A 42-year-old Perth woman who faked her death in a car accident to claim a $718,000 life insurance payout is due to be sentenced next month.
Karen Salkilld filed a claim with a life insurance company on February 7, pretending to be her partner.
The claim stated that she had died in a car crash in Broome in December.
When confronted by 9News in a Perth car park today, Salkilld declined to answer any questions.
“Who the hell are you guys?” she said.
“I’m not talking to you guys.”
The 42-year-old provided a falsified death certificate, a Coroner’s Court of WA delegate letter and a record of investigation into the death.
A week later, the insurance company paid the total claim of $718,923 into a bank account opened by Salkilld in her partner’s name.
Over the following two days, the fitness instructor made several payments from the account.
Due to their nature, the bank flagged and froze the account.
Trying to unfreeze the account, she went to Palmyra police station with several forms of ID, which were certified by an officer.
These copies were then altered before being submitted to the bank.
They didn’t pass the bank’s verification process.
The mother-of-two appeared to still be continuing her normal life, meeting up with friends and taking F45 classes at her Applecross business.
“Is this a joke?” she said, when questioned about her case.
Salkilld, who also played footy for the East Fremantle Sharks and is an assistant coach at the club, was arrested in March and pleaded guilty to the two offences in her first appearance in front of a magistrate.
Salkilld faces up to seven years in jail for offences of gains benefit by fraud and intent to defraud knowingly uses any record which is false.
She is due to be sentenced in Perth District court next month.