Court documents detail wife's final words to accused murderer Graeme Davidson before kayak drowning

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6 hours ago

A former army major who allegedly drowned his wife and staged it as a kayaking accident said her last words to him were "I love you" before she plunged below the surface.
Court documents submitted as part of a bail application for accused murderer Graeme Davidson show the details of his alleged actions before and after the death of his wife, Jacqueline Davidson.
The 56-year-old was charged with murder in May, more than four years after Ms Davidson, 54, drowned at Lake Samsonvale, north-west of Brisbane.
The pair were paddling in separate kayaks in November 2020 when Mr Davidson said his wife fell in the water and drowned.
Mr Davidson was also charged with fraud and attempted fraud, with police alleging he fraudulently collected more than $200,000 in a life insurance payout, and tried to make a claim on a second policy worth $950,000 after his wife's death.
He was released on bail last week after an application in the Supreme Court in Brisbane.
Documents submitted to the court as part of his successful bail application have revealed what he told police after his wife's death.
"It's my fault," the transcripts show he told police.
Mr Davidson said he was "show[ing] off" by trying to stand up and balance on the sides of his kayak while she took a photo of him.
"Our sort of, if you like it, safe word, is to say, 'I love you,'" he told police.
"It's easy, cause if you're in company, in a bar, or something … and somebody's an arse, and I look like I'm gonna' thump … them … then she'll say, 'I love you. Please don't do that.'
"And [that day] she said, I lo-, she said no. And then she said, I love you. And I thought, 'Oh, she really means, no … she's scared.'
"And then she fell in."
Mr Davidson said he thought his wife was joking around, and that she would soon re-emerge.
"I really thought she was gonna get up and tell me off. She never got up," he said.
Mr Davidson performed CPR on his wife after pulling her kayak back to shore.
Mr Davidson: "Everybody tells me I did a, as good a job as I could do. But I know, if I haven't f***** around that kayak today-"
Police Officer: "It's not your fault mate. It's not your fault."
Mr Davidson: "Yeah, it is my f****** fault. She even gave me the f****n' safe word. And there I was, fart assin' around like a d***head."
Police Officer: "Mm."
Mr Davidson: "I f****** killed my wife."
The court documents also show the bizarre response he gave to a bystander while his wife was receiving CPR by onlookers.
Documents alleged a witness told police she approached Mr Davidson, who had a cut on his lip, to ask if his wife had any communicable diseases, as she was bleeding while receiving CPR.
"The [defendant] responded with words to the effect of, 'She had no diseases to catch, unless death is contagious,'" the documents stated.
The documents also alleged that the defendant could have gotten Ms Davidson to shore more quickly.
"Investigators noted after the victim drowned, the [defendant] had had the ability to sit on the kayak with the deceased and paddle back to make the journey in minutes, however he decided to walk her approximately 2km along the lake's edge, taking 1-2 hours," the documents stated.
Bail documents also detail Mr Davidson was recorded on his home's CCTV cameras on the night of his wife's death, burning several documents in his backyard.
Mr Davidson's lawyer, Craig Eberhardt, previously told the court this evidence, and other evidence, had been greatly wrongly characterised and exaggerated.
In the bail application, the court heard Mr Davidson's two daughters, who offered a surety for his release, were home at the time, and Mr Davidson burned the documents in full view of his cameras.
Mr Eberhardt also told the court Ms Davidson did not have any injuries consistent with being assaulted or being involved in any sort of struggle.
"Quite simply … there is no direct evidence that [Mr Davidson] killed Jacqueline," he said.
The bail documents also revealed more details about an affair Mr Davidson had while he was deployed to Papua New Guinea in 2018 and 2019.
The Supreme Court had previously heard his wife was made aware of his infidelity, and had discussed separating with him, which crown prosecutor Caroline Marco said was "not well received" by her husband.
The court was told he was concerned about the financial impact it would have on him.
The documents submitted as part of his bail application alleged a witness told police Ms Davidson became aware her husband was "cheating on her with local prostitutes and had been fraudulently using a credit card owned by the army".
According to the documents, one witness told police they were aware Mr and Ms Davidson discussed separating, "and the conversation mainly related to finances if they were to separate".
"It was alleged the [defendant] told the deceased he would fight it all the way and she would be left with nothing," the documents stated.
Another witness said Ms Davidson was "emotional" and "paranoid" after finding out her husband was having an affair.
During the bail hearing, Mr Eberhardt told the court his client's actions caused "significant matrimony upset" but "there is in fact no evidence of ongoing dispute or domestic disharmony, let alone domestic violence in 2020".
The bail documents show police were contacted by a Thai resident after Mr Davidson was arrested, who alleged he assaulted him after he told him to "watch his aggressive bulldog".
The documents alleged Mr Davidson "completely freaked out" and attacked the man, until he fell to the ground, unconscious.
"The resident woke up in hospital with a broken arm, a broken nose, shattered front tooth and bruises and blood all over his body," the documents alleged.
Mr Davidson's has not been charged over the alleged assault and his lawyer disputes he was the instigator in the incident.
The documents also show a series of emails between Mr Davidson, police investigators, the Queensland Coroners Court and his insurance company.
In an email sent in January 2022, Mr Davidson complained to the presiding police officer that the case was moving at a "glacial" pace, and that the insurance company wouldn't pay out his wife's life insurance until the police and coronial investigation were complete.
"My purpose in asking for progress is twofold: closure and insurance," he said in an email to police in January 2023, more than two years after his wife's death.
He said he wanted to give his children the money from the insurance payout, to help them put deposits down for their first homes.
"The insurance company tells me they don't pay if: 1. Suicide/murder by the beneficiary. 2. Alcohol/drugs. 3. Died whilst committing a crime. 4. Died due to an undisclosed medical condition," he wrote.
"I am utterly certain that none of these apply and I don't understand how the process to prove it, or otherwise, can take well over two years; whilst my kids are paying rent."
He urged police to provide him a timeline so he could "stop pestering" them every few months.
Mr Eberhardt previously told the court his attempt to claim the insurance money was unremarkable.
"The existence of mutual insurance policies between husband and wife is the most unremarkable feature of sound financial planning going into retirement," he said.
"The fact he claimed on the insurance policy is even more unremarkable, in fact, it would have been even more suspicious if he didn't claim."
None of the evidence submitted in the bail hearing, or the documents as part of the prosecution's case against Mr Davidson, has been tested.
Mr Davidson has not yet been required to enter a plea, nor has his case, at this stage, been committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court.