A day after fraudster Melissa Caddick vanished her husband was suspected of being involved in her mysterious disappearance, her inquest has been told.
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Three police officers who took Anthony Koletti's missing person's report were concerned by the confusing accounts he provided, while another suspected he knew of her "whereabouts," Louise Coleman, junior counsel assisting the coroner, said on Monday.
Mr Koletti is due to give evidence at his wife's inquest and was present at the NSW Coroners Court in Lidcombe as well as her parents Barbara and Ted Grimley and brother Adam Grimley.
Sergeant Trent Riley wrote in July 2021 that Mr Koletti told him "several lies, (and) that his story had changed multiple times".
One senior officer was of the view that Mr Koletti likely killed Ms Caddick, Ms Coleman said.
An expert report examining barnacles growth on Ms Caddick's washed-up shoe found in February 2021 concluded it spent between two days and a week floating in the ocean.
A shark attack and subsequent regurgitation has also been canvassed.
While Ms Caddick is suspected to be dead, a forensic pathologist could not determine whether her foot was separated due to blunt force, sharp force or decomposition before it washed ashore at Bournda Beach on the state's south coast.
But it is "very unlikely that Ms Caddick amputated her own foot", with or without help, to stage her disappearance, Ms Coleman told Deputy State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan.
Other areas to be explored include Ms Caddick's diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder and criticism of the NSW police investigation.
A crime scene was not established until 19 days after she was reported missing.
The Australian Federal Police and Australian Securities and Investments Commission raided her Dover Heights home in Sydney's eastern suburbs on November 11, 2020.
That was the last verified sighting of Ms Caddick.
Some 28 hours after Mr Koletti said he believed his wife left the house to exercise he reported her missing.
Ms Caddick had not been jogging for weeks before this date, police observed on CCTV footage, despite Mr Koletti saying she did so every morning.
Attending officers found Mr Koletti on November 13 in a "composed, relaxed and seemingly uncaring persona ... unlike any other person I had taken a missing person report from previously".
Mr Koletti has never been charged over the disappearance
Ms Caddick's mother says her daughter was not offered food or drink during the full duration of the search warrant and holds ASIC responsible for her suspected death, the inquest was told.
But this has been disputed as Ms Caddick at the time was not under arrest, allowed to walk freely and leave if she wished, not observed to be showing any signs of mental ill-health, and made herself a protein shake in the morning.
In late 2012 Ms Caddick's marriage to Tony Caddick dissolved following her affair with Mr Koletti who was her hairdresser.
She purportedly referred to a Sydney suicide spot when telling her brother Adam about this time: "If it all gets too much for me you'll find me at The Gap".
Another friend said Ms Caddick made her write down a four-letter code she was instructed to give Adam if she went missing.
By late 2020 her friends say Ms Caddick was under extreme financial pressure and on one occasion walked to the Dover Heights cliffs.
"If I'm going to end it, it's going to be here," her friend recalls Ms Caddick telling her.
Her victims, mostly family and friends, lost $20-$30 million through her Ponzi scheme used to fund her lavish lifestyle.
Her clients believed she would invest their life savings on their behalf and she created fake documents to suggest she had done so.
Whether Ms Caddick knew about the ASIC investigation will also be scrutinised, as she booked shredding services in September 2020, three months before she vanished.
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Australian Associated Press
