Overview
- The Brisbane Supreme Court trial of Robert John Crawford, who has pleaded not guilty, entered its third week on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026.
- Prosecutors allege Crawford strangled Frances Crawford and arranged the scene beside their ride-on mower to make her death look like an accident on July 30, 2024.
- Their psychotherapist told the jury Frances felt unsafe, wanted her husband to take a polygraph to verify his disclosures and was working on an exit plan in the weeks before her death.
- Three admitted affair partners have given evidence, saying Crawford invited them to live with him at postings such as Papua New Guinea, while other witnesses described his repeated concerns about losing property and superannuation.
- The case rests on testimony from affair partners, RAAF colleagues and the therapist and will be decided by a jury, with Crawford’s not-guilty plea keeping the allegations contested.