Woman sentenced to 3 years in prison for faking own death to avoid theft charges

Tuesday, November 11, 2025 - A woman who faked her de@th thought she had got away with it but has now been sentenced to three years in prison. 

Amy McAuley, 35, faked her own de@th to avoid criminal charges. 

She was due to stand trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in January 2023 on charges of theft and attempted deception, after using altered documents to secure a €10,000 (£8,800) loan from KBC Bank in 2018 and later attempting, unsuccessfully, to obtain a second €5,000 (£4,402) loan. 

The fake de@th notice appeared on RIP.ie on Wednesday, January 4, almost a week after her supposed funeral date. 

“26th December 2022. Peacefully; sadly, missed by her loving parents, sister, brothers, son, nieces, nephews, extended family, neighbours and friends. Gone but never forgotten,” the notice read. 

It stated that McAuley would repose at a funeral home in Shankill between 2pm and 4pm, though it did not specify the day. It also said her funeral would take place on December 29 at St. Mary’s Church in Lucan, followed by cremation at Mount Jerome Crematorium. "Family flowers only please. Donations, if desired, to St. Vincent de Paul," the notice concluded. 

McAuley’s trial was postponed after she contacted gardaí pretending to be her sister and claimed she had di£d, the Sunday World reported. She then submitted false de@th notification forms to Wexford County Council, leading to the issuance of two death certificates under both the English and Irish spellings of her name. 

An investigation was launched in mid-2023 when gardaí discovered she was still alive. 

The court heard that gardai became aware that McAuley was due to attend a wedding in Enniscorthy in June 2023, and identified her from CCTV footage at the venue. 

They found three separate de@th notices for her on RIP.ie, one claiming she had di£d in France and another posted by McAuley herself using a fake undertaker’s identity. 

During questioning, McAuley told investigators she could not face going to court and did not want to leave her young child. 

It later emerged that she had also told her employer she had di£d, prompting a pending claim for the company’s de@th-in-service benefit. Again, posing as her sister, McAuley contacted the company and claimed the funds were needed to pay for surgery for her child. The company subsequently made a goodwill payment of €9,000 (£7,924). 

Last week, the mother-of-one was sentenced to three years in prison. 

McAuley pleaded guilty to one count of using a false instrument by submitting a false de@th notification form to Wexford County Council on January 19th, 2023. She also admitted to attempting to pervert the course of justice on January 23, 2023, and to forging a medical report on November 23, 2022, all at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. 

She further pleaded guilty to a second count of using a false instrument (a medical certificate) at Pearse Street Garda Station on May 28, 2021, and to attempted deception in 2018. Additional guilty pleas were entered for five counts of theft and one count of possession of the proceeds of crime between November 2015 and May 2023. 

McAuley has four prior convictions for theft and deception. In November 2015, she received a two-year sentence, suspended for ten years, for stealing just under €111,000 (£98,871)from a former employer. She repaid €30,000 on the day of sentencing, but the remainder remains outstanding. She also stole more than €55,000 from another employer in 2015 - €6,500 of which was repaid - and over €3,000 worth of mobile phones from Three Ireland in 2021. 

In imposing sentence, Judge Orla Crowe said the offending was “not opportunistic or spontaneous” but rather “a deliberately planned deception” involving serious breaches of trust. The judge described McAuley’s behaviour as being at “the boundaries of what could almost be deemed acceptable behaviour” and said faking her de@th to avoid trial was “a deliberate scheme to pervert the course of justice.” 

Judge Crowe noted that the offences occurred over a “protracted period of time,” were intentional, and required “substantial planning.” The sums of money involved and McAuley’s prior convictions were considered aggravating factors. The court heard that most of the stolen funds have not been repaid. Mitigating factors included McAuley’s guilty pleas, expressions of remorse, family support, and medical and mental health difficulties. 

Judge Crowe imposed a total sentence of four years, suspending the final 12 months on strict conditions for four years. 

McAuley was ordered to remain under Probation Service supervision for 12 months following her release. The judge also directed that all of McAuley’s medical reports be made available to the prison governor.