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Home / World

'I'll hunt you down': Emails from alleged catfish read in court

By Sarah McPhee
news.com.au·
12 Feb, 2020 04:07 AM6 mins to read

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Renae Marsden and Camila Zeidan were in a relationship when they were at school, before Camila allegedly catfished her former flame. Photo / Supplied

Renae Marsden and Camila Zeidan were in a relationship when they were at school, before Camila allegedly catfished her former flame. Photo / Supplied

WARNING: Graphic language

An alleged catfish in love with her former friend, who took her own life, sent her an email years earlier telling her if she ever left their relationship: "I'll hunt you down".

"Baby I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you. I'm going to eat you up in a second, baby," Camila Zeidan wrote to Renae Marsden when they were in year nine at Mount St Benedict girls' college in Sydney's northwest in 2008.

Ms Marsden, 20, died on August 5, 2013 at The Gap in the city's eastern suburbs.

The two girls were close friends at high school and at one stage had been in a relationship, which Ms Zeidan today said was sexual but told police in 2013 it was "nothing" of the sort.

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The email from Ms Zeidan was read aloud by counsel assisting the coroner, Sasha Harding, at an inquest held at the NSW Coroner's Court in Lidcombe this week into Renae's disappearance and death.

"I swear babe, anyone who ever takes you away from me is going to be sorry," it reads.

"I'll be a Kung-Fu panda and smash them, I swear to God kid.

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"You abuse me, I'll laugh.

"You kill me, I'll be your ghost.

"You hate me, I'll still love you.

"Run away, chase you.

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"You hide, I'll hunt you down.

"LMAO you've got no way to escape babe cause only I'm in love with you and only I'll own you and only I'll have you forever.

"You cheat, I'll make you and the f***er regret it. You think we aren't as close and drifting apart?

"I don't think you have any way out of this love. Sorry gorgeous, but baby you need to know I'm too in love with you and too obsessed with you. It's forever, trust me it is. Love you princess."

Renae Marsden took her own life after being victim of an alleged catfishing relationship in 2013. Photo / Supplied
Renae Marsden took her own life after being victim of an alleged catfishing relationship in 2013. Photo / Supplied

Ms Zeidan was asked in court today if she agreed she had described herself as "obsessive".

"It worked both ways of how we felt about each other," she told Ms Harding.

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"I don't think it was obsessive, like I cared about her and I loved her."

Ms Harding said: "At that time, you were obsessed with Renae?"

"Well yeah, I loved her, and that's what she felt back too," Ms Zeidan replied.

RENAE'S FAKE JAILHOUSE BOYFRIEND

At the time of her death, Ms Marsden had been planning a wedding to her boyfriend Brayden Spiteri, who told her he was serving time in Goulburn jail over a fatal motorcycle accident.

She had looked up wedding dresses, made appointments for a photo shoot and tattooed his name on her body. Despite never meeting, they exchanged more than 11,000 text messages and Renae made a collage of photographs of Brayden.

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But police found no proof he ever existed.

Ms Zeidan this week told the coroner he was a "character" the two women concocted so they could "be together" and "no one would find out".

"A few times before at school, she wasn't accepted to be around me in my life," she said.

She said on the day of Ms Marsden's death, she had messaged her as Camila and Brayden.

Ms Harding asked: "Is your evidence that you had a sexual relationship with Renae while she was communicating with 'Brayden'?"

"Correct," Ms Zeidan replied. Renae's mother, Teresa Marsden, put her hands over her face.

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Ms Harding asked: "Brayden does not exist?"

"That's correct," Ms Zeidan said.

'YOU'RE MY BABY'

Ms Zeidan sent another email to Ms Marsden in 2008.

In court today, Ms Harding suggested that it was in relation to two other girls at school saying "something she didn't like" about her relationship with Ms Zeidan.

"Little f***ing dropkick skanks," the email reads.

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"I f***ing hate them to death. I want them f***ing dead now, Renae.

"They're so f***ing big-headed ugly sh**s. I'm going to kill them both, I don't care. I'll snap their necks out of place … said you didn't love me.

"No one ever says s**t about me and my babies.

"I swear on my life what they did is a major mistake. You're my baby, no one is going to say that and take you away from me unless they kill me. I love you baby."

Ms Zeidan today told the court she couldn't remember "what it was about".

"I cared about Renae, of course, so when someone did speak about her, I did get upset," she said.

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The court also heard that Ms Zeidan made 54 calls, all missed, to Ms Marsden while she was with her boyfriend named Angus one night in September 2011.

"That's f***ed," Ms Marsden said in a Facebook message to Ms Zeidan.

"I'm sorry, that's possessive. If you can't see that, then there is something terribly wrong with you."

Renae Marsden's death is being investigated in an inquest this week. Photo / Facebook
Renae Marsden's death is being investigated in an inquest this week. Photo / Facebook

'I WAS GOING TO MOVE RENAE'

Ms Harding today also read a statement made by Renae's mother, who described seeing Ms Zeidan parked outside their house in 2009 when her daughter had started dating Angus.

"When the relationship started, I noticed that Renae (was being) harassed by Camila," the statement reads.

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"Camila would wait up the road from our house so that she could talk to Renae.

"The behaviour worried me to the point that I was going to move Renae up to my mother's house in Liverpool."

Ms Zeidan said she did have a BMW at the time, as identified by Mrs Marsden, but denied waiting outside the family home.

Ms Harding told her: "Angus also recalls you doing that."

In his statement, he said Ms Zeidan turned up at his girlfriend's house for approximately six weeks, at least twice a week, and would stay for about half an hour.

"I wanted to talk to her ... I wanted to tell her to stop harassing Renae," he wrote.

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Ms Harding asked Ms Zeidan: "You're saying that both those witnesses are untruthful in those statements?"

"Yes," Ms Zeidan replied.

"And you're being truthful?" Ms Harding asked.

"Yes," Ms Zeidan said.

She also denied ever following Ms Marsden around or cornering her when she was at a library with her mother in Castle Hill.

The inquest continues.

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• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: 0800 376 633
• Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)
• Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)
• Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7)
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
• CASPER Suicide Prevention
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

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