Inquest into the disappearance and suspected death of Margery Joyce TAYLOR
Deceased
Margery Joyce Taylor
Demographics
50y, female
Date of death
1978-09-07
Finding date
2015-02-20
Cause of death
Unascertained (likely swept away by flood waters)
AI-generated summary
Margery Joyce Taylor, a 50-year-old woman, disappeared on 7 September 1978 near Warren, NSW, and was presumed dead. She had a 25-year history of mental illness (bipolar disorder, depression, depressive psychosis) and domestic violence. After her discharge from hospital in July 1978, she allegedly discontinued psychotropic medication. On the evening of her disappearance, she attended Catholic mass, acted strangely, and left claiming she had an appointment. The Macquarie River was in severe flood at the time. Despite local searches and prolonged police investigations (reactivated in 2014), no trace was found. The coroner determined death occurred on or about 7 September 1978 near Warren, but found cause and manner unascertained—likely swept away by flood waters or possibly deliberate self-harm due to mental illness, but insufficient evidence for either finding. No recommendations were made.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Clinical conditions
Contributing factors
- Mental illness (bipolar disorder, depression, depressive psychosis)
- Discontinuation of psychotropic medication
- Macquarie River in severe flood with fast-flowing water and debris
- Unusual behaviour prior to disappearance (singing, claiming she was going to heaven)
- No follow-up of meeting with 'friend' after church
- 36-year delay in police investigation (not reported to coroner until 2014)
- History of severe domestic violence and marital separation
Full text
Related cases
Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
Content may be incomplete, reformatted, or summarised. All court orders for redaction and non-publication are respected; documents with technically defective redaction have been excluded from the database entirely. Always refer to the original court publication for the authoritative record.
Copyright in original materials remains with the relevant government jurisdiction. AI-generated summaries and tagging are for educational purposes only, may contain inaccuracies, and must not be treated as legal documents. We welcome feedback for correction —