Charles Wilding, a 69-year-old man from the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, was last officially seen on December 1, 2020. A shy and reclusive man, Wilding had lived in his family home on Kingswood Road for his entire life. Concerns for his welfare grew among neighbors in the fall of 2020 when they had not seen him for several months.
His physical description at the time of his disappearance was a white male, with brown eyes and gray hair, standing at 6'3" and weighing approximately 220 pounds.
The circumstances surrounding Wilding's disappearance took a sinister turn when a woman named Caroline Joanne Herrling, also known as Carrie Phenix, moved into his home. Herrling, a 44-year-old woman, presented herself as a close friend of Wilding and the trustee of his estate, informing concerned neighbors that he had relocated to a beach house in Carpinteria. She even circulated a letter to reassure them that "great changes are underway" at the property. However, this was a fabrication to conceal a larger criminal enterprise.
In October 2021, the Los Angeles Police Department received an anonymous tip that Charles Wilding was likely deceased and that a group of individuals were illicitly using his identity for financial gain. This tip prompted an investigation that unraveled an elaborate fraud scheme. It was discovered that Herrling and her co-conspirators had broken into Wilding's home, found him deceased, and rather than reporting it, they concealed his body to continue their scheme of looting his assets. They forged a power of attorney and a will to gain control of his estate, including his home and financial accounts.
The investigation led to the arrest of Caroline Herrling, who eventually pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The fraudulent activities included stealing the identities of vulnerable and deceased victims to acquire their assets. In the case of Charles Wilding, members of the conspiracy removed and hid his body to perpetuate the illusion that he was still alive, thereby allowing them to dispose of his assets. The case that began as a missing person report for a quiet 69-year-old man evolved into a chilling story of fraud, identity theft, and the desecration of a deceased individual's remains for financial enrichment.Last Seen: Dec 1, 2020
