EXCLUSIVE
An award-winning Aboriginal artist has been charged with eight counts of fraud after allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from a dead man’s bank accounts – as police investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death.
Mirree Louise Bayliss, 46, was arrested in Orange, in NSW’s Central Tablelands, on October 9 after police allegedly uncovered the theft while investigating the disappearance of Robert ‘Bobby’ Randall, 65.
Mr Randall, who lived near Bayliss, was reported missing on October 1 after relatives became concerned that he had not contacted family members in almost two months.
Police launched an investigation, with detectives calling for anyone with information to come forward while they probed whether Mr Randall’s banking and other online accounts had been active since he last spoke to loved ones on August 9.
During the checks, police allegedly discovered Bayliss had used Mr Randall’s cards to access cash from an ATM machine near his home – once on September 24 and again on October 8.
Detectives went to a home on Bluebell Way, in North Orange, on Wednesday October 9 – the day after the alleged second incident – to speak to Bayliss, where she allegedly told officers he had died in hospital on August 17.
Mirree Bayliss, 46, has been charged with eight counts of alleged fraud
Robert ‘Bobby’ Randall (pictured), 65, was reported missing on October 1
Bayliss was arrested at a home on Bluebell Way on Wednesday October 9
Daily Mail Australia understands Bayliss allegedly took Mr Randall to hospital on August 16 and when he died from suspected natural causes the following day, health authorities failed to notify police or his next of kin.
Bayliss then allegedly used his cards in the months after his death to withdraw several thousand dollars from ATMs.
However, in a statement on Friday, police said a crime scene was established at the Bluebell Way home on Wednesday and inquiries into Mr Randall’s death are ‘ongoing’.
After being arrested, Bayliss was taken to Orange Police Station and charged with three counts of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception and granted conditional bail.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal she has been hit with an additional five counts since Friday.
Under her bail conditions, Bayliss must not access or attempt to access any of Mr Randall’s bank accounts, financial records, or personal records from any private or government agencies, such as Roads and Maritime Services, Centrelink or Medicare.
She must also notify authorities of any change to her address.
Bayliss has a large following online, where she spruiks her artworks and products
She is pictured holding up one of her colouring books
Bayliss, who has more than 37,000 followers online, is an ‘entrepreneur, award-winning artist and author’ who has featured in many industry magazines and articles.
Born in Dubbo to a European mother and Indigenous father, Bayliss is a member of the Wiradjuri people and is a registered member of the Indigenous Art Code, the national organisation responsible for maintaining fair and ethical trade of artworks.
She won the Best Contemporary Artist of the Year award in 2022 and the Innovation and Excellence Award in 2023 and sells her artworks online through her business, Dreams of Creation Australia.
Following her win in 2022, the Australian Enterprise Awards described Bayliss as a ‘celebrated indigenous artist and outspoken activist’.
‘This solo artist’s career was inspired during her youth as she started looking into new ways to heal the social issues brought on by increased strife in her community,’ her bio in the awards magazine reads.
‘Mirree saw people close to her pulled in by the abuse of illicit or mind altering substances, or suffering from suicidal ideation.
‘Thus, she dedicated herself to becoming a positive public role model for her community.’
Bayliss is due to appear in Orange Local Court on October 31.
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