Judge slams ‘greedy’ mum who faked her own death – and the grim inspiration behind the F45 gym owner’s $700,000 scam

A judge has slammed a ‘greedy’ F45 gym owner for faking her own death before revealing the grim inspiration behind her $700,000 scam. 

Perth District Court Judge Vicki Stewart said mother-of-two, Karen Maree Salkilld, had been ‘living beyond her means and was motivated by greed’ when she faked her death to claim insurance. 

Judge Stewart said that Salkilld had previously legally claimed $500,000 on the life insurance policy of her ex-partner and father of her two children ‘who took his life in 2018’ in Broome, Western Australia. 

‘You made a claim on his life insurance and you received a payment of about $500,000 on his death. I was told by the time your former partner died, you were in another relationship that… had just started.’

Salkilld used her new partner’s IDs in the insurance scam which ultimately saw her jailed for three years.

Salkilld’s new lover – Kelly Winter – was unaware that she used her passport, a West Australian driver’s licence and Medicare card, while pretending to be dead. 

Judge Stewart said after receiving the $500,000 payout after the death of her ex-partner, Salkilld invested the money in a farm and two F45 gyms.

But the 43-year-old fell into financial difficulty when the sale of the farm, which she had owned with her mother and late father, fell through while she was in the process of buying her second F45 franchise.

Salkilld’s (right)  fraud scheme involved pretending to be her then-partner Kelly Winter (left) to claim a massive life insurance payout of £364,878 ($718,923AUD) earlier this year

In February this year, Salkilld posed as Ms Winter to tell her life insurance company, TAL Life Limited, that she had died in a car accident in Broome the previous December.

Salkilld submitted a claim with a fake death certificate, a falsified Western Australia Coroner’s Court letter and a mocked up record of investigation into the death.

The hoax was initially successful and a week after the fake claim, on February 14, the insurance company paid out $718,923 into a MyState Bank Tasmania bank account opened by Salkilld in Ms Winter’s name.

But the fraud unravelled when Salkilld began making large withdrawals from the account. 

Between February 15 and 16, Salkilld paid $169,767 to creditors as well as to her personal transaction account. 

Due to the volume and type of transactions, MyState Bank became suspicious, flagged the payments, froze the account and called police.

When police asked ‘Kelly Winter’ to report to Palmyra Police Station, Salkilld used the falsified ID documents with her photo superimposed over Ms Winter’s to prove her identity.

Karen Salkilld had two daughters with her ex-partner 

Judge Stewart said the F45 gym owner lived beyond her means and  was motivated by greed in conning the insurance company out of a massive payout for her own ‘death’

Salkilld was taken into custody on August 28, and is likely to be behind bars at Bandyup Women’s Prison in northeastern Perth

Police turned Salkilld away, but she became increasingly ‘desperate’ for money.

She returned again for a third time three days later ‘again purporting to be Winter’ and insisting a police officer call MyState Bank for her. 

Police arrested Salkilld on March 8, and charged her with gaining benefit by fraud and intent to defraud by knowingly using a false record. After pleading guilty, she was allowed to remain free on bail.

Salkilld continue to go about her business, running her F45 gyms, shopping and returning home to the $1million Perth rental she shared with her daughters.

Salkilld was taken into custody on August 28, and is likely to be behind bars at Bandyup Women’s Prison in northeastern Perth, which accommodates female inmates with complex needs.

Judge Stewart ordered her to pay restitution of of $101,771.11 to TAL Life Limited.

‘This money comes from a pool,’ the judge said. 

‘Insurance premiums go up for everybody, and in that sense, it really is an offence against the community.’

Salkilld’s earliest release date will be in February 2026.