Scots soldier accused of murdering wife during kayak trip granted bail

A former Scottish army major accused of killing his wife during a kayaking trip in Australia has been granted bail.

Graeme Davidson was arrested and charged in May with the murder of his wife, Jacqueline, who drowned at Lake Samsonvale in Queensland in November 2020.

He launched a bail application claiming they weren’t wearing life jackets because rats had eaten them.

The 56-year-old is further accused of fraud offences over claims on his wife’s life insurance policies worth more than $1 million following what police originally determined to be an accidental death.

Davidson applied for bail at the Supreme Court in Brisbane last week, and this was granted during a hearing on Thursday.

Lake death

During a previous hearing, defence barrister Craig Eberhardt said it’s a “very circumstantial case that he might have killed her… not that he did”.

The couple were kayaking on the lake when police were told the woman had fallen into the water and drowned.

She was brought back to shore, where bystanders and paramedics attempted to revive her by performing CPR.

Jacqueline was pronounced dead at the scene, and it was ruled there was no evidence of substantial bruising or of a medical episode.

Police allege Davidson’s motive was linked to his attempts to collect life insurance claims following his wife’s death.

Court documents now reveal that he claimed a $264,000 life insurance payout just 18 days after Jacqueline’s death.

Davidson was seen burning documents in his back garden following his wife’s death.

At a hearing on Wednesday, the Brisbane Supreme Court heard Davidson had texted a friend while living in Thailand, where he had moved and remarried after his wife drowned.

The Crown has a witness statement recalling a conversation about three-and-a-half years prior to the alleged murder, about a man whose wife left him, moving to Thailand and taking part of his pension.

Davidson allegedly commented: “I’d kill her and move to Thailand too.”

A comment which is “not that sinister” in context, his lawyer argued, but rather unreliable hearsay.

Detectives believe that a breakdown in the couple’s relationship may have contributed to the incident.

The court previously heard Davidson had an affair in 2019, and Ms Davidson had confided in a friend about wanting to separate from him.