'murderous rage' and then moving her body to make her death look like a late-night accident with the lawnmower.
Judge Frances Williams granted bail, ruling that Robert Crawford's risk of fleeing was 'acceptable.'
Suzanne Duffy, a close friend of Frances and organiser of the family's GoFundMe campaign, shared an update to the fundraiser, expressing their anger that Crawford was in the family home while the case remains in court.
'The grandfather of Frances' Crawford's children put up $250,000 for her alleged murderer's bail,' she wrote in an update.
'$250,000 for his alleged murderous son, who tonight, is sleeping in their formerly shared home in the Upper Lockyer Valley, Queensland.'
'To say the family are angry is an understatement.'
Crawford's murder charge is next due to be heard at Ipswich Magistrates Court on October 8 for committal proceedings.
He has been suspended from the Royal Australian Air Force and banned from defence bases.
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