Missing conwoman Melissa Caddick’s husband has hit back after a coroner described his evidence on her disappearance as “full of inconsistencies” and “just untrue.”
Anthony Koletti was visibly furious after NSW Deputy Coroner Elizabeth Ryan found he was likely aware of his wife’s movements after she disappeared, but did not reveal what he knew.
“It is disgraceful,” Mr Koletti told Daily Mail Australia on Friday.
Ms Ryan took aim at Mr Koletti on Thursday when she handed over her latest findings on Caddick’s sudden disappearance two and a half years ago.
The fraudster went missing after defrauding $23 million from investors, many of whom were close family and close friends.
She was last seen near her home in Dover Heights in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on November 11, 2020, when her property was raided by Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) investigators.
Conwoman Melissa Caddick’s husband Anthony Koletti (above) has criticized a coroner’s findings. He was likely aware of some of her movements in the days after she disappeared, but has not disclosed what he knew
Mr Koletti reported his wife missing on November 13, some 30 hours after she was believed to have been last seen.
In her findings, Ms Ryan said Mr Koletti had failed to provide a “full and candid account” of what happened to the inquest.
“I have formed the opinion that it is likely that on November 13, 2020, Mr. Koletti had some knowledge of Ms. Caddick’s movements over the past two days, but chose not to disclose it,” she said.
“I accept that Mr. Koletti’s inherent unreliability placed a significant burden on the investigating police.”
Mr Koletti pushed 60 Minutes reporter Tom Steinfort away as he stormed to his car outside the courthouse in Lidcombe in western Sydney.
The barber’s brother-in-law, Adam Grimley, was behind the wheel and honked loudly as Mr. Koletti burst in.
Caddick’s husband Anthony Koletti (pictured together) only reported his wife missing when he contacted Rose Bay Police Station at 11:45am on November 13 – a full 30 hours after she was last seen
Ms Ryan said Mr Koletti was described during the inquiry as the ‘most impressive and unreliable witness’, whose lack of candor was one of the reasons why, how or when Caddick died.
She added that Mr Koletti has given different accounts of what happened in the days following Caddick’s disappearance – and that his lack of intellect was no reason why he couldn’t explain.
“Mr. Koletti’s evidence during the inquest was full of contradictions,” said Ms. Ryan.
“It is fair to say that when he was not creating further inconsistencies, he tried to explain them with opaque and sometimes incomprehensible explanations.”
Ms. Ryan, accepting that Caddick was dead, found that Mr. Koletti had made several different statements about what happened between November 11 and November 13.
“Mr. Koletti has failed to explain in an understandable way the many contradictions within and between these accounts,” she said.
Simply put, the differences are too numerous and persistent to be attributed to stress and (his) lack of intellectual sophistication.
“The inescapable conclusion is that at times during the investigation and inquest, Mr. Koletti chose to make statements that are simply not true.”
NSW Deputy State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan concluded that Melissa Caddick had died, but it was still unclear how and when she lost her life
Ms. Ryan’s findings touched on several aspects of Caddick’s disappearance, including theories about how she died, the police investigation and her husband’s response.
Caddick’s foot was washed up on Bournda Beach, 400 km south of Sydney, in February 2021 in an ASICS shoe.
Ms. Ryan shut down the long-running theory that Caddick could still live without her foot and may have escaped abroad after somehow removing her leg.
Caddick’s foot was found washed up on Bournda Beach on the NSW south coast three months after her disappearance
She said it was highly unlikely that Caddick’s foot had been deliberately removed, either by herself or someone else.
However, the cause of her death was still unclear. The coroner found there was not enough evidence to prove that Caddick took her own life by jumping off the cliffs along the road from her home.
Ms Ryan said the inquest heard from forensic psychiatrist Dr Kerri Eagle who diagnosed Ms Caddick as possibly having a narcissistic personality disorder.
She noted that patients with this condition are at risk of committing suicide if they experienced something that deeply shamed them. But that wasn’t enough to prove suicide – a leading police theory.
Police suspected that Caddick committed suicide on the morning of November 12 by jumping off the cliff at Rodney Reserve, about 500 meters from her home.
Mrs. Ryan could not determine with any certainty whether Caddick died with the help of another person or of misfortune.
“I regret that no positive findings can be made as to the cause and manner of death of Mrs. Caddick,” she said.
“Her disappearance from her family in traumatic circumstances must be a source of deep and lasting grief to them.”
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