Sydney conwoman Melissa Caddick has been farewelled in a private service with only a handful of mourners in attendance as the one piece of her body found by police – a washed up foot – is cremated.
Caddick’s husband Anthony Kolletti, her parents Barbara and Ted Grimley, and her brother Adam Grimley gathered with friends at the West Chapel, in Matraville, on Tuesday to say their goodbyes.
Mr Kolletti led the procession out of the chapel alongside the funeral director, who helped him carry a bouquet of flowers to put in the boot of his black Mercedes, as the Grimleys followed behind.
There is no official confirmation the missing fraudster is actually dead, however her decomposing foot washed up in a shoe on the NSW south coast on February 21.
Sydney conwoman Melissa Caddick (pictured with her husband Anthony Koletti) was farewelled in a private service with a handful of mourners on Tuesday
Mr Koletti, and Caddick’s relatives gathered with a small group of friends to say their goodbyes at the West Chapel at the Eastern Suburbs Cemetery in Matraville (pictured) at 10am
Although a death certificate is yet to be obtained, her foot has been cremated, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The small group assembled at the Eastern Suburbs Cemetery at 10am, with Caddick’s relatives embracing outside before entering the chapel.
An inquest is set to be held into the 49-year-old’s disappearance and suspected death but a date is yet to be determined.
Caddick, who allegedly defrauded more than $25million from scores of people including friends and family, vanished the day after Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) raided her luxury $6.1million home in Dover Heights, Sydney, on November 11 last year.
Her foot washed ashore three months later on Bournda Beach and was confirmed to be Caddick’s after a DNA match was made with material from her toothbrush.
There’s no suggestion of wrongdoing by any members of Ms Caddick’s family.
Mr Koletti and Caddick’s son are still living in her Dover Heights mansion, which could soon be seized pending a federal court decision, to be sold to help repay her alleged victims.
ASIC is also seeking the Edgecliff penthouse where Ms Caddick’s parents live, which is under the fraudster’s name.
Caddick, pictured with her husband Anthony who is not accused of wrongdoing
Caddick’s decomposed foot in a rare Asics shoe was found 400km away from her home on Bournda Beach on February 21
Last week ASIC dropped all charges against Caddick and has withdrawn the warrant for her arrest.
The commission would not reveal whether this is confirmation that Caddick is definitely dead.
‘It is not for ASIC to determine if, or speculate on whether, Ms Caddick is alive. That is a matter for the NSW Police and – should it come to that – a coroner,’ a spokesman previously said.
The search for Caddick’s missing millions will continue in a separate action filed in the Federal Court in a two-day hearing this week.
Liquidators will be appointed to administer her accounts and those of her company, Maliver Pty Ltd, giving devastated victims an avenue to seek to recover some of their funds.
Documents filed last week by ASIC revealed the extent of Caddick’s crimes while she ran Maliver, the unlicensed investment firm.
Caddick blew her victim’s money on luxury items and lavish overseas trips with the authorities confiscating high end fashion label handbags, shoes and clothes during the raid.
A lack of credible witnesses and an absence of CCTV footage means her disappearance may never be solved.
More than 50 possible sightings were reported to NSW Police in the weeks after her disappearance but none were solid leads.
Caddick (centre) splurged $63,000 on holidays to Fiji, $37,000 on a trip to New York as well as $120,000 on several skiing trips to Aspen. Pictured with her husband Anthony (right), who is not accused of wrongdoing
Caddick pictured at a black tie event with husband Anthony Koletti, wearing necklace which is reportedly valued at $250,000
Two forensic experts have raised a theory that Caddick may have died elsewhere before being moved closer to Bournda beach, where her foot and trainer were discovered.
The south coast beach is more than 400km from where Caddick was last seen at her lavish Dover Heights home in Sydney.
‘That is remarkable but it can happen,’ said Professor John Hilton, a forensic pathologist said.
Earlier this month, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said authorities were unable to say whether she killed herself or if there was foul play involved.
He also raised the possibility Ms Caddick could have severed her own foot to throw police off the scent – and that she could still be alive.
‘There’s always a chance she cut her foot off and is still alive, though it’s pretty fanciful,’ he told 2GB on March 8.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has previously said he is satisfied she is dead, however the coroner will decide
One theory to explain her disappearance has been that Caddick jumped from the Dover Heights clifftops after making the short 300m walk from her home.
The route is not covered by CCTV cameras and led police to initially suspect she had taken her own life.
But Mr Fuller said many people jumped from those cliffs without their remains washing up several hundred kilometers away.
‘[It’s not common to see] body parts wash up so far south of Sydney and in such good condition given she went missing on or about November 11,’ he said.
‘Not to say it can’t happen. The coroner will make further determinations.’
He said the limited decomposition of the shoe would indicate it had not been out in the ocean for the entire three-month period since she went missing.
