A woman who was stabbed to death ran a lucrative online sale in the weeks before her death, selling everything from her own hair to “old” artifacts and war memorabilia she found on the street.
Erin Gilbert, 42, was found by her husband Nic in a pool of her own blood in the living room of her rental home in Merrylands, Sydney’s Western Suburbs, around 11:30 p.m. on Easter Sunday.
Mr Gilbert, 38, tried to save her life by performing CPR but she was dead when paramedics arrived.
He was questioned by police on Monday but was released without charge. It is clear that there are cameras confirming his alibi.
Police remain baffled by her mysterious death and have appealed to the public to help find her killer.
Ms. Gilbert previously worked in aged care and as a nurse before she started answering phones for a sales company.
However, Daily Mail Australia can reveal that she had a side hustle selling a range of unique goods on the Facebook marketplace for thousands of dollars.
Erin Gilbert and her husband Nic (pictured) got married in 2020. He tried to save her life on Sunday
Mrs. Gilbert and her husband found war memorabilia on the nature strip near their home and sold it for $1500 on Facebook
In January, three months before she died, Ms. Gilbert and her husband salvaged a pile of World War I medals and certificates from a wildlife strip while cleaning up the community and successfully sold them on social media for $1,500.
Dating back to 1914, the memorabilia belonged to a veteran named James Sadler, who quit his job as a laborer at the age of 22 to join the army.
“Me and my husband never met Mr. Sadler in person, but when my husband found this one, he was [SIC] discussed to see his memory thrown away during a municipal cleanup,” she wrote in the Facebook sale ad.
“The more we learned about this man, the more we wanted to know and we wanted to make sure that the memory of this true Aussie fighter wouldn’t be forgotten… guys like this can’t be forgotten.”
Ms. Gilbert also sold a clay vase for $300—with a $700 discount—which she claimed was “Berber antique ancient pottery” that used to belong to an “ancient African tribe.”
Berber is a style of ceramics from Morocco.
‘Antique jug is painted by hand. It is from an ancient African tribe. Happy to negotiate,” she wrote on the offer.
Ms. Gilbert also took a picture of her hair (pictured) and offered her services as a model for aspiring hairdressers
Pictured left: An ‘old’ Berber vase, as advertised by Mrs. Gilbert. Right: A cosplay-style mask Ms. Gilbert tried to sell for $100
Ms. Gilbert, on behalf of a friend, also sold an e-bike for $3500, a cosplay-style mask for $100, two car headrests for $150, and a 1940s “Korean mother-of-pearl cabinet” for $600—discounted $1000 – despite his two broken legs.
About two weeks before she died, she sold an Apple watch for $300, and tried to sell a vintage Holden repair catalog for $500.
In another advertisement, she took a picture of her hair and offered to model for aspiring hairdressers in the Paramatta region.
Hello dear hairdressers. I’m free to be someone’s hair model. Every day of the week. In the Parramatta area. Hit me up if you need my help,” she wrote.
In the hours after she died, Mr. Gilbert updated his Facebook bio to say, “I was broken and then I found my best, my other half.
“Without you bub… I love you.”
An earlier post from May 2019, dedicated to Ms. Gilbert and their cat Bonnie, hinted at someone ‘trying to come between them’.
“They are my world and without them I would be lost,” wrote Mr. Gilbert.
“To the horrible fake lonely person who keeps trying to get between us, well I suppose you remind us that we are so deeply in love that no matter what games you try to play or how good you are at them you won’t come between us.
Ms. Gilbert also sold an e-bike for $3500 on behalf of a friend (pictured)
About two weeks before she died, Ms. Gilbert successfully sold an Apple watch for $300
“And the day you do, I promise you there will be no God to protect you from me!”
Mr. Gilbert spoke fondly of his future wife that same year, saying, “I fell in love because after getting to know you I realized I wanted to make you a permanent part of my world.”
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that Mr. Gilbert or the unknown ‘lone person’ is responsible for Ms. Gilbert’s death.
Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert were both known to the police for “small business.”
Detectives have launched Strike Force Trevelyan to get to the bottom of what happened in Ms Gilbert’s final hours at her home on Sunday night.
“We definitely think something happened on Sunday night … when the police arrived, she hadn’t long died,” Cumberland Police Superintendent Andrew Holland told reporters on Tuesday.
“Erin was home that night in her apartment building…we know neighbors heard her in the apartment building, she spoke that night.
Ms. Gilbert’s body was discovered face down in a pool of blood in a unit block (forensic police pictured)
“We’re just concerned that someone else has been on the block with her.”
“We need to know what happened, who was there.”
A crime scene was identified and extensively investigated by specialist forensic police, who were still swarming the crime scene on Wednesday morning.
Forensic officers swarmed the block of Newman Street and were seen taking swabs from the balcony railing and into the doorway.
A circular rainbow rug hung over the railing, while the balcony was littered with other items, including a telescope, a wooden jewelry box, and a number of plastic containers.
Officers were also seen closely inspecting the open entrance beneath the apartment, one of them holding a blood-soaked sock.
It is clear that sheets and a comforter in the house were also stained with blood.
Police have urged anyone with information about Ms. Gilbert’s death to call Crime Stoppers.