A coroner has determined the husband of missing conwoman Melissa Caddick likely knew about some of her whereabouts in the days after she vanished but refused to tell police.
Deputy NSW State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan on Thursday handed down her final findings into the sudden disappearance of Caddick who defrauded investors – many of whom were immediate family and close friends – of $23million.
She was last seen near her Dover Heights home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on November 11, 2020, when her property was raided by Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) investigators.
Her husband, Anthony Koletti, reported her missing on November 13, some 30 hours after she was believed to have been last seen.
Magistrate Ryan took aim at Mr Koletti while handing down her findings on Thursday, and said that he did not ‘give a full and frank account’ of what happened to the inquest.
‘I have formed the opinion that it is likely that on 13 November, 2020 Mr Koletti had some awareness of Ms Caddick’s movements over the previous two days, but chose not to disclose it,’ she said.
‘I accept that Mr Koletti’s inherent unreliability imposed upon the investigating police a significant burden.’
Mr Koletti was visibly furious after the inquest findings were handed down – shoving 60 Minutes reporter Tom Steinfort outside the court complex in Lidcombe in Sydney’s west as he stormed to his car.
His brother-in-law, Adam Grimley, was in the driver’s seat and loudly honked his horn as Mr Koletti barged his way inside.
NSW Deputy State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan concluded that Melissa Caddick had died, but it is unclear how or when she lost her life
A coroner has determined Anthony Koletti, the husband of missing conwoman Melissa Caddick, knew about some of her whereabouts in the days after she vanished but refused to tell police
In her findings, Magistrate Ryan said Mr Koletti was described during the investigation as the ‘most unimpressive and unreliable witness’, whose lack of candour was one of the reasons it was not possible to conclude why, how or when Caddick died.
She added Mr Koletti gave various accounts of what occurred during the days after Caddick’s disappearance – and that his lack of intellect was no reason why he could not provide an explanation.
‘Mr Koletti’s evidence at inquest was riddled with inconsistencies,’ the Magistrate said.
‘It’s fair to say when he was not creating further inconsistencies, he was attempting to account for them with opaque and at times unintelligible explanations.’
The Magistrate said Mr Koletti, a hairdresser, gave multiple different accounts of what happened in the time between November 11 and November 13.
‘Mr Koletti has not managed to explain the manifold contradictions within and between these accounts in any comprehensible way,’ Magistrate Ryan said.
‘Put simply the discrepancies are too numerous, and too persistent in nature, to be attributable to stress and (his) lack of intellectual sophistication.
‘The inescapable conclusion is that throughout the investigation and the inquest, Mr Koletti has chosen at times to make statements that are simply untrue.’
Following the findings, Mr Koletti was seen shoving reporters as he tried to make his way into a car, with members of his wife’s family already inside.
Melissa Caddick’s husband Anthony Koletti is seen clashing with reporters after the final findings into here whereabouts were handed down on Thursday
Magistrate Ryan said she accepted Ms Caddick had died while handing down the findings on Thursday morning.
The findings covered several aspects of Caddick’s disappearance, including theories as to how she died, the police investigation and her own husband’s response.
Caddick’s foot was found washed up on Bournda Beach, 400km south of Sydney, in an ASICs shoe, in February 2021.
Magistrate Ryan shut down the long-running theory that Caddick could still be alive without her foot, and had potentially escaped overseas after somehow removing her leg.
She said it was most unlikely Caddick’s foot had been removed deliberately either by herself or another person.
However, the cause of her death is still unclear. The coroner found there is not enough evidence to prove that Caddick took her own life by jumping off the cliffs down the road from her home.
Magistrate Ryan said the inquest heard from forensic psychiatrist Dr Kerri Eagle who established Ms Caddick may have had narcissistic personality disorder.
She noted sufferers of this condition may be at risk of taking their own life if they suffered something that brought deep shame onto them. But that was not enough to prove suicide – a leading police theory.
Police had suspected Ms Caddick took her own life by jumping off the cliff at Rodney Reserve, approximately 500m from her home, on the morning of November 12, 2020.
The coroner could also not make a finding with any certainty whether she died with assistance from another person, or from misadventure.
‘I regret that positive findings cannot be made as to the cause and manner of Ms Caddick’s death,’ Magistrate Ryan said.
‘Her disappearance from her family in traumatic circumstances must be a source of deep and ongoing sadness for them.’
Ms Caddick’s husband Anthony Koletti (pictured together) did not report his wife missing until he contacted Rose Bay Police Station at 11.45am on November 13 – a full 30 hours after she was last seen
A foot – which was later identified as belonging to Ms Caddick – was found washed up on Bournda Beach on the NSW south coast in February, 2021 – three months after she vanished
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