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Guest Character Profiles > Michelle Kim Ra Chapman

Michelle Kim 2015, 2016
Occupation: Supervisor at Dimato Industries

When police officer Matt Turner took on some extra work as a security guard, as he had just taken on an expensive mortgage, he received a last-minute call from his supervisor Michelle, asking him to work that evening for extra pay. Although it meant missing an evening out with his wife Lauren, Matt accepted the offer, and was surprised to find that, despite the extra money he was getting, it was just a normal shift on the security gates. Later on, Michelle came by carrying a couple of dresses from the clothes factory on site, explaining that they were just surplus stock and she was allowed to take them. She then asked Matt if he'd like to take one for his wife, and although tempted, as a police officer he knew that it might look bad, so he declined. When Michelle came to the office again later, she overheard Matt telling Lauren that he would have to cancel their dinner plans and when she was outside, and out of earshot, she made a call to her boss Dennis Dimato, a local businessman, new to the area, who was already busy doing dodgy deals and making enemies. Michelle then assured Dimato that she was working on Matt and, although she didn't have him onside yet, she soon would.

However, when Matt received his first pay slip and realised that he was working for Dimato Industries, he was well aware of the problems that Dennis Dimato had been causing since he arrived and decided that it was too much of a conflict of interests and he'd have to quit. But as the family's financial situation worsened, Matt realised that the job with Dimato was going to be the only way of bringing in enough money to pay their new mortgage, and so he contacted Michelle and was honest with her - and she was only too pleased to re-employ him. Dimato then managed to recruit another Ramsay Streeter into his dodgy dealings, when he spotted Tyler Brennan working at Fitzgerald Motors and approached him, offering him good money for some extra work. At first Tyler was reluctant, but he quickly realised that the money would come in handy for the rent, and he agreed, meeting up with Michelle, who showed him a Ford Capri and explained that Dimato wanted it to be stripped for parts within 72 hours, for $750. Tyler then asked if he could get an advance on his pay, in return for completing the work within 2 days instead.

As Tyler found himself getting deeper into Dimato's world, Matt was also growing increasingly desperate for money, and asked Michelle about getting some extra shifts. When he later returned to work, to collect his wallet that he'd left behind, he found the office locked and went looking for Michelle. He soon found her with Dimato, and listened from a distance as they discussed the latest cars that they'd stolen and were stripping for parts. Matt went to call the police, but hesitated and later confronted Dimato, who called Matt's bluff, suggesting that if he'd been intending to report the crime, he'd have done it by now. He then reminded Matt that, if Dimato Industries were shut down for a police investigation, he'd lose his second income and his family would be homeless.

When Matt was killed in a hit-and-run incident a few weeks later, the Dimatos and Michelle turned their attentions back to Tyler, who had stolen cars for them in the past, though wasn't keen on making it a regular thing. After paying Tyler over the odds for his work, Michelle quickly spotted his weakness, his older brother, Mark. Mark had just returned to the police force, and after learning about Dimato's dodgy dealings from Matt, was determined to bring him down, and was also determined to keep Tyler in line, constantly berating him in public for his behaviour. Michelle soon exploited this, and with Tyler still angry at his brother, she convinced him to steal more cars, only this time he narrowly avoided arrest, after taking a car which was being tracked by the police. Dimato, however, wasn't as lucky and spent a few days in jail before being bailed and immediately looking to Tyler for answers. Tyler insisted that he hadn't tipped off the police, but Dimato warned him that they were going to have to move the stolen car ring to a different location, suggesting Fitzgerald Motors as the perfect cover. Tyler was reluctant to get involved with Dimato again, so was horrified when he and Michelle turned up the next day with the news that he was Tyler's new boss, having acquired the garage. With Dimato then planning to make his escape overseas, Michelle was left in charge, and, after spotting him with his bags packed, she made it clear to Tyler that there was no escape and she would need him at the garage that evening.

After helping out Michelle for a few weeks, Tyler made a mistake when, having arranged a date one evening, he told Joey to leave a stolen car on the forecourt that evening, and he'd be in by midnight to work on it. When the date went badly, Tyler went out partying all night and forgot about it, and it was found the next morning by Matt's grieving son Bailey, who discovered the door unlocked and the keys under the passenger seat. When Tyler arrived for work, he found Michelle on the warpath, wanting to know what had happened to the car. Paige, meanwhile, found her half-brother Bailey asleep in the stolen car, and after finding out what had happened, she went to the garage to speak to Tyler and try to avoid getting Bailey in any trouble. Unfortunately, she'd already reported the stolen car, and the police had already picked it up, so when Michelle found out, she warned Paige and Tyler that they now owed her one stolen car. Though Paige was reluctant to get involved, when Michelle then blackmailed her with CCTV footage of Bailey stealing the car, she realised that she had no choice but to break the law.

A few days later, Michelle went back to Tyler, wanting to know if there had been any progress, and he told her that he would steal a car, but he'd prefer for Paige to be left out of it. Michelle, however, wasn't satisfied with this, and said that she and Dimato had decided that he was too valuable to have out on the streets stealing cars, so he'd have to repay them with money instead. Tyler then told her that he'd have to sell his motorbike instead, as long as they left Paige alone. Paige, however, had other ideas and, after an angry run-in with Michelle, Tyler was shocked when he found out that Paige was going to be the new garage assistant, which would help repay the debt and keep the business running a little more smoothly. The following week, Michelle turned up at the garage and told Paige that they had to go and drop off some car parts, refusing to take any excuses. However, the police had been tipped off and as Michelle and Paige were outside the garage, they were warned about what had happened but had little time to escape as Mark Brennan and his sergeant, Milov Frost, turned up. As they ran behind the building, Michelle tripped and sprained her ankle, and was forced to accept help from Paige and they hid out until the coast was clear. At the hospital, where Michelle made excuses about running for a bus in heels as she received treatment, she was suitably rattled to listen as Paige suggested that, if all Dimato was interested in was receiving his weekly payments, then maybe they could still do that, but by running the garage as a legit business.

The plan wasn't a huge success, and as the situation worsened, Tyler ended up confessing everything to Mark, as the net closed in on him. Facing serious charges, Tyler agreed to a plan to wear a wire during a meeting with Michelle and Joey, and try to get enough information to finally catch them out. Unfortunately, as Joey started play fighting with Tyler, he damaged the recording equipment, and the police failed to get anything. Tyler did, however, tell them that Dimato was due back in the country and they realised that, rather than arresting his henchmen, they might actually be able to get Dimato himself. When Dimato did make his return, he showed his lack of trust for Tyler and grabbed him, threw away his phone and took him to the meeting at the warehouse, where Michelle, Joey and the others were waiting. With little chance to tell Mark what was going on, a desperate Tyler decided to try and save the day by grabbing some evidence - a phone with photos of the next batch of stolen cars - but was quickly caught. Fortunately, Paige had managed to find out where the meeting was taking place, after phoning Joey and flirting with him, and she and Mark turned up just in time to save Tyler from being disposed of, and they managed to catch both Dimato and Michelle as they attempted to get away.

By the end of 2015, both Dimato and Michelle had been released from prison, and Paige and Tyler were concerned when word came through that Dimato had skipped parole and disappeared. They were all then surprised when Michelle turned up in Erinsborough with a black eye, claiming that Dimato had done it to her and she wanted protection from him. When Mark looked into it, he found out that Michelle had placed an intervention order on Dimato just the day before, and he agreed to offer police protection, if she co-operated with them and helped to track down Dimato. She agreed, but Paige remained sceptical, at which point Michelle insisted that she was telling the truth - and claimed that she had found Jesus. Paige remained unsure of Michelle's motives, but she turned up again a few days later, saying that she didn't feel safe in the caravan park that the police had put her in. Though Paige was still unsure about Michelle's new-found religion, she listened to her stories about feeling ignored by her wealthy parents, something that Paige could relate to, and managed to convince Mark to give Michelle another night of police protection. However, as Paige got more involved, she started exchanging texts with Michelle, then, rebelling against Mark's advice to the contrary, she arranged to meet with her - and walked straight into a dangerous situation when she was kidnapped and found herself trapped in the boot of a car.

Tied up and held captive, Paige quickly realised that it was a case of mistaken identity, and her kidnapper thought that she was Michelle. After managing to escape, Paige's kidnapper gave chase in his car and managed to run her down, and whilst recovering in hospital, she received a visit from Michelle. Michelle was ready with her excuses, explaining that Dimato had asked her to meet him, and she'd asked Paige along for moral support, but had then found herself running late. With Paige believing everything that she told her, Michelle then had a very public run-in with Dimato at The Waterhole, where she appeared to be extremely scared of him, and Nate Kinski and Susan Kennedy were forced to intervene. Michelle then turned up at the Turner house the following week, with a bruised face, claiming that Dimato had been hitting her. Paige fell for her lies and let her stay, unaware that the bruises were actually just painted on with make-up. Then next day, Paige agreed to help Michelle by getting her a new SIM card, but when Mark found her at the Turner house, he tried to persuade Paige to end the friendship and stop getting involved. Michelle told Paige that she'd found another friend to stay with, but was soon back, talking about getting a flat of her own. Paige pointed out that Dimato might still find her, so Michelle said that she'd have to find someone else who could put the lease in their name - and Paige agreed to think about it. Meanwhile, Mark interrupted them with a picture of Warren Stacks, the man who'd kidnapped Paige, and she immediately gave a positive identification, but Michelle quickly covered, claiming that she had seen him do some work for Dimato, but had never actually met him. Michelle then met up with Dimato and Warren, who was going to be made to pay for the mistake of letting Paige see his face, and they discussed the next part of their plan. Michelle explained that she'd managed to get Paige to buy a SIM card for her, and was close to getting her to put a lease on a flat in her name, so the next stage was to get Tyler on board.

When Nate bumped into an hysterical Michelle at Lassiter's, and Paige explained what she was going through with the abusive Dimato, he was furious, having seen women treated badly during his time serving in Afghanistan. When Nate then spotted Dimato later that day, he followed him and spotted him with Michelle. With Nate unable to hear their argument, Michelle was taunting Dimato, suggesting that she might have to sleep with Tyler to get him on side, and Michelle received a punch in return. She hurried off, unable to believe that her fake abuse story had become a reality, while Nate went over to Dimato to deal with him. With a badly-beaten Dimato now angrier than ever, he and Michelle pressed ahead with their plan to frame Paige. Everything seemed to be going to plan - they'd been burgling customers from Harold's Cafe, where Paige worked, and hiding the goods in the apartment that Paige had leased for Michelle. However, Paul Robinson was contemplating going into business with Dimato and he followed him, stumbling upon the apartment and warning Paige. When Paige got the apartment, she was stunned and when Michelle then turned up, she confronted her. Michelle explained that the whole thing had been a trap, and Paige had been gullible enough for fall for it, with the two women getting into a physical fight as Michelle tried to get away. Paige was horrified when Michelle then called the police and reported some suspicious activity at the apartment - with Paul's help, Paige managed to get everything moved before the police were able to get a search warrant. Paul then warned Dimato that he'd been recording their recent conversations, so Dimato and Michelle left Erinsborough for new opportunities in Sydney.