An Australian woman facing allegations of murder wrote a pros and cons list detailing her marital struggles, including her husband's infidelity and her concerns about her relationship with their daughter, before she died.
Frances Crawford's notebook entries were presented to a Brisbane Supreme Court jury as evidence in the trial of her husband, Robert Crawford, 49. He is accused of strangling his wife and staging her death to appear as if she had fallen from a ride-on mower at their Queensland property on July 29, 2024.
In her notes, Mrs. Crawford contemplated the state of her marriage, writing that staying with her unfaithful husband would be "an enormous testimonial to God's faithfulness." She also noted that the couple "could do amazing God work together."
The couple had separated about a year prior to her death after Mrs. Crawford discovered his infidelity. The notes also indicated a strained relationship with their daughter, Jessie, following Robert Crawford's return to the family home months before his wife's death. Mrs. Crawford expressed concern in her notes about losing her close relationship with her daughter and the potential for awkward family gatherings.
She also wrote about feeling "unsafe" within the marriage and established detailed boundaries for her husband, with specified consequences for breaches, including periods of separation if infidelity or lying were admitted.
Forensic evidence presented to the court included bloodstains found on a towel and bath mat from the Crawfords' bathroom. A forensic scientist testified that the stains suggested blood had dripped, and possibly been spattered with force, onto the towel. Photographs of Mrs. Crawford showed a bloody nose, and the scientist could not rule out impact patterns, suggesting blood ejected by force.
At the scene of the alleged mower accident, two days after Mrs. Crawford's death, bloodstains were found on a rock wall. The forensic scientist described two plausible scenarios: either Mrs. Crawford sustained a head injury at that location, or the injury was pre-existing. Graphic images of her body beside the mower were shown to the jury, displaying severe bruising and abrasions to her neck and a deep gash on the back of her head. Bloodstains were also observed between the mower's steering wheel and its body, with a trail leading to Mrs. Crawford's head.
During cross-examination, a senior constable admitted that no fingerprints were taken from the mower's steering wheel, as there was no initial indication that the scene was staged. Robert Crawford's defense claims his wife was attempting to move the mower indoors when the accident occurred. However, Mrs. Crawford's children testified that they had never seen their mother operate the mower.
The jury is scheduled to visit the Crawfords' property west of Brisbane.