Crawford family murder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Crawford family murder was the 1970 killing of pregnant mother Therese Crawford and her three children, Kathryn, 13, James, 8 and Karen, 6. The family car was located at the bottom of a cliff face at Loch Ard Gorge in Port Campbell, Victoria on July 2, 1970. The bodies of Therese and her children were still inside [1].
[edit] Inquest
A July 1971 coroners inquest found that Elmer Crawford murdered his wife and three children in their Glenroy home. Crawford had constructed an electrocution device, using a 15 metre length of electrical lead and alligator clips. He attached the alligator clips to his wife's ears while she slept and electrocuted her. He then bashed his children to death, presumably using a hammer [2], then loaded their bodies into the family's FE Holden vehicle. He then drove them 200 km to Port Campbell where he pushed the car containing the bodies over the cliff edge in an effort to make the crime look like murder-suicide [3].
Two weeks before the murders, Elmer and his wife drafted new wills that would leave a considerable fortune to Elmer Crawford in the event of his family's death [2].
Elmer Kyle Crawford has been missing since the murders. A AUD$100,000 reward was offered in 2008 for information leading to his arrest [1].
An episode of Sensing Murder titled Almost Perfect which aired on May 30, 2006 featured the crime [4].
[edit] References
- ^ a b Police flooded with tips after posting murder suspect reward, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, February 25, 2008
- ^ a b Elmer Crawford electrocuted family, bashed daughter, Herald Sun, February 11, 2008
- ^ Where is Elmer Crawford?, The Age, July 1, 2005
- ^ "Sensing Murder" - Almost Perfect, Internet Movie Database, Retrieved May 13, 2008
