A musician whose naked body was found in a dam may have been ‘walking around’ suffering a mental illness when she entered the water, an inquest has heard.
Cecilia Devine, 42, was found dead at the Upper Cascade Creek dam in Sydney’s Blue Mountains on March 18, 2019.
She was not seen for six months before her body was found, with chilling CCTV footage showing her wandering around Katooomba on September 6, 2018.
Cecilia Devine, 42, was found dead at the Upper Cascade Creek dam in Sydney’s Blue Mountains on March 18, 2019
Detective Sergeant James Allan, who led the investigation into Ms Devine’s death, told the inquest in Sydney on Friday that the most likely theory is that her death was the result of a misadventure.
Ms Devine, who had bipolar disorder, was known to go on ‘walkabouts’ where she lost her belongings. 9 News reported.
On the last day she was seen alive, she had wandered for 17 hours without shoes on.
The inquest found that she was sometimes on the road for up to 24 hours before going to hospital or calling an ambulance.
Detective Sergeant Allan told the inquest that her cause of death was unlikely to be suicide but that murder could not be discounted.
The police have no suspects in the murder.
She was not seen for six months before her body was found, with chilling CCTV footage showing her wandering around Katooomba on September 6, 2018.
When asked why Ms Devine was found naked, the officer told the inquest she may have taken off her clothes due to the effects of hypothermia.
The musician was reported missing in Waratah, a suburb of Newcastle, on September 5, 2018.
A murder investigation was launched in May 2019.