A gym owner faked her own death to claim a nearly $500,000 insurance payout as part of an elaborate scheme where she posed as her own partner.
Karen Salkilld, 42, was arrested in March after filing the insurance claim in her partner’s name, falsely saying she had died in a car accident in Broome.
The claim included a series of fabricated documents, such as a death certificate, a Coroner’s Court of Western Australia delegate letter, and an investigation record into a death, all of which were fake.
The insurance company then transferred $477,520.26 into a bank account that Ms Salkilld had set up in her partner’s name.
There is no suggestion her partner was involved in the crime.
The plot began to unravel when the fitness instructor’s bank flagged and subsequently froze the suspicious account.
In a desperate bid to access the funds, Ms Salkilld visited Palmyra Police Station with several forms of ID that had been certified by an officer in an unsuccessful attempt to unfreeze the account.
Approached by Nine News in a car park in Perth, she was asked: “Why did you fake your own death?”
Startled, she then replied: “What the hell? Who are you guys? I’m not talking to you guys.”
The reporter went on: “How did you think you could get away with it? You’re charged with serious fraud offenses.”
Ms Salkilld then responded, “Is this a joke?”.
The former East Fremantle Sharks assistant coach and mother-of-two had been charged with gains benefit by fraud and intent to defraud knowingly using any record which is false and could face up to seven years in jail.
She pleaded guilty and her sentencing in the District Court is scheduled for next month.
It’s believed she runs an F45 gym in Perth.
