An alleged murder victim wrote a pros and cons list that noted staying with her unfaithful husband would be 'an enormous testimonial to God's faithfulness'.
asserted
staying → write → faithfulness
Extensive notebook entries by Frances Crawford, written before her death, provide insight into the state of her crumbling marriage to Robert Crawford.
asserted
entries → write → Crawford
Crawford, 49, is alleged to have strangled his wife before staging her death to make it appear she had fallen from a ride-on mower at their Upper Lockyer property near Toowoomba in Queensland on July 29, 2024.
asserted
she → allege → July
In trying to make a decision about whether to leave her husband, who had been serially unfaithful, Mrs Crawford wrote the couple 'could do amazing God work together'.
uncertain
couple → try → work
She wrote that staying would be 'huge testimony to God's faithfulness' - faith in the couple resolving their differences and persisting with the marriage, Brisbane Supreme Court jurors were told on Tuesday.
asserted
jurors → write → Tuesday
The couple had separated about a year before Mrs Crawford's death after she became aware of his infidelity.
asserted
she → separate → infidelity
Notes shown to the jury also showed her relationship with daughter Jessie had become strained after her father was allowed to move back in to the family home a few months before Mrs Crawford died.
asserted
Crawford → show → home
On the 'cons' side of the page, Mrs Crawford said she feared losing her close relationship with her daughter, leading to awkward family Christmas gatherings.
asserted
she → say → gatherings
Frances Crawford (above) wrote extensively in her diaries about whether to leave her husband shortly before he allegedly murdered her
Robert Crawford (above) allegedly strangled his wife before staging her death as a ride-on mower accident on July 29, 2024
She wrote that friends would have difficulty accepting her decision.
uncertain
friends → write → decision
The notes refer to Mrs Crawford feeling 'unsafe' within the marriage.
asserted
Crawford → refer → marriage
She set extensive lists of boundaries for her husband, with punishments for breaches.
asserted
She → set → breaches
One was masturbation, with Crawford set to spend two weeks in the spare room if it was admitted to her within a week.
asserted
it → set → week
If he was caught out lying on a polygraph test, it was four weeks.
asserted
it → catch → test
Earlier, the jury was shown blood stains from a towel and bath mat inside the Crawfords' bathroom.
asserted
jury → show → bathroom
Forensic scientist Owen Esaias, who examined the items, said 16 circular stains suggested that blood had dripped onto the towel.
uncertain
blood → examine → towel
Sergeant Esaias said he could not rule out that blood had been spattered on the towel, or an impact pattern, where blood had been ejected by force.
uncertain
blood → say → force
Crawford allegedly strangled his wife before staging her death to make it appear she had fallen from a ride-on mower (above)
uncertain
she → strangle → mower
He said it was also possible blood had been expelled from a mouth or nose.
asserted
blood → say → mouth
Photographs of Mrs Crawford showed her nose had been bloodied.
asserted
nose → show → Crawford
The defence countered that late on the morning after Mrs Crawford's death, police asked her husband if he wanted a shower, after he had earlier attended to the body of his wife.
asserted
he → counter → wife
Sgt Esaias examined the scene of the apparent mower accident two days after her death, finding bloodstains on the rock wall.
asserted
Esaias → examine → wall
He said either Mrs Crawford had sustained a head injury in that location, or that the injury was pre-existing.
asserted
injury → say → existing
'I put equal weight on those two scenarios, both plausible,' he told the jury.
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he → put → jury
The jury was shown graphic images of her body next to the mower on Tuesday.
asserted
jury → show → Tuesday
Senior Constable Matthew Fender's photographs showed severe bruising and abrasions to her neck area and a deep gash on the back of her head.
asserted
photographs → show → head
Mrs Crawford (above) had written a pros and cons list about her marriage, during which her husband had been unfaithful
They also showed bloodstains between the steering wheel and body of the mower, as well as a trail leading to Mrs Crawford's head.
asserted
They → write → head
Sen Const Fender admitted that no fingerprints were taken from the mower's steering wheel.
asserted
fingerprints → admit → wheel
'I don't believe I was told that there was concern that it was staged,' he said under cross-examination by Robert Crawford's barrister Saul Holt KC.
asserted
he → believe → barrister
Crawford claims his wife had attempted to move the mower inside after she told him to bring it inside before a sprinkler system was activated.
uncertain
system → claim → it
Mrs Crawford's children have testified that they never saw their mother use the mower.
asserted
mother → testify → mower
The jury will on Wednesday visit the Crawfords' home, a two-hour drive west of Brisbane.
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jury → visit → Brisbane
The Aporia
