Almost Perfect: The True Story of the Brutal, Unsolved Crawford Murders

by Greg Fogarty

On July 2, 1970, tourists in Australia spotted a smashed car, teetering precariously on a cliff edge, overlooking the raging ocean below. It seemed the car would fall into the water at any moment, but the car lingered … as did a mystery, revealed when police traced the license plate to the Crawford household. Here, the police discovered the shocking truth: a mother and her three children had been murdered, with the husband and father—now missing—the main suspect.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Annie Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few typos but not enough to make me stop reading. This book about this little known Australian crime is an absolute page - turner. I read the whole book in a day (admittedly it's a thin volume but still). If you're into true crime and real mysteries this is a great read.

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my! If you like true stories...this is a great read...although gruesome in parts...it is a very sad story but very interesting and even more so if you live in Melbourne and know a little of the area.

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tragic and baffling case of the murder of a woman and her 3 children and the disappearance of the husband and father accused of killing his entire family.

[Ali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not particularly well-written but I can appreciate why it exists, considering this is an unsolved crime. Poor editing (lack of editing?) was my biggest issue with it.

[Anne Driscoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book needed to be written, for posterity, because the finer details of this once notorious crime aren't publicly recorded elsewhere. Has there ever been another Australian case of a father murdering his family (3 children + wife) in a Machiavellian fashion and absconding for 45 years? That the crime isn't well-known today is somewhat of a travesty, and it seems ridiculous that murderer Elmer Crawford wasn't and may never be found. Although the author (once a policeman, and who'd been a child living in the same street where and time at which the crime occurred) barely criticises the police, there doesn't seem to have been any substantial attempt by them to locate Elmer by reaching out to the public over time. We don't learn what happens to Elmer's assets once he vanishes and what role these played in tracking him (his home, blocks of land, bank accounts and the like), and many details and photographs of the investigation are unfortunately withheld, not just from the reader but from the author, due to a lack of cooperation from police and family involved. There is some unwanted repetition on account of limited source material, although without which this book might seem too short. The author is skilful in not making this too gratuitous and overall it isn't laborious to read. Characterisations of the personalities (likely requiring extensive hours of research), particularly Elmer, are excellent and in my opinion the most satisfying aspect of the book, possibly apt to be extended in a future edition. This is the second edition, and it there is a third it behooves the police to cooperate and be forthcoming – it's the greatest publicity this case has had in many decades. The author has likely investigated and furthered the cause of this case more than Victoria Police and for that this is an exemplary book in a Victorian/Australian context.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Victorian Police have just offered $100,000 reward for information leading to this guy’s arrest. Given that the guy murdered his family in 1970 it might be a little late.

This is not the best written true crime book, but the story really is remarkable. A man electrocutes and bashes in the heads of his family – wife and kids – and then drives them off a cliff in the family car. Unfortunately, the car doesn’t fall into the water, but lands on a ledge just above the waves.

When the police bring the car up again they obviously are expecting to find dead people, but not quite in this state. And he got away with it. It might be a little late now, but it would be good if they did catch him – I’m not sure $100,000 is going to be enough.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband was featured on Ch 23 so I am a bit biased with my rating. He is not, however, in the 2011 third edition. Mr. Fogarty, why is John's story not in the book? Just wondering as his story and what he saw is pivotal. I am just re-reading the newest one now so can't fully comment as I only just started it. But I can comment on the older editions. Well told account of the grisly murders. I visited Loch Ard Gorge for the first time in Jan. I am originally from the US so I only knew of this story from my husband. His family moved into the house when he was 5. I visited the grave of Teresa and her kids as I live opposite the cemetery. Very sad.

[claud. · Rating 2 out of 5]

TOTAL READING TIME: 2 hours.

A super quick read for a true crime book. I will say the author's writing style was very matter-of-fact and information-focused, which I appreciated at times, but overall it was very plain and a lot of the time read like a high school student's essay or report--it could definitely have used a lot more editing.

The Crawford Family Murders were definitely disturbing, especially considering they occurred 20 minutes from where I live.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent effort, but rather difficult to read as there are several children brutally murdered. Good descriptions of Australia's Melbourne and Loch Ard Gorge areas, though ultimately unsatisfying because (spoiler alert) the obvious killer was never brought to justice.

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read about a perfect crime in the Truman Capotean sense -- we know who did it and we can't prosecute. The author fits a great deal of information into a very small space. This book badly needed a final edit before hitting the stands but it is well worth your time.

[sandra terrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good book

A very informative true crime book, very well written. The victims lives revisited and described .A very good book, good job Greg..

[Maribeth Voss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Succinct. "Fatal Vision" goes to Australia, except this guy got away with it.