Court in the Act: Perth woman Sharon Fulton went missing in 1986, 37 years later, husband charged with murder

On October 21, 1993, the Supreme Court of Queensland was asked to formally end the life of a woman.

Or at the very least, to confirm her death.

Sharon Fulton had, by that time, been missing for seven years. She had last been seen at East Perth train station, on the way to meet friends for lunch in March 1986.

But she never arrived. And has never been seen again.

In that court, on the other side of the country, Maxwell Robert Fulton — Sharon’s husband — asked a judge for permission to swear to the death of his wife of 19 years.

The judge noted that Mr Fulton “has made extensive enquiries which have proved fruitless” — and also stated her only asset was a life insurance policy, worth $120,000, that police said was taken out one month before she disappeared, Mr Fulton was the beneficiary.

The court, on that day, declined to formally end the life of Sharon Fulton.

And for the decades since, her children have longed for answers as to where she is, and what happened to her.

Now, 37 years on from that baffling disappearance, WA Police say Sharon Fulton’s life is definitely over.

And they now allege it was ended by her husband, Maxwell Robert Fulton.

In this week’s episode of Court in the Act, Tim Clarke walks through the baffling case of the disappearance of Sharon Fulton with The West’s senior crime reporter Phil Hickey — who has followed the cold case probe for more than seven years.