- Frances Crawford, 49, was found dead in Upper Lockyer
- Her husband, an RAAF pilot, is helping with the investigation.
EXCLUSIVE
The Australian Defence Force has quietly removed references to an RAAF pilot from its social media pages after his wife was killed in a mysterious lawnmower incident last week.
Frances Crawford, 49, was found dead at her home in Upper Lockyer, south-east Queensland, at 3.40am on Tuesday 30 July after police were called to reports she had been seriously injured by a lawnmower.
Police have treated the death as suspicious and her husband Robert, who made the triple-0 call, has been helping detectives with their enquiries.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mr Crawford is involved in his wife’s death, only that he is assisting police.
As detectives continue to investigate the baffling case, the Army has quickly deleted posts on its official Facebook page about Crawford, 47, who is a squadron leader based at Amberley.
Frances Crawford, 49, was found dead at her home in Upper Lockyer, south-east Queensland, at 3.40am on Tuesday 30 July after police were called to reports she had been seriously injured by a lawnmower.
Her husband Robert, who made the triple-0 call, has been assisting detectives with their investigations.
Social media posts promoted the military’s efforts in Queensland and featured photos of Crawford on duty alongside quotes from him about military projects.
“Exposure to new ways of thinking and sharing skills with the PNGDF (Papua New Guinea Defence Force) is invaluable to all of us in No. 35 Squadron,” Squadron Leader Crawford said at the time.
‘We look forward to helping our closest neighbour rebuild its sovereign aviation capability and security systems.
‘In turn, the PNGDF will assist us with our mountain flying training, access to airfield facilities and other training exercises in Papua New Guinea, working side by side in future joint humanitarian and disaster relief operations.’
Daily Mail Australia understands Mr Crawford had returned to Australia from his overseas assignment about a week before his wife’s death.
The Defense Department declined to comment.
Daily Mail Australia can also reveal that Mr Crawford was involved in legal trouble while stationed in Adelaide in 2012.
He was charged with abuse of public office after allegedly manipulating regulations to secure a post in the Middle East and earn a tax-free bonus.
Mr Crawford requested the production of classified documents to show that he had good reason to be deployed at the time in question.
The prosecution later dropped all charges against him.
Police are seen arriving at Crawford’s rural property on Thursday.
Detectives spent Tuesday collecting evidence from the home (including the lawnmower, pictured)
The revelations come as police are appealing for the public’s help as they work to piece together the circumstances surrounding Crawford’s death.
Ten police vehicles were seen swarming the rural property last Thursday, including several cars packed with forensic equipment, as detectives step up their investigation.
Speaking to media the following day, Detective Superintendent George Marchesini said detectives are still trying to determine how he sustained critical injuries.
“There are a number of things we need to understand better to determine what the cause was and how this actually happened,” he said.
‘We have not been able to determine a cause regarding what was discovered at that scene, so we are determining that this matter is suspicious.
“If you have knowledge of the woman and obviously heard this information this week, then we want to hear from them in relation to what they know.”
