The inquest into Melissa Caddick’s death will look at how her foot got loose and her repeated statements to friends and family about where she may “end it.”
Ms. Caddick was presumed deceased, according to Jason Downing SC, counsel representing Deputy State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan, who made this statement in his opening remarks.
However, a forensic pathologist is anticipated to report that it was impossible to tell whether her decayed foot was detached by physical force or by decomposition before it washed up on the NSW south coast.
How fraudster Melissa Caddick’s foot became detached from her body and multiple declarations to friends and family about where she might ‘end it’ will be examined at her inquest (pictured, Caddick with partner Anthony Koletti)
Jason Downing SC, counsel assisting Deputy State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan, said in his opening address that Ms Caddick was suspected to be dead
Ms Caddick’s parents Barbara and Ted Grimley and brother Adam Grimley along with her husband Anthony Koletti arrived at the NSW coroners court in Lidcombe, western Sydney, on Monday morning.
The two-week inquest will examine events leading up to her mysterious disappearance and her foot being discovered in a running shoe on Bournda Beach.
With the right medical assistance an amputation is not considered a lethal injury, but on the balance of probabilities it was suspected that Ms Caddick had already died, Mr Downing said.
The Australian Federal Police and Australian Securities and Investments Commission raided her Dover Heights home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on November 11.
That was the last verified sighting of Ms Caddick apart from her husband Anthony Koletti and child who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Mr Koletti told police his wife left for a walk early the following morning, but did not report her missing until about 28 hours later.
Caddick’s partner Anthony Koletti arrives at the inquest held at Lidcombe Coroners Court on Monday
The inquest will run for two weeks and examine the mysterious circumstances leading up to Caddick’s disappearance (pictured, Caddick’s mother Barbara Grimley)
This delay will also be subject to scrutiny during her inquest.
Her victims, mostly family and friends, lost $20-$30 million through her Ponzi scheme used to fund her lavish lifestyle and excessive spending on expensive jewellery, designer clothing, overseas getaways and multi-million dollar homes.
Her clients believed she would invest their life savings on their behalf and she created fake documents to suggest she had done so.
In late 2012 Ms Caddick’s marriage to Tony Caddick dissolved following her affair with Mr Koletti who was her hairdresser.
She purportedly told her brother Adam about this time: ‘If it all gets too much to me you’ll find me at The Gap’.
Ms Caddick’s parents Barbara and Ted Grimley (pictured) and brother Adam Grimley along with her husband Anthony Koletti arrived on Monday morning at the NSW coroners court in Lidcombe, western Sydney
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.
The inquest continues.
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