Latest news with #LockyerValley
ABC News
5 days ago
- ABC News
Husband of allegedly murdered woman Frances Crawford charged with breaching bail
A Lockyer Valley man accused of murdering his wife and staging a lawnmower accident as a cover-up has been charged with breaching his strict bail conditions. Robert John Crawford, 47, was granted Supreme Court bail last month with a string of conditions. They included a $250,000 surety, a night-time curfew to remain at his Upper Lockyer home and the requirement to report daily to police. It is understood that the bail breach relates to the night curfew. Mr Crawford, an RAAF pilot, is accused of murdering his wife, Frances Crawford, and interfering with her corpse. He was arrested on Saturday in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, and charged with breach of bail. The matter was briefly mentioned in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Monday, where he was bailed to reappear in Toowoomba on August 14. He entered into a new bail undertaking. Ms Crawford, 49, was a psychologist in Toowoomba, and the couple had three adult children. She died at the family's rural property, in the Upper Lockyer region, in the early hours of July 30 last year. Mr Crawford was arrested and charged with his wife's death in October last year. Emergency services were called to the Upper Lockyer property at 3:37am on July 30. Ms Crawford's body was found at the bottom of a retaining wall with a ride-on lawnmower nearby. The court has previously heard that Mr Crawford will contest the charges. During his Supreme Court bail application, Justice Frances Williams said she was satisfied that the bail conditions imposed had lowered the risk to an "acceptable level". "The Crown alleges that following an argument, [Mr Crawford] strangled the deceased and then manipulated the deceased's body so it appeared she had died in an accident," Justice Williams said. The Crown had opposed Mr Crawford's bail application, arguing that he posed an unacceptable risk of interfering with witnesses and that no conditions could be imposed to ameliorate the risk to an appropriate level. A committal hearing is set down for hearing in the Ipswich Magistrates Court in October.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Aussie council's incredible find in landfill: 'Talk about a stroke of luck'
An Aussie family mourning the loss of their beloved patriarch has been reunited with his "priceless" war medals after they were accidentally thrown out and taken to a tip. Thanks to the efforts of a keen-eyed council worker who made the incredible discovery among the mountains of rubbish, the sentimental medals have now made it home. Lockyer Valley Regional Council, in Queensland's southeast, revealed the amazing outcome on Monday, sharing with the local community that the medals had been found. "Talk about a stroke of luck," the council said. "Fate intervened last week when an eagle-eyed council worker made a needle-in-the-haystack discovery at Gatton Landfill. "Tim, one of council's heavy machinery operators, was working at the facility when an unusual container caught his eye in a pile of rubbish, prompting him to take a closer look," the council continued. "Opening it up, he was startled to find four official war medals inside and immediately reported the surprise find to his supervisor." After posting about the find on social media, the post quickly attracted thousands of responses from Aussies around the country, including the daughter of the Aussie digger who had been awarded the medals. "I found out that a heap of my deceased dad's stuff was taken to the Gatton dump the week before," she said, explaining that when she visited the tip to ask about the items, she was told they were likely buried. The woman, who did not respond to Yahoo's request for further comment, didn't explain exactly how her father's belongings were accidentally taken to the tip, but made it clear how devastated she was by the loss, and just how grateful she is to have the medals returned. Aussie's 'incredible' 500-year-old discovery hidden behind invasive weed Council's innovative solution to quiet crisis in Aussie suburbs Incredible discovery centimetres from train tracks "They were in an old hexagon chocolate tin with my dad's favourite black Bundy rum polo shirt, and a couple of yellow post-it notes with the last shopping lists he gave me. Sounds silly to have them like that, but it was sentimental to me," she wrote. "He was the best man in the world. I am very grateful to have his medals back, and they are now with my mum." In Australia, war medals are typically held by veterans who served in the military or by their families who keep them as cherished mementos of a loved one's service. These medals may have been awarded for participation in major conflicts such as World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, or more recent deployments in the Middle East. For many Australians, they carry emotional and historical significance, representing personal sacrifice, national service and family pride. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Why kids of air force pilot accused of 'murdering mum and staging it as a tragic late-night lawnmower incident' have moved out of home
The estranged children of the air force pilot accused of killing their mum and staging it as a lawnmower accident have moved out of the family home as he moves back in. RAAF Squadron Leader Robert Crawford, 47, has been freed on bail awaiting trial and is living at the family farmhouse in the Lockyer Valley in Queensland 's Darling Downs. He allegedly strangled his psychologist wife Frances, 49, before faking her death as a tragic accident where she had been crushed by an overturned ride-on lawnmower. Crawford was allowed out of jail without an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet after police told the court it wouldn't work because of network limitations at his rural home. But after his release, a family friend has revealed the couple's adult children have moved out amid the murder allegations their father faces over their mother's death. According to a close friend of Ms Crawford, the children have now been left penniless by the decision to leave home but feel they still can't return at this time. It is not suggested that they left home because they had any view on the guilt or innocence of their father. Crawford's bail hearing was told the children, aged 23, 20, and 19, accuse their dad of being abusive, explosive and violent, and grew up 'walking on eggshells'. 'The applicant clearly has a bad relationship with his children,' the police prosecutor told the court. 'Given the nature of these charges it cannot be underestimated that he does not present a risk to witnesses.' Crawford admitted to detectives that he had multiple affairs during his 27-year marriage. 'Frances and I have had marital problems in the past, but we have been trying to fix these issues,' Crawford told the police in his first interview after her death, court documents revealed. 'Our problems stem from me being unfaithful during our marriage. I have been unfaithful on numerous occasions over the course of a 10-year period. 'Francis became aware of these incidents in mid 2023 and this resulted in me moving out of the family home.' Crawford lived at a Brisbane address and on his RAAF base between July 2023 and April 2024, but insisted they were 'giving our marriage the best shot at success'. However, the court also heard that during the separation Crawford had set up an account on the e-Harmony dating website. Robert Crawford (pictured) is an squadron leader - a senior role and the equivalent of a Major in the Army - who operates out of the Royal Australian Airforce Amberley Base Police raised concerns that Crawford's return to the family home after both the long separation with his wife and his eight months incarceration could cause issues. 'He proposes to return to the scene of his alleged crimes,' the police prosecutor said. 'He had not lived at that property for a relatively extended period of time prior to April 2024. 'The property is likely to be sought as part of the deceased estate by the applicants' children. At this stage there is no legal impediment of him living there.' The move has outraged friends and family of Ms Crawford, said her close friend Suzanne Duffy. 'To say the family are angry is an understatement,' she said. 'The grandfather of Frances Crawford's children put up $250,000 for her alleged murderer's bail.' In multiple comments online, Ms Duffy slammed the decision to allow Crawford to be released back into the community ahead of his trial. Ms Duffy has now set up a GoFundMe for the Crawfords' children which has raised almost $25,000 to help fund ongoing mental healthcare, living costs and legal fees. 'The plea for your support is desperate and urgent,' she posted in the online fundraiser appeal. 'The laws should be changed; the kids are entitled to that house.' Ms Crawford was found dead at their rural home, 100km west of Brisbane, in the early hours of July 30, 2024. She was discovered by emergency services at the base of a rock wall next to a ride-on lawnmower with fatal head and neck injuries. Crawford was arrested around ten weeks later in October and charged with his wife's murder and interfering with her corpse. Police allege Crawford strangled his wife, then used her phone to send fake messages before staging her fatal accident. During the bail application Crawford's lawyer Saul Holt said there was no conclusive evidence to support the prosecution's claim that his client strangled his wife in a state of 'murderous rage'. But the court was told Crawford posed 'an unacceptable risk of failing to appear, committing an offence, endangering the safety or welfare of witnesses and others and/or interfering with witnesses'. 'There are no conditions which can be imposed to ameliorate those risks to an acceptable level,' the police prosecutor said. Crawford was remanded in custody after he was initially charged but seven months later, Justice Frances Williams granted bail and freed him on May 2. Crawford looked tanned and relaxed as he reported to the Toowoomba Police station around 20km from his Upper Lockyer Valley farm last Monday. On Wednesday, dressed in shorts and a fitted T-shirt, he popped into Bunnings to buy a light bulb. Clearly concerned about being spotted, given the high profile of his case, he chose to slip in and out of the trade entry with his sunglasses firmly kept on.
