On the evening of Sunday, August 18th, 2002, thirty-seven-year-old Kathleen “Kath” Bergamin vanished from the home she shared with a friend on Brien Crescent in Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia. A mother of three who had recently separated from her husband and was rebuilding her life, Bergamin was last known to be relaxing at home watching the film Coyote Ugly, while her roommate, Sandie Riley, was at work. She has never been seen or heard from again. Her case was quickly treated as a suspected abduction and murder, and despite extensive investigations, a coronial inquest, rewards, and renewed appeals, it remains one of Victoria’s most haunting cold cases.
Kath Bergamin was a disability support worker, described as five feet nine inches tall with short fair hair and green eyes, weighing around 143 pounds. She had separated from her husband, John Bergamin, earlier in 2002 after years of a troubled marriage. In May 2002, she left the family farm on Upper King River Road in Cheshunt and moved to Wangaratta, seeking an intervention order against him. Her three children—Steven (the eldest), Renee, and Dylan—remained with their father.
On the night of her disappearance, Kath was alone in the rental house. She spoke on the phone with a close friend, Mandy Duke, around seven sixteen p.m. about catching up soon. That was the last confirmed contact. When Sandie Riley returned home after eleven p.m., she found signs that something was terribly wrong: the electric blanket was on, a towel and toothbrush were laid out as if Kath was preparing for a shower, her handbag was hidden under Riley’s comforter (a habit to keep it safe from her children), and a single red Nike gym sock lay abandoned in the hallway.
Kath was last seen wearing three-quarter length red Adidas gym pants with white stripes, a white “Tommy Girl” t-shirt with a red and blue logo, a red hooded windbreaker-style jacket, and red Nike gym socks. She left behind her phone, purse, and all personal belongings, and there was no activity on her bank accounts.
Police found highly suspicious items suggesting foul play. In the backyard near the garage, investigators discovered a long piece of silver Nitto brand duct tape woven into a figure-eight shape, consistent with makeshift ankle restraints. Inside the house, another piece of duct tape was stuck to a cushion on the living-room sofa. Forensic testing linked red fibers from the tape to those on Kath’s Nike socks. There were no signs of forced entry, leading police to believe she may have known her abductor or let them in.
A coronial inquest held in Wangaratta in 2007–2008 (with findings in 2008) concluded that Kath was forced to leave or was taken from her home between approximately seven twenty-six p.m. and eleven fifteen p.m. on August 18th, 2002. She was unlawfully killed at an unknown time and place afterward, and her remains were secretly disposed of. Her body has never been found despite extensive searches in areas like Cheshunt South bushland.
From the outset, police focused on Kath Bergamin’s estranged husband, John, amid reports of prior abuse and threats. Kath had reportedly fled from him, and she had recently begun legal proceedings for financial support and a share of the family business and farm. The day after her disappearance, John reported a fire that destroyed a Toyota Camry registered to Kath; suspicions arose that it was deliberately lit.
John Bergamin and the couple’s eldest son, Steven (who later changed his surname to Zanin), were persons of interest. John was charged with her murder in 2006 but the charges were later dropped due to insufficient evidence. Both were excused from giving evidence at the inquest on self-incrimination grounds. Family members gave varying accounts to police.
In 2017, an anonymous letter was sent to police containing “very specific information” about the murder, including details about who was involved. Police believe the writer, possibly from the Bendigo area (with the letter postmarked from “BE”), has carried a heavy burden and urged them to come forward with offers of indemnity. Advances in DNA technology have also been applied to re-test evidence from the scene.
In September 2020, five people (four from Victoria, one from New South Wales) were interviewed, but all were released pending further inquiries. As recently as 2025, police continued to appeal for information, noting the twenty-third anniversary of her disappearance.
A $1 million reward remains on offer for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Crime Immemorial 