Former army major Graeme Davidson seeks bail after allegedly killing wife while kayaking in 2020

Australia Broadcast Center

4 days ago

The lawyer for a man accused of killing his wife while kayaking in south-east Queensland in 2020, and then allegedly fraudulently claiming multiple life insurance payments, says the murder case against him is "fundamentally weak".
In May this year, Graeme Davidson was charged with his wife Jacqueline Davidson's murder.
He was also charged with fraud and attempted fraud, in relation to insurance claims he made totalling more than $1 million.
In November 2020, the couple, both aged in their 50s, were kayaking on Lake Samsonvale without life jackets when she reportedly fell into the water and drowned.
Her death was initially considered an accident; however, a homicide investigation was launched about 18 months later.
Mr Davidson, who had relocated to Thailand and remarried a resident there, was later arrested during a visit to Brisbane.
On Thursday, his lawyer made an application for bail in the Supreme Court, where he submitted it was a "fundamentally weak Crown case".
Craig Eberhart told the court it was not in dispute that Mrs Davidson had drowned, but only the allegation that his client deliberately caused her death.
The court heard Mr Davidson told police his wife had fallen into the water shortly after he had stood up in his kayak, which caused her to panic.
He then told police he saw her struggling, so he entered the water, which was dark and had branches and weeds beneath the surface, to pull her out, the court heard.
Mr Eberhart told the court that after placing his wife on his kayak, then bringing her back to shore, he frantically asked members of the public to call an ambulance while he performed CPR.
He said he was witnessed by members of the public and paramedics trying to resuscitate her, and some later told police Mr Davidson had worked "tirelessly to save [Mrs Davidson's] life".
Mr Eberhart told the court Mrs Davidson did not have any injuries consistent with being assaulted or being involved in any sort of struggle.
"Quite simply … there is no direct evidence that [Mr Davidson] killed Jacqueline," he said.
The court heard Mr Davidson, who had been married to Mrs Davidson for decades, had no criminal history and had never been the subject of a domestic violence order.
At the time of his wife's death, the court heard he had recently been medically discharged from the Australian Army, where he served as a major, and before that, he was a captain in the British Army.
The court heard that during a posting in Papua New Guinea in 2018, Mr Davidson had an affair with a local woman, which Mrs Davidson became aware of in 2019.
Mr Eberhart told the court this had caused "significant matrimony upset" at that time, and as a result, the couple returned to Australia shortly after.
"Although it can be accepted that [Mrs Davidson] was very upset, understandably about her husband's infidelity," he said.
The court heard there were a number of witness statements that had been submitted from people who knew the couple, including their children and friends.
Parts of some of their statements were read to the court, including one made by a friend of Mrs Davidson whom she confided in shortly after the affair.
The court heard she had suggested ending the marriage at the time, but later said she did not wish to do so.
A statement was also submitted by one of their daughters, who was living with her parents at the time of her mother's death.
The court heard she told police she had also been invited to go kayaking with them on the day.
"Seems a remarkable thing to do if he intended to drown her," Mr Eberhart said.
The court heard the daughter also told police her mother seemed happy, her usual self, and she had never witnessed any domestic violence between her parents.
She also told police her mother had a previous heart issue, had choking issues, and would often get flustered and panic.
The court heard in a statement from a friend of the couple, one man spoke of them appearing to have a "good marriage" in the years before Mrs Davidson's death.
He also said in his statement that in 2021, Mr Davidson commented to him that "Jacqueline would have been gone a long time ago had she not been so pretty".
However, he clarified in the statement that his friend had been acting strangely since his wife's death and believed this was a significant reaction to his grief.
The court heard that after the drowning, Mr Davidson made a claim on Mrs Davidson's life insurance through her superannuation and received a payout of more than $200,000.
Mr Eberhart told the court Mr Davidson had "no involvement" in setting up that policy and was not aware he was the sole beneficiary before making the claim.
He said the couple had also taken out individual policies in mid-2020, and they were both insured for the same amount, which was roughly the cost of their mortgage of $950,000.
"The existence of mutual insurance policies between husband and wife is the most unremarkable feature of sound financial planning going into retirement," he said.
The court heard Mr Davidson was aware his wife's death was being investigated by detectives, and after moving overseas, he had corresponded with police on several occasions between 2021 and 2025.
"This is not a case of him going overseas then hiding," Mr Eberhart said.
Mr Eberhart told the court there had been "exaggerations and mischaracterisations" of other alleged evidence, which he said had been "taken out of context".
He said this included Mr Davidson burning unknown documents in his backyard while his daughter was home and in view of CCTV, purchasing a new car a week after her death, and starting to date some months later.
"None of this would be admissible as evidence of post-offence conduct," Mr Eberhart said.
The court heard Mr Davidson's two daughters, who were both in court to support him, would offer a surety for his release if granted.
He also agreed to be subject to a curfew and would surrender his two passports.
The bail hearing will continue tomorrow and is expected to be opposed by prosecutors next week.