Melissa Caddick's husband told police he thought the accused fraudster might turn up at court a fortnight after she vanished, after using a "fat wad of cash" to pay for a budget hotel, an inquest has heard.
Ms Caddick disappeared from her Dover Heights home in November 2020, hours after a raid by the corporate watchdog, the Australian Investment and Securities Commission (ASIC), which was investigating her alleged Ponzi scheme.
An inquest into the 49-year-old's suspected death has been told her alleged fraudulent activity was between $20 million and $30 million.
Detective Sergeant Michael Kyneur, the officer in charge of the investigation in its initial stages, spoke with her husband, Anthony Koletti on November 24.
He has told the inquest he was aware colleagues observed Mr Koletti to be evasive, vague and inconsistent.
Detective Sergeant Kyneur told the court he suspected Mr Koletti was not being "full and frank" with police, and while he didn't think Ms Caddick had been murdered, he was of the view she may have either self-harmed or been hiding at home with assistance from her spouse.
Today, he was quizzed about his approach during the November 24 recorded interview, and he read out parts of a transcript.
"Alright, where do you think she is?" he asked Mr Koletti.
"I have no idea where she is," Mr Koletti replied.
"But if she's going to turn up somewhere ... Friday the 27th is going to be the day she's going to rock up," he tells the officer, adding that this was for a court date.
Detective Sergeant Kyneur asked why Ms Caddick hadn't contacted Mr Koletti.
"Because there's no need to, do you think she wants to deal with the shitstorm that I'm dealing with?" he replied.
Mr Koletti later suggested she might have been staying at a low-budget hotel.
"She could have a fat wad of cash stashed under the bed for all I know."
Det Sgt Kyneur told the inquest he was left with the impression Mr Koletti had information about Ms Caddick's whereabouts.
He was also asked by Junior Counsel Assisting, Louise Coleman, why a crime scene was not established at the home sooner than December 2 that year.
He denied that he had "dismissed" the idea of establishing one, but said he was relying on information from colleagues who initially attended and hadn't found anything there.
"If a murder took place within a short period of time, there would be some evidence, blood or otherwise, that would be obvious to the attending police," he told the court.
"As I understood it, the house was pristine."
The court has heard the possibility Ms Caddick was harmed was flagged in a risk assessment soon after she was reported missing.
Detective Sergeant Kyneur said this remained "an option" and police "didn't rule out anything".
After Mr Koletti appeared with police in a media conference on November 20, officers conducted a search of the three-storey home, which lasted just 14 minutes, the court has heard.
Sergeant Trent Riley, a mobile supervisor who was advised by Rose Bay Police Station officers of Mr Koletti's missing person report on Friday, November 13, told the court he considered much of Mr Koletti's behaviour "strange".
The inquest heard Mr Koletti didn't want to attend the police station, or have officers around to his home, because he "had too much work on".
Sergeant Riley then phoned Mr Koletti himself and told the court there was "confusion" over what time he'd last seen Ms Caddick.
"I thought it was strange there were two different times provided," he told the inquest.
Mr Koletti had also told police he'd been checking nearby cliffs himself, but not called police, then at another point claimed he didn't think she was missing.
"I thought it was extremely strange," the witness said.
The court heard Mr Koletti used his wife's phone to text their cleaner, but pretended to be Ms Caddick, which Sergeant Riley also found strange.
He had contacted Ms Caddick's closest friends but didn't let them know she was missing, and had given a description of her clothing despite not seeing her leave the home.
"I believed he knew more than the information he was providing me with," Sergeant Riley said.
Mr Koletti has not been charged over Ms Caddick's disappearance or alleged financial dealings.
Her decomposing foot washed up on a NSW south coast beach three months after she vanished.
The inquest, before Deputy State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan, continues.
