The Melissa Caddick inquiry hears about NSW Police’s sea experiment idea with dead pigs wearing running shoes

Police investigating the disappearance of Sydney con artist Melissa Caddick considered an experiment involving dead pigs fitted with tracking devices – and some wearing running shoes – being thrown into the sea, an inquest has heard.

Ms Caddick disappeared in November 2020 as the company’s watchdog, the Australian Investment and Securities Commission (ASIC), investigated her alleged Ponzi scheme involving fraud of between $20-$30 million.

Three months later, a running shoe containing the 49-year-old’s decomposing foot washed up on Bournda Beach on the NSW south coast.

An inquest into her suspected death has heard from Detective Constable Steven Morgan, who acted as a consultant on the murder for six months until September 2021.

Documents describing his activities in connection with the investigation contain references to the proposed trial.

The court heard it was to involve several pig carcasses being thrown into the sea after being fitted with tracking devices.

Some also had to be equipped with running shoes.

One of the purposes was to determine the behavior of sharks, the inquest was told.

Asked if that experiment ever took place, Detective Morgan replied, “I don’t know.”

He said it was ordered by coroners.

“I imagine one of the leaders there might be able to help.”

The court also heard Detective Constable Morgan’s notes contained information that Mrs Caddick had insurance policies in place which provided cover in the event of her suicide.

The court heard that a post-mortem was unable to determine whether the foot was separated as a result of blunt force, sharp force or decomposition.

Experts consulted in the lead-up to the investigation into the foot include an oceanographer who has provided a report on currents and how the remains may have ended up on Bournda Beach, hundreds of kilometers away from Caddick’s home in Dover Heights in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Another expert report discussed the presence of a certain type of “newly established” jewelry on the sneaker, suggesting that it may have spent “no more than a week and no less than two to three days floating on the surface of the ocean before it washed up “.

They discussed “shark predation, with subsequent regurgitation” as an explanation for how the foot was severed from the body, the degree of decomposition and the discoloration of the shoe.

The investigation, before Deputy Coroner Elizabeth Ryan, continues.