The husband of alleged Sydney fraudster Melissa Caddick was considered by police to be evasive, vague and inconsistent in the days following her disappearance, an inquest has heard.
Ms Caddick vanished from her Dover Heights home, in the city's eastern suburbs, in November 2020, hours after the Australian Investment and Securities Commission (ASIC) raided the property during investigations into her alleged Ponzi scheme.
Three months later, her decomposing foot washed up on a NSW south coast beach.
The inquest has heard Ms Caddick is accused of defrauding investors of between $20 million and $30 million.
Today's witness, Detective Sergeant Michael Kyneur, was the first officer in charge of the investigation after Ms Caddick was reported missing by her husband, Anthony Koletti.
The court heard on November 13, 2020, a colleague who had spoken to Mr Koletti relayed his observations to Detective Sergeant Kyneur.
"In general, he told me that Mr Koletti was having difficulty remembering specifics of when he had last seen Melissa Caddick," the witness said.
He said there was also "confusion" about what day their home was raided, and his colleague's impression of Mr Koletti was that he was evasive, vague and inconsistent.
Mr Koletti took around 30 hours to report Ms Caddick missing after he assumed she'd gone for an early morning jog, leaving her phone and keys behind.
Detective Sergeant Kyneur's colleague also suggested to him that he suspected Mr Koletti knew of Ms Caddick's whereabouts, and that she may have "gone to ground".
The court heard of a PolAir search of the coastal area near Ms Caddick's home, with police actively investigating the possibility she had taken her own life at nearby cliffs.
"I realised she may have been under enormous stress," Detective Sergeant Kyneur said.
"Mr Koletti had mentioned that area to the attending police."
Detective Sergeant Kyneur was asked whether he suspected, at the end of his shift on the 13th, whether Ms Caddick may have been the victim of a homicide.
"Definitely not," he replied.
"There was no evidence to suggest she'd been murdered."
When he returned to work after the weekend, Detective Sergeant Kyneur reviewed a risk assessment that classified Ms Caddick's case as being high risk.
Those documents noted there was a "significant possibility" she had been injured or killed by another person.
It also flagged the "real possibility" she had fled or committed self-harm "in the face of her pending prosecution".
Today, he said there was no evidence Ms Caddick had suffered injury at the hands of Mr Koletti.
He said Mr Koletti had given "conflicting versions on a number of occasions", but those apparent inconsistencies were not raised during a recorded interview on November 16.
"This was a statement, I didn't cross-examine him," Detective Sergeant Kyneur said.
"In fairness to him, I also realised his wife was missing ... I was mindful of the sensitivities around the issues."
Detective Sergeant Kyneur said he thought Mr Koletti may have had information as to Ms Caddick's whereabouts, which he was withholding.
Mr Koletti, who is scheduled to give evidence later, has not been charged in relation to Ms Caddick's disappearance or her alleged financial dealings.
The inquest, before Deputy State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan, will run until Friday and return for a second week at the end of the month.
