A Melbourne family is calling for an inquest into their daughter's death after a series of alleged bungles by Victoria police have left them unsure if she died by suicide or met with foul play. 31-year-old Caitlin Wainrib was found dead in her home in Melbourne's south-east in february 2020. Police decided that day that she'd taken her own life, but some strange events haven't been explained – including why insulin was in her system.
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00:00I think my mum bought her that dress.
00:05Glen and Caroline Wainrib treasure the childhood memories they have of daughter Caitlin, here
00:09with her younger brother.
00:11As an adult, she had a successful career as an oral health therapist, got married and
00:16started her own mobile dental business.
00:19She had this bright, bubbly personality.
00:21She was a really high achiever.
00:23But in the months before she died in February 2020, she was struggling to cope.
00:29Her marriage had broken up, her married lover wanted to end their relationship and her business
00:34was in debt.
00:35The night before her body was found, she was sending increasingly erratic texts to her
00:40lover saying she'd get him money she owed him.
00:43She made a $2,000 cash withdrawal from a Chelsea ATM.
00:48Then strange texts were sent to him, suggesting someone else had her phone.
00:54Do you have an emergency contact for the owner of this phone?
00:56You're the last person she texts.
00:58No worries, mate.
01:00It was the last anyone heard from Caitlin.
01:02The following night, her father found her dead in her home with a bag on her head.
01:07Our whole world fell apart.
01:09In a blink of an eye, our whole world fell apart.
01:13That night, uniformed police told the family they believed it was a suicide because Caitlin
01:18was at a low point and had vials of a sedative drug near her body.
01:22But later toxicological testing found none of that drug in her system.
01:27A concoction of others were, however, including insulin, despite Caitlin not being a diabetic,
01:33and chloroform, which is rarely used in suicides or murders.
01:38A key kept under Caitlin's mat was missing when she died and hasn't been recovered,
01:43and the $2,000 was never found.
01:46Despite the unanswered questions, Caitlin's family alleged police still maintained it
01:51was a suicide, focusing on the drug found beside her body, but not explaining how the
01:56drugs in her system came to be there.
01:59Fingerprints of the bag on Caitlin's head were only taken many months after her death
02:04and only at her family's urging.
02:06None were found, not even her own, and no other evidence was tested.
02:12Police explained the text from her phone as a last-ditch effort by her to get her lover
02:16to see her.
02:18At the very least the investigation was, in our view, slapshot because there was key bits
02:24of evidence that we presented to them that they never investigated because they'd already
02:28made up their mind.
02:29That's really upsetting.
02:30Like it's, this is our, this is my sister, this is my parents' daughter, this has affected
02:33our lives to no end.
02:36It appears the coroner also had questions, referring the case to the Homicide Squad in
02:412022.
02:43But last month those detectives also told Caitlin's family they believe it to be suicide.
02:48They've given a report to the coroner, who's now deciding whether to hold an inquest, an
02:53outcome the Wainribs are praying for.
02:56There's so many questions there that to not have, to not hold an inquest I think would
03:01be terrible for us as a family.
03:03It belittles the importance of our daughter's life.
03:07Victoria Police said it could not comment on the case while it was before the coroner.
03:12For more information visit www.fema.gov