Upper Lockyer, Frances Crawford: The key unanswered questions after mother’s death in ‘lawnmower’ incident

How a mother of three died in a late-night lawnmower incident remains a mystery nearly a week after her death, as investigators try to piece together the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

Frances Crawford, 49, was found dead at her home in Upper Lockyer in south-east Queensland in the early hours of Tuesday, July 30.

At 3.40am, emergency services were called to the estate to reports that Mrs Crawford had been seriously injured in an incident involving a ride-on lawnmower. When emergency services arrived, they found the local psychologist already dead.

Police are treating the matter as suspicious and are calling on anyone with information about Mrs Crawford or the family to come forward.

As detectives wait for a breakthrough in the baffling case, Daily Mail Australia examines the key questions that remain unanswered.

1. Why did Mrs. Crawford mow the lawn late at night?

Temperatures in the Upper Lockyer region dropped to as low as -5°C in the early morning of July 30.

While some farmers mow their lawns at night to avoid the heat of the day, locals find it a mystery to do so in the middle of winter, when temperatures are below freezing and grass barely grows.

Frances Crawford, 49, was found dead in her home in Queensland’s Upper Lockyer region last week

According to initial reports from local media, police were told that Ms Crawford had been crushed while moving a lawnmower, but this has not been confirmed by investigators.

In addition, police have not yet said whether they believe Mrs. Crawford was using the lawn mower when she was seriously injured.

2. How was Mrs. Crawford injured?

Police have not released details of their theories about what happened and have not disclosed the nature of Ms Crawford’s injuries.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Detective George Marchesini said police were called to the property on a matter “relating to a lawn mower,” but would not confirm whether police believe the machine caused her injuries.

“That’s part of the investigation,” he said.

“She had serious injuries. There are a number of things we need to understand better to determine what caused this and how it actually happened.

“We have not yet been able to determine a cause for what was found at that crime scene. That is why we consider this case suspicious.”

On Thursday morning, a police car loaded with forensic equipment is seen on the estate

A lawn mower was towed from the property on Tuesday

3. At what time was Mrs. Crawford seriously injured?

Police have not confirmed what time Ms Crawford is believed to have died. She was only pronounced dead when emergency services arrived at 3.40am.

Chief Inspector Marchesini said she was last seen alive on Monday afternoon and was believed to have been at work that day.

“The man in the house discovered the woman at that time and so the police were called. A call was made to the emergency services to assist and QPS and QAS attended the scene but unfortunately she was already deceased,” he said.

What do we know?

Police have revealed that the call to emergency services was made by Mrs Crawford’s husband, Robert. According to Daily Mail Australia, he is an RAAF pilot and squadron leader, based in Amberley.

Daily Mail Australia reports that Mr Crawford had returned to Australia from an overseas posting about a week before his wife’s death.

Police also revealed that officers were called to the property in July 2023 due to problems at the home, but that there are currently no domestic violence measures in place.

Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Mr Crawford was involved in his wife’s death.

Mrs Crawford’s death has left the local community where she was born and raised in mourning, while her loved ones remember her for her “gentle nature” and “kindness”.

Police searched the house for evidence on Thursday, with ten different police cars arriving at the property, including several forensic vehicles.

Later that day, police officially declared the case suspicious.

Her husband, RAAF pilot Robert Crawford (pictured), has been assisting police with their investigation

Chief Inspector Marchesini said Mr Crawford is assisting police with their investigation into what happened that night.

We’re talking to him and we’ve been since [she] “was discovered,” he said.

Chief Inspector Marchesini also stressed that police are not looking for any other people in connection with the incident, but that anyone with information should come forward.

‘If [you] “If they have knowledge of the woman and you will obviously hear that information coming out this week, we would like to hear from them what they do know,” he said.

Daily Mail Australia has learned that the lawnmower towed from the scene on Tuesday was a Husqvarna. These lawnmowers are fitted with a safety feature that prevents the engine and blades from operating if the operator is not in the seat.

However, this feature can be disabled and it is unclear whether it worked on the Crawfords lawn mower