COSMETIC surgeon and hotelier Jerry Schwartz was in a tumultuous relationship with a woman described as a "gold-digger" when his mother died in unusual circumstances, a Sydney inquest has heard.
NSW State Coroner Mary Jerram is investigating whether Dr Schwartz acted appropriately in signing the death certificates of his mother Eve Schwartz, 79, and her best friend Magda Wales, 76, who died three weeks apart in 2005.
Medical board guidelines advise against doctors performing such duties for family or friends.
Dr Schwartz, along with his late parents, founded the Schwartz Family Company, which owns a dozen hotels in NSW and Victoria, a shopping centre, a medical centre, and a brewery.
The death certificate Dr Schwartz signed for his 79-year-old mother Eve listed her cause of death as lung cancer and a collapsed lung which cut off her oxygen on August 20, 2005.
He made no mention of cuts on her wrists.Counsel assisting the coroner, Mark Higgins, said it was very unusual for a woman such as Mrs Schwartz to have such cuts, given her lack of a demonstrated mental illness.
At the time of his mother's death, Dr Schwartz had been in a de facto relationship with Liliane Viselle, which the inquest heard was "tumultuous" and "aggravated".
Since 2010, the two have been embroiled in a civil suit concerning the division of Mrs Schwartz's multimillion-dollar estate.
Mrs Wales' son George told Glebe Coroner's Court on Tuesday that in the two years before his mother's death, she and Mrs Schwartz had tried to distance themselves from Ms Viselle.
He said Eve Schwartz had made it clear she thought Ms Viselle was after the family's money.
"Towards the end, (my mother) was genuinely trying to distance herself" from Ms Viselle, Mr Wales said.
"I believe the term 'gold-digger' was used," Dr Schwartz's defence counsel Patrick Saidi said of Ms Viselle.
Ms Viselle, did not tell Dr Schwartz of Mrs Wales' death, despite knowing they were lifelong family friends.
"He was absolutely like a wild man, running backwards and forwards and tearing out his hair," said Ms Viselle's friend Anne Godfrey, describing his response when he learned of the death at Mrs Wales' unit.
"He said, 'Why does that f***ing bitch keep interfering in my life and my business?'"
Police Inspector Craig Lowery said Dr Schwartz was acting strangely when he asked to see Mrs Wales' body.
"His behaviour was odd at the time - it's hard to put my finger on it, but it was not right," he said.
Dr Schwartz told police he was Mrs Wales' friend and doctor and he would sign her death certificate, but he was refused.
"A conversation I had with him led me to believe he was not her treating doctor," Insp Lowery said.
Dr Schwartz eventually signed the certificate, saying Mrs Wales had suffered an "acute cardiac event", ischaemic heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
Mrs Wales' son said he knew his mother was being treated by Dr Schwartz in the years before her death, and he had no doubt she died a natural death.
The inquest continues.
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