In an extraordinary ruling that exposes the perils of digital deception, the Supreme Court of Victoria has determined that a purported online romantic partner set to inherit a multi-million dollar estate was, in fact, a complete fabrication. The case emerged from the 2022 passing of William Southey, whose will designated a man named Kyle Stuart Jackson as both the executor and primary beneficiary of his substantial $2.5 million estate. Judicial investigations, however, conclusively proved that no such person exists. Associate Justice Caroline Goulden delivered the landmark judgment last month, stating that the identity of ‘Kyle Stuart Jackson’ was a fictional construct used by an unknown party or parties to engage with the deceased. The court heard that Mr. Southey, after the death of his long-term partner Phillip Seymour in 2017, pursued several successive online relationships. His final connection was with the entity known as ‘Jackson,’ whom he never met in person but nonetheless intended to marry. Following Southey’s death, an individual claiming to be Jackson initially contacted lawyers to renounce the inheritance, stating, ‘I don’t want it, I don’t deserve it.’ Months later, the same correspondent reversed their position, requesting a 15% share of the estate while sentimentally describing their ‘special’ relationship with Southey. Suspicion arose when the claimant repeatedly refused video calls. A submitted passport photo was later exposed as fraudulent, and a provided address in Pennsylvania was verified by locals to have no resident by that name. The engagement of a U.S.-based private investigator confirmed the ultimate revelation: there was no official record of Kyle Stuart Jackson’s birth or existence. Justice Goulden ruled that the intended beneficiary was a phantom, rendering the bequest void. Consequently, the entirety of Mr. Southey’s estate will now be distributed to his ex-wife, with whom he maintained a close friendship following their divorce in 1989 after a 13-year marriage.