Australia - Frances Crawford 49, found dead after suspicious lawn mower accident in Queensland.

[Warshawski]

I think what was probably meant is that the property had been booked out til the third of January next year and that the the next bookings are after that date.

I wonder if it was already being run as a AirB&B. Sounded like it had some different ‘accomodation’ types, and pics suggest a substantial dwelling.
Just wondering if they may’ve been separated, in which case Frances might have lived in a smaller abode, or even stayed in Toowoomba when working.

 

[Warshawski]

Hopefully Frances’ real family hold off in the making of her headstone…. and question using the usual wording of “beloved wife”…..

I would tend to agree Marg, and I feel for the children. Even as adults, it’s not easy knowing your father is dirtbag. …( do we know for a fact that they had a long term marriage ?)

I’m really confused by the report that said police have done all these tests but they can’t determine how she happened to be at the bottom of the retaining wall (https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/crime-news/2024/10/04/frances-crawford-lawnmower-lockyer)
The lawn mower was apparently not on top of her. Quite feasible that it went one way & her the other; quite feasible for husband to lift it off - but I would suspect if it landed on her at any stage forensics would detect the telltale signs.

Just bolded for myself. . Ok, its not that they don’t know injuries etc that led to her death, they don’t know how she got in the position to sustain those injuries. Seems the 3.00am use of lawnmower has puzzled investigators as well as us!

I suggest that it happened much earlier - though she was at work that afternoon. Maybe she came home from work, found him there unexpectedly, possibly had told him she was filing for divorce, big argument followed.
I’ll also just suggest that in his employment position, he would know how to do certain things, imo.

However, I guess as sticky as it seems for Lt R Crawford, we must be aware that he has not been arrested or charged with anything, not even named as a suspect.

 

[Warshawski]

They have jogged along for, what... 25 years?? He' says in his promotion of himself, he likes juggling, and he's been juggling women all over the world, and , as anyone could have foreseen , one of those women may have taken matters into her own hand, taken him really seriously.

Suddenly, one night, some catalyst provokes a catastrophe. what was it? some horrid letter from the Au Tax Office? some dreadful long overdue bill from the local council? or maybe, he got a phone call at work that day, one of his 'relationships' was landing in Townsville that tomorrow afternoon, all ready for the civil ceremony with him, she's flying in from Guam, ( a US female Navy nurse at Hagåtña, who he's been fooling about with, via tiktok for months, among so many others ) ... he panics, he leaves work, and rushes home to find that Frances has had a call from the same woman, wanting to know if 'the staff' at 'his ' place can get the grounds ready for her and Rob's matrimonials... . ....


Well.. , in this scenario, things go south very quickly.. Frances lays out for him what he stands to lose, ( 1/2 the property, 1/2 his superannuation, 1/2 his insurance, 1/2 his stocks and shares etc , it's all too much ) he kills Frances, tries to disguise the murder with the motor mower, making it out to be an unfortunate domestic accident....

Honestly Trooper, you should write novels. If this wasn’t such a sad & serious situation I would’ve been laughing my …. off at your description of events.

But I do think quite possibly the divorce was already on the table - 12 months gone by since the previous July DV police incident - and I’m sure he was well aware of all he stood to lose

 

[Warshawski]

From a news article back on 1st August, 2024:-

“Mr Crawford is a RAAF cargo plane pilot and Squadron Leader - a senior role and the equivalent of a Major in the Army - who operates out of the Royal Australian Air Force base at Amberley, about 8km southwest of Ipswich.

Over the past two decades, the couple have lived around Australia - including in Sydney, Adelaide and in Queensland - as Sqn Ldr Crawford worked numerous roles within Australian Defence Force.”

Thanks for refreshing my memory of the length of their relationship….. I thought I saw substantiation but then couldn’t locate.

 

[dalsglen]

It's 730pm in the uk, pitch black. was getting dark at 530. I cannot see the retaining wall just 2 metres from me nevermind thinkink of the grass. lawnmower incident my bum.

Did he sit on her so she couldn't breathe and try pass that off as crush injuries? Chuck her at the wall then take the mower down and upturn it on her?

 

[Megnut]

It's 730pm in the uk, pitch black. was getting dark at 530. I cannot see the retaining wall just 2 metres from me nevermind thinkink of the grass. lawnmower incident my bum.

Did he sit on her so she couldn't breathe and try pass that off as crush injuries? Chuck her at the wall then take the mower down and upturn it on her?

Lawnmower to cover for bladed and brunt force injuries?

I know violence can go both ways but I'm always reminded of that saying that men fear that women will laugh at them. And women fear... that he'll kill her.

Have we seen an autopsy report? Guessing not.

JMO

 

[Trooper]

It's 730pm in the uk, pitch black. was getting dark at 530. I cannot see the retaining wall just 2 metres from me nevermind thinkink of the grass. lawnmower incident my bum.

Did he sit on her so she couldn't breathe and try pass that off as crush injuries? Chuck her at the wall then take the mower down and upturn it on her?

My rear end, too. There are other possibilities... one of his women friends possibly did it. . someone who flew in from Afghanistan ( so unlikely as to be improbable ) someone from Italy, someone from the US, he was a broad church guy, but he also was having liaisons with women in NSW, QLD, SA, VIC, NT.. ..

Victorians will never forget poor Maria Korp, who went down to garage one morning , ready to go to work and was belted and strangled by a strange woman in a shower cap, bundled into the boot of her car, and driven off to St Kilda Rd. in the city and left there, in the boiling 39 C February sun , not found for days... Her husbands girlfriend , Tanya Herman had been persuaded by Joe Korp that this was the only way they could be together.....Maria died dreadfully.

Miss Larissa Sant, just a few weeks ago, mowed down her boyfriends former partner, out of what looks like revenge.... and the boyfriend has been arrested also, as being involved in the planning..

People do dreadful , stupid things, and he may be a very persuasive bloke.. . highly manipulative... he would be a prize on dating app, SQ L in an English speaking military, high salary, .he would attract a certain sort of woman. Ambitious....

 

[SouthAussie]

Lawnmower to cover for bladed and brunt force injuries?

I know violence can go both ways but I'm always reminded of that saying that men fear that women will laugh at them. And women fear... that he'll kill her.

Have we seen an autopsy report? Guessing not.

JMO

No autopsy report ... but I tend to agree that there may have been injuries that 'could' mimic being hit against a rock retaining wall, and/or being battered by a rolling lawn mower.

 

[Bear13]

This news article has the Detective saying they don’t believe anyone else was involved.

 

[Trooper]

This news article has the Detective saying they don’t believe anyone else was involved.

'Not random'..... !!! meaning, in QLDPOL talk, planned, deliberate, calculated.....maybe he told someone his plans.. or he wrote it to someone... people do ridiculous things...

(notes to self... do not travel up the Warrego Highway ever , )

 

[Trooper]

If the police claim it was not a random incident.... it seems someone , maybe one, or three or seven of these poor deluded women who thought they were the 'only' one has contacted the nice helpful chaps at QLDpol...

 

[Marg944]

The “Celebration” notice from the ABC video provided by Bear13 earlier:-

 

[Ooohm]

What a beautiful lady. Undoubtably Frances saved some lives through her work.

 

[Trooper]

QLDPOL doing a very smooth job, dripping information out in increments, day by day, applying a bit of pressure.....

 

[SouthAussie]

QLDPOL doing a very smooth job, dripping information out in increments, day by day, applying a bit of pressure.....

They certainly are!

- "Suspicious" right from the start.
- "Husband last one to see Frances alive that evening".
- "Women (from dating apps) all over the place".
- "Investigating how Frances ended up deceased at the bottom of a retaining wall, near a lawn mower"
- "Called to the property for domestic violence last year". "No current orders in place". (In other words, the husband was legally allowed to be near Frances at the time of her death - but may not have been at some earlier point.)
- "Husband helping the police with the investigation". No word on whether he is cooperating.

And the media are helping by publishing about Frances' funeral (first we had heard), with the police saying the family are desperate for answers.

 

[Bear13]

They certainly are!

- "Suspicious" right from the start.
- "Husband last one to see Frances alive that evening".
- "Women (from dating apps) all over the place".
- "Investigating how Frances ended up deceased at the bottom of a retaining wall, near a lawn mower"
- "Called to the property for domestic violence last year". "No current orders in place". (In other words, the husband was legally allowed to be near Frances at the time of her death - but may not have been at some earlier point.)
- "Husband helping the police with the investigation". No word on whether he is cooperating.

And the media are helping by publishing about Frances' funeral (first we had heard), with the police saying the family are desperate for answers.

With the footage near the end of the news article, to me it appears to be the husband, RC greeting people at the funeral. We have to remember this was very early days (also around the time when the family made a statement through media saying he was a committed and loyal husband), I imagine it’s not the case as the investigation intensifies and particularly after Friday’s media report.

 

[Bear13]

Found the article regarding the family’s comments

Family speak as cops swoop on home of mum killed in lawnmower horror

Frances Crawford, aged in her 40s, was found dead at her home on Thomas Road at Upper Lockyer, southeast Queensland, at 3.40am on Tuesday.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[SouthAussie]

Found the article regarding the family’s comments

Family speak as cops swoop on home of mum killed in lawnmower horror

Frances Crawford, aged in her 40s, was found dead at her home on Thomas Road at Upper Lockyer, southeast Queensland, at 3.40am on Tuesday.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Often, children (maybe Frances) don't tell their parents how their personal relationship is. They don't want to worry them. And they don't want anyone taking sides if they do not intend to leave their marriage, and they just want to fix it. imo

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Police are saying why did he call them at the time he did.
I think his answer would be because that's when he found her body.
What time would Police expect the call if that's when he said he discovered her body.


To me the mystery is not so much the time he called, but that his wife would be out mowing the grass at that time.

 

[SouthAussie]

Police are saying why did he call them at the time he did.
I think his answer would be because that's when he found her body.
What time would Police expect the call if that's when he said he discovered her body.


To me the mystery is not so much the time he called, but that his wife would be out mowing the grass at that time.

I wonder if calling emergency services (presuming he called 000) at 3am-ish might mean a slower police response time?
Ambos might have rocked up by 3:37am and found Frances deceased. How long did it take the police to get there?

Just thinking of lividity and rigor mortis. If lividity shows Frances was moved.

And wondering if Frances communicated with others that evening, so the police have a fairly clear picture of when she was still alive. And know what she communicated to that person/people.