A Melbourne man who wrote a will before taking his elderly and disabled mother onto Port Phillip Bay in a boat to rid her of "bad magic" contributed to her death, a coroner has found.
Adrian Meneveau, 56, and his mother Felicity Loveday, 83, set off from Oliver's Hill Boat Ramp in Frankston in December 2019.
Several days later, the empty boat was found drifting vertically in the bay.
The pair had embarked on the trip on the spiritual belief that salt water could dispel the "bad magic".
Two life jackets were later found which matched the ones they were wearing in a photo taken immediately before they embarked on their three-day trip, but search and rescue teams were unable to recover their bodies.
A coronial inquest today found that the Frankston pair most likely died sometime in the three days after they set sail and that Mr Meneveau's actions had been a factor in his mother's death.
"I find that by taking his 83-year-old mother out on Port Phillip Bay in a vessel not suited to this purpose ... Adrian Christina Victor Meneveau's conduct contributed to his mother, Felicity Ruth Loveday's, disappearance and death," Coroner Audrey Jamieson said.
"Felicity Ruth Loveday was rendered vulnerable and helpless by her disability and dementia."
Coroner Jamieson said that there was not enough evidence to conclude that Mr Meneveau had "intentionally" killed himself or his mother, but said it could not be excluded because the life jackets were later found in the wreckage.
"The evidence indicates that Felicity Ruth Loveday may not have been able to remove her own personal flotation device because of her physical limitations due to her ill health and mental health concerns," she said.
She said it was "noteworthy" that Mr Meneveau had put his personal affairs in order.
"This included drafting a document which purported to be a will, making advance payment on his rent and disclosing his bank credentials and passwords to his sister," she said.
Children believed mother incited 'bad magic'
On December 11, 2019, the pair set sail on what was meant to be a three-day voyage.
Christina Meneveau took a photo of her brother and mother in their boat as she waved them off.
Days later, she raised the alarm when she was unable to get in touch with them.
She told the coroner that Mr Meneveau had been caring for their mother for about seven years and that she was suffering from dementia.
"By Christina's account, her mother had incited bad magic by her practice of meditation and her brother had taken it upon himself to reverse this bad magic as their mother was now unable to do it herself due to her declining health," Coroner Jamieson said.
Coroner Jamieson told the inquest that since they vanished, there had been no sightings of the pair.
She said Mr Meneveau had a history of poor mental health including depression, anxiety and psychosis.
