Melissa Caddick husband Anthony Koletti denies he helped Sydney fraudster wife disappear

Melissa Caddick’s husband has denied having any role in his wife’s disappearance and that he deliberately delayed her disappearance to save time or avoid police attention.

Anthony Koletti told the inquest into the fraudster’s disappearance and presumed death that he certainly did not help her disappear without a trace.

“Did you postpone reporting her missing to give her time to go somewhere… or to end her own life?” counsel assisting Jason Downing SC said.

“I didn’t,” said Mr. Koletti.

Earlier, the hairdresser and part-time DJ was questioned again about the day he says Ms Caddick disappeared from their home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on 12 November 2020.

That evening, he drove to a friend’s house in Rose Bay to get an “e-cigarette,” he told the NSW Coroners Court.

“Was it actually to smoke a joint?” asked Mr. Downing.

“I don’t know… it’s possible,” said Mr. Koletti.

“You’ve got to remember it,” said Mr. Downing.

“Let’s say yes, what’s your point?” said Mr. Koletti.

“One night you told us you’d been looking all day … you actually went out to smoke a joint with a friend,” Mr. Downing said.

Koletti said he was concerned about his wife and accepted that he smoked weed to calm himself.

The text messages exchanged with that friend were later deleted by Koletti before handing over his phone to the police to help with their investigation, Mr Downing said.

Koletti said doing that “must have something to do with marijuana.”

He formally reported his wife missing the next day on November 13, and was asked if he had been out the night before.

“Not that I know of,” he said.

The day she went missing is “a bit hazy,” Koletti said Thursday before adding that his memory is “quite hazy.”

“I don’t remember going anywhere,” he said.

In several police reports and for weeks after Mr. Koletti insisted, Mrs. Caddick left the house in black sportswear and silver Asics.

But after she didn’t return, he says he assumed she would meet with a lawyer or stay in a hotel before appearing in court the next day.

Mr Downing asked why he insists she leave in athletic attire if he later thought she would meet with a lawyer.

Koletti said it was based on assumptions but denied seeing them worn.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Kerri Eagle diagnosed Ms. Caddick with “narcissistic personality disorder,” but noted the limitations of never interviewing her and based purely on statements and other data.

Ms. Caddick portrayed herself as a very successful and prosperous person and nurtured her self-esteem through the admiration of others, Dr. Eagle to the investigation.

If she faces the exposure as a fraud and doesn’t seem as brilliant as she’d projected, if she felt she couldn’t recover from such humiliation, she would suddenly feel no other outlet than suicide, Dr. Eagle said.

But based on her assessments, the doctor did not believe that she exhibited psychopathic or sociopathic tendencies.

The victims of Mrs. Caddick’s Ponzi scheme, mostly family and friends, lost $20-$30 million which she used to fund her lavish lifestyle

In February 2021, her decomposing foot, encased in a shoe, washed ashore on Bournda Beach on the south coast of NSW.

Ms Caddick’s brother, Adam Grimley, has said in an affidavit that the family had been “floored” that counsel appeared to be “pursuing” his brother-in-law.

He noted that counsel appeared to be presenting “unverified gossip as fact” and said Mr Koletti had suffered greatly from the loss of his wife, the shock of her misconduct and the baseless accusations that followed.

Overnight he had received abusive messages, including a lecture: ‘Dodgy asshole, I hope you get locked up,’ said his lawyer Judy Swan.

The investigation continues on Friday.