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that left a considerable fortune to Elmer in the event of his family's death. At the time of the murders, the couple had three children: Katherine Jane (aged 12), James
William (aged 8), and Karen Jean (aged 6). It is believed by investigators that the impending arrival of their fourth child and
296:, United States, whom they believed to be Elmer. The man had no fingerprints and carried multiple identity documents. It was announced on 27 August 2010 that comparison of DNA from a Crawford blood relative ruled out any connection to the body in the US.
251:
sedan. He then drove them 200 kilometres (120 mi) to Port
Campbell, where he connected the hose from the exhaust to the driver's side window before pushing the car over the cliff edge in an effort to frame his wife by making the crime look like a
223:
found that Elmer, who had emigrated from
Ireland in 1951, murdered his wife and three children at the family's home in Cardinal Road, Glenroy. Elmer had constructed an electrocution device, using a 15-metre (49 ft) length of electrical lead and
228:, which he attached to his wife's ears while she slept before electrocuting her. He then battered Karen to death, presumably using the hammer found in the car, and electrocuted both Katherine and James.
586:
29:
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314:, takes a close look at the case from the perspective of someone who lived in the same street at the time of the crime. The case was also detailed in a 2016 episode of
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on 2 July with the bodies of the four victims still inside. The husband and father of the decedents, Elmer Kyle
Crawford (b. May 1930), is the
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Therese's mental state were the triggers for the murders. Another factor could have been the theft of goods by Elmer from the VRC.
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titled "Almost
Perfect" which aired on 30 May 2006 featured the crime. Detailed investigation in Greg Fogarty's 2011 book,
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256:. To aid the vehicle's movement, he had also laid a stone pathway across a drainage ditch in front of the vehicle.
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Elmer then loaded the blanket-wrapped bodies, along with a motorbike, fuel cans, rifle and hose, into the family's
587:"'The most wanted man in Australia': Irish emigrant still hunted by police almost 50 years after brutal murders"
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was the killing of pregnant mother
Therese Crawford and her three children at their home in
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Elmer, who was last seen in his driveway on the day of the vehicle's discovery, has been
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490:"Familicide: Loving Your Family Too Much Or Not Enough. The Crawford Family Murders"
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100,000 was offered in 2008 for information leading to his arrest. In July 2010,
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Almost
Perfect: The True Story of the Brutal, Unsolved Crawford Family Murders
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Australian
Broadcasting Corporation, 27 August 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010
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since the murders, although he was reportedly spotted in 1994 in
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Two weeks before the murders, Elmer
Crawford, an employee of the
613:"Elmer Crawford has avoided the police for more than 40 years"
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Almost
Perfect: The True Story of the Crawford Family Murders
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Police flooded with tips after posting murder suspect reward
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Therese, Katherine, James, and Karen Crawford, circa 1969
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Unsolved Australia: Terrible Crimes, Incredible Stories
734:"Casefile True Crime - Case 290 - The Crawford Family"
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Elmer Crawford electrocuted family, bashed daughter
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280:announced that they were, in conjunction with the
211:(VRC), and his pregnant wife Therese drafted new
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16:1970 murder of the Crawford family in Australia
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347:List of fugitives from justice who disappeared
805:pertaining to the manhunt for Elmer Crawford
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199:in the murders and has not been seen since.
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679:"Texas body not that of Victorian killer"
654:"The Aussie mass killer cops can't catch"
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444:"US Corpse May Be Key to Vic Mass Murder"
809:Crawford Murders 1970 - News report 2010
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112:Unknown. Possible financial gain and/or
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531:"Crawford electrocuted, bashed family"
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844:20th-century mass murder in Australia
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611:Koubaridis, Andrew (24 August 2015).
418:"Killer Crawford Still Haunts Ex-cop"
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708:"Felon - S1E1 - The Crawford Family"
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284:, attempting to identify a man, via
854:People murdered in Victoria (state)
779:. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia.
476:Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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760:. Bloomington: Penon Publishing.
691:"Sensing Murder" - Almost Perfect
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272:by an acquaintance. A reward of
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750:Cited works and further reading
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556:Malkin, Bonnie (15 July 2010).
243:on the afternoon of 2 July 1970
239:sedan is winched to the top of
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859:Unsolved murders in Australia
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286:facial recognition technology
137:Katherine Jane Crawford (12)
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422:The Standard (Warrnambool)
140:James William Crawford (8)
829:Child murder in Australia
824:1970 murders in Australia
802:Contemporary news article
492:. forensicsandflorals.com
448:The Sydney Morning Herald
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637:Where is Elmer Crawford?
352:List of unsolved murders
316:Felon True Crime Podcast
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78:37.698896°S 144.930003°E
864:Deaths by electrocution
697:, Retrieved 13 May 2008
695:Internet Movie Database
143:Karen Jean Crawford (6)
22:Crawford family murders
775:Ford, Justine (2015).
756:Fogarty, Greg (1997).
318:and in episode 290 of
288:, who died in 2005 in
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177:Crawford family murder
83:-37.698896; 144.930003
874:Unsolved mass murders
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155:Fawkner Memorial Park
134:Therese Crawford (35)
535:www.heraldsun.com.au
322:true crime podcast.
209:Victoria Racing Club
849:Murder in Melbourne
839:Mass murder in 1970
123:Elmer Kyle Crawford
74: /
50:136 Cardinal Road,
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537:. 10 February 2008
520:, 11 February 2008
478:, 25 February 2008
337:Crime in Australia
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869:Deaths by beating
786:978-1-743-53436-6
767:978-1-450-28516-2
270:Western Australia
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450:. 13 July 2010
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219:A July 1971
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120:Participants
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622:5 September
617:news.com.au
596:10 December
99:Bludgeoning
81: /
69:144°55′48″E
58:, Australia
818:Categories
518:Herald Sun
404:References
342:Familicide
290:San Angelo
161:, Victoria
66:37°41′56″S
712:Audioboom
658:NewsComAu
566:0307-1235
496:11 August
454:11 August
428:10 August
397:Australia
373:Biography
332:Cold case
249:Holden FE
237:Holden FE
166:Convicted
159:Merri-bek
717:10 March
664:10 March
571:10 March
541:10 March
326:See also
320:Casefile
185:Victoria
56:Victoria
47:Location
641:The Age
359:Portals
266:missing
181:Glenroy
52:Glenroy
783:
764:
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260:Search
151:Burial
128:Deaths
109:Motive
300:Media
294:Texas
213:wills
95:Cause
781:ISBN
762:ISBN
719:2020
666:2020
624:2017
598:2019
573:2020
562:ISSN
543:2020
498:2021
456:2021
430:2021
175:The
114:rage
39:Date
385:Law
282:FBI
274:A$
191:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
