A CORONER has provided a major update in the case of a notorious fraudster who’s been missing since November 2020.
Sydney’s Melissa Caddick has been the subject of a search since her severed foot washed up on a beach in southern Australia three months after her disappearance.
Her severed foot was found months after she disappeared[/caption]
It was discovered six hours south of her native Sydney[/caption]
Now, a New South Wales coroner has ruled that Melissa is dead, killing the extraordinary theories surrounded her disappearance.
Since Caddick’s disappearance, she has not been seen and not made contact with anyone – including her beloved son.
Deputy State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan on Thursday handed down her findings following an inquest into Caddick’s disappearance, but did not disclose how she died.
She explained: “Deeply attached to him as she was, it seems to me most unlikely that she would not have reached out to him in some way, were she still alive.
“Due to Ms Caddick’s likely personality structure, she could well have regarded suicide as her only escape from the personal and professional catastrophe which overtook her on 11 November 2020.”
Before her disappearance, she was facing mammoth fraud charges after allegedly swindling clients out of at least £7.3 million in invested funds.
It has been speculated that Caddick may have cut off her own foot in a bid to throw authorities off the scent.
Oceanographers examined goose barnacles found on the foot and learned the limb had likely been floating for three to seven days off the coast of New South Wales.
Marine expert Dr David Griffin said it was entirely possible Caddick’s corpse may have floated close to the ocean floor for three months.
He suggested that in the time between her vanishing in Sydney and the foot washing up, it could have been resurfaced after around 93 days by the strong currents.
Prior to her death, she had reportedly used cash she stole to fund a lavish lifestyle, including taking overseas holidays and buying expensive clothes and jewellery.
During their investigation, police have identified 68 possible fraud victims.
According to a report by 60 Minutes, Caddick took more than a million from her parents, who are aged in their 80s.
She left her home for a morning run in November 2020 and never returned[/caption]
Husband Anthony Koletti left the courtroom looking stoic[/caption]
The former businesswoman was alleged to have led a Ponzi scheme[/caption]
She was incredibly close with her son, leading many to think she would have contacted him by now if alive[/caption]