'She didn't like being second best': Suicide victim was catfished by her jealous ex-girlfriend who pretended to be a boy so she could secretly maintain an intimate relationship
- Renae Marsden, 20, took her own life after her fake relationship ended in 2013
- Ms Marsden was seen crying after breaking up with her partner 'Brayden Spiteri'
- But her ex-girlfriend Camila Zeidan had pretended to be Brayden for years
- Ms Zeidan created the persona to keep an intimate relationship with Ms Marsden
- The coroner said Ms Zeidan 'did not like coming second best' to anyone else
- If you or anyone you know need help call Lifeline on 13 11 14
A suicide victim was catfished by her ex-girlfriend who pretended to be a man for years to secretly maintain an intimate relationship.
Sydney woman Renae Marsden, 20, took her own life in Watsons Bay in August 2013 after her relationship with a fake man named 'Brayden Spiteri' broke down.
Her best friend and ex-girlfriend from high school Camila Zeidan, 27, was actually pretending to be 'Brayden' from 2011 to 2013, a Sydney coroner said on Wednesday.
Coroner Elaine Truscott said in her findings that Ms Zeidan created the character of 'Brayden' so she could maintain an intimate relationship with Ms Marsden.
'Renae did not want to be in a relationship with Camila Zeidan,' Ms Truscott said.
'Camila was unable to tolerate Renae being in an intense relationship ... and had complained to Renae she didn't like being second best.'
Ms Marsden was seen sobbing the day of her death after her relationship breakdown with Brayden, who she had intended to marry.
Renae Marsden, 20 (left) died by suicide at The Gap in Sydney's east on August 5, 2013 after her best friend Camila Zeidan (right) 'catfished' her
These are pictures of the man Renae believed was Brayden. But they depict another person who had no idea of how his photos were being used
Ms Marsden and 'Brayden' engaged in phone sex at times with the young woman complaining when she sent intimate pictures and videos they weren't reciprocated.
Her attachment to Brayden led her to break off her engagement to another man in early 2013 when her fiance gave her an ultimatum.
Besides a text Ms Marsden showed a co-worker, the communications between Ms Marsden and Brayden on the day she died remained unknown to all but Ms Zeidan, the coroner said.
The content of texts Ms Marsden sent and received on a second phone she used to communicate with Brayden between March and June 2013 was finally uncovered in 2019 due to advances in technology.
'(The communication) reveals the nature and progress of the relationship and contradicts Camila Zeidan's claim that Renae knew Brayden was not a real person,' Ms Truscott said.
Ms Zeidan told the inquest Ms Marsden was in on the rouse because their families would not approve of their lesbian relationship.
But Ms Truscott said there was no evidence the women were intimately involved at the time.
Ms Zeidan leaves the NSW State Coroner's Court after the Renae Marsden Inquest in February. Coroner Elaine Truscott said on Wednesday that Ms Zeidan was 'unable to tolerate Renae being in an intense relationship' with anyone else
Zeidan (left, in green) created the character of Brayden so she could maintain an intimate relationship with Ms Marsden (left and white, and right)
Tragic: Renae Marsden is pictured right with her mother Teresa left - who received a heartbreaking final text
The evidence instead demonstrated the catfishing allowed Ms Zeidan to free herself of the jealously she felt whenever Ms Marsden was in a relationship with a man.
'Catfishing' - the practice of creating fictional online love personas - is not a criminal offence in New South Wales.
The Marsden family has campaigned for law reform to specifically address catfishing.
This is the heartbreaking final text message Renae Marsden sent her mother, Teresa, after she was allegedly deceived for years by 'catfish' Camila Zeidan
Ms Truscott said it was unclear whether catfishing like that which Renae experienced would be covered by current laws against using mobile networks to menace, harass or offend.
The coroner's findings continue.
Ms Marsden is believed to have taken her own life at The Gap, in Sydney's east, on August 5, 2013 but her body was never discovered.
She was seen for the last time alive, on CCTV footage at The Gap, 13 minutes after mobile phone tower data showed she received a text from Brayden.
She exchanged several texts with 'Brayden' and Camila, but police have been unable to obtain the contents of them.
Renae chucked her phone over the cliff before she died, and Camila and Brayden's messages from that day could not be recovered by police.
Moments before Ms Marsden took her own life, she sent her mother Teresa a heartbreaking text.
'I'm sorry for everything and the pain I will now cause you,' Ms Marsden said.
'When you need to talk to me just call my name and I'll be there.'
This is the collage of Brayden Spiteri which Renae Marsden carried around with her
Tradesman Cameron Lang revealed in February that he is the man in the photo used to catfish Ms Marsden - and he had no idea his face was used in the scandal until he saw it on the news
The photos of 'Brayden' were actually of a tradesman named Cameron Lang, who had no idea his face was used in the scandal until he saw it on the news.
'It's daunting ... [I'm] shocked in a way because I've now got an image put out there that's an image no one wants to be associated with,' he told A Current Affair in February.
Ms Zeidan told Ms Marsden that Brayden was her ex-boyfriend who was supposedly behind bars over a motorcycle accident in which his best friend had died.
To make her story more convincing, she showed Ms Marsden a photo of her with the man she said was Brayden.
While Ms Lang confirmed it was him in the photo, he has no memory of meeting Ms Zeidan.
'It is me in the photo, but I personally had nothing to do with any of the girls. Either of them. Just my face was used.'
'I don't remember ever meeting (Camila Zeidan) anywhere, at any point.'
He said the photo was likely taken at a bar or club during a night out many years ago.
If you or anyone you know need help call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
A picture of Zeidan (right) and Cameron Lang (left), who she said was her ex-boyfriend named 'Brayden' in a fake story told to Ms Marsden
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