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Original poster

The strange case of Melissa Caddick

44 replies

ChinBristles · 15/07/2022 00:49

Hello

I know how much MN likes a conspiracy/mystery.

Anyone heard about this case? It was covered on my new favourite youtube channel - 60 minutes. Melissa cons her family and friends out of hundreds of thousands and then disappears. Her foot is then found washed up on a beach...is she dead or did she just cut her foot off and fake her own death?!

OP posts:
DrFoxtrot · 15/07/2022 01:13

Thanks for keeping me awake by sending me down an internet worm hole! Grin. I think she's dead, possibly walked into the sea. I can't imagine how someone could cut off their foot and not need medical help, thereby drawing attention to herself?

Original poster
ChinBristles · 15/07/2022 01:21

@DrFoxtrot you are most welcome!
There are dodgy doctors who do plastic surgery on mafia members so defo a dodgy doctor could cut off a foot. Esp as she had lots of money to give them!

OP posts:
MrsTerryPratchett · 15/07/2022 01:27

Her foot is then found washed up on a beach...is she dead or did she just cut her foot off

Oooooo you want to be freaked out? Feet are common. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-severed-foot-1.5903703#:~:text=CBC%20News%20Loaded-,More%20than%20a%20dozen%20feet%20in%20shoes%20have%20washed%20up,12%20feet%20inside%20of%20them.

Spoiler alert: when someone kills themselves in the sea and they are wearing trainers, biology happens but not to the encased foot. It eventually floats up and is found.

HRTQueen · 15/07/2022 01:28

How intriguing ! I’m looking to see if there is a podcast about this case

mackthepony · 15/07/2022 01:32

Oh curious

I'll have a Google

Herbaceousborder · 15/07/2022 01:39

Mumsnet is certainly keeping me alert tonight, another post has informed me of the word zuffle and I'm now looking at my feet/foot in a very different light.

Original poster
ChinBristles · 15/07/2022 01:40

MrsTerryPratchett · 15/07/2022 01:27

Her foot is then found washed up on a beach...is she dead or did she just cut her foot off

Oooooo you want to be freaked out? Feet are common. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-severed-foot-1.5903703#:~:text=CBC%20News%20Loaded-,More%20than%20a%20dozen%20feet%20in%20shoes%20have%20washed%20up,12%20feet%20inside%20of%20them.

Spoiler alert: when someone kills themselves in the sea and they are wearing trainers, biology happens but not to the encased foot. It eventually floats up and is found.

Thanks for sharing! Remind me not to go near any shoes I find on the beach this summer!

OP posts:
Original poster
ChinBristles · 15/07/2022 01:42

Ah, Urban Dictionary, you teach me so much ("zuffle")

OP posts:
groovergirl · 15/07/2022 01:51

Big TW:

It is very likely that she ran off the top of the Gap, which is a notorious suicide spot close to where she lived in Dover Heights, Sydney. (I grew up in Sydney's east, and tales of the Gap were part of my childhood.)

People who jump at low tide do not survive, and their bodies generally wash up at Maroubra or Malabar, a few km down the coast. What sparked doubt in Melissa's case is that her foot washed up on the NSW south coast, a long way from Sydney.

I don't believe she is alive. I've followed her story from when the Sydney Morning Herald broke it, and it seems like she knew the game was up -- there was no way she could ever recoup or repay the money. I feel so sorry for her little boy.

Dishh · 15/07/2022 02:49

I agree with groovergirl. I think the most likely explanation is she simply went over The Gap. The more salacious theories bring viewers, but ultimately, I'd say she just knew she was caught; could never repay that much debt; there was potentially some underworld involvement that could target her; and she couldn't see a way out.

The foot washing up singly is a red herring. It doesn't mean the rest of her remains won't be in future. It could have been a shark/rocks/anything. I do feel for her family.

ShippingNews · 15/07/2022 03:35

I'm in Australia, and this story is very well covered. The worst part, to me, was that her victims were family and friends, not wealthy strangers. She conned people out of their life savings, including her own parents. What a horrible woman. I personally think that she went over the cliffs and a shark got her.

timeisnotaline · 15/07/2022 03:43

There is a tv show about it if people are interested! One of the things Australian tv has done quite well is dramatising the event filled lives of our criminal and gangland underworld 😁. Go us.

StClare101 · 15/07/2022 03:53

It was millions, actually. Not hundreds of thousands. All people she knew - family, friends, acquaintances….

A god awful human being.

Whether she jumped or was pushed I don’t know, but I’ve no doubt she’s dead.

LadyCassandra · 15/07/2022 04:25

There’s a really good podcast called Liar Liar.
I think she could be alive, she was narcissistic enough to con her parents and friends out of money, I think she could be selfish enough to run away, even from her son.
However, the timing is an issue, Aus was completely locked to the rest of the world when it happened so I’m not sure how she would have left.

Netaporter · 15/07/2022 06:03

Anyone else just fallen down the Melissa Caddick internet wormhole for the past hour? 😂

MichelleScarn · 15/07/2022 06:07

30 million dollars?!!@ChinBristles and 😆 at zuffle!

changzi · 15/07/2022 06:11

The Liar Liar podcast covers the story really well. The hosts get slightly annoying sometimes but what a crazy story.

Look out for excerpts of her husband's 'music'. They are quite something!!

beeswa · 15/07/2022 06:13

There's a podcast called Liar Liar: Melissa Casdick . It's worth listening to

MenopauseSucks · 15/07/2022 06:57

Zuffle..... Envy

You learn something new every day.

(Is there a female equivalent?)

Original poster
ChinBristles · 15/07/2022 11:23

Ooh, thanks for the podcast recommendation!! And crikey it was even more money than I thought!

OP posts:
HRTQueen · 15/07/2022 11:56

I stated to listen to Liar Liar last night (or very early in the morning) it’s an intriguing story !

thanks op

GCHeretic · 15/07/2022 12:01

MrsTerryPratchett · 15/07/2022 01:27

Her foot is then found washed up on a beach...is she dead or did she just cut her foot off

Oooooo you want to be freaked out? Feet are common. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-severed-foot-1.5903703#:~:text=CBC%20News%20Loaded-,More%20than%20a%20dozen%20feet%20in%20shoes%20have%20washed%20up,12%20feet%20inside%20of%20them.

Spoiler alert: when someone kills themselves in the sea and they are wearing trainers, biology happens but not to the encased foot. It eventually floats up and is found.

I immediately thought of this too.

Was the foot in this case in a shoe?

peachescariad · 15/07/2022 12:04

HRTQueen · 15/07/2022 01:28

How intriguing ! I’m looking to see if there is a podcast about this case

Would that be a podiatry cast.....! 😆

VirginiaQ · 15/07/2022 12:04

ChinBristles · 15/07/2022 01:21

@DrFoxtrot you are most welcome!
There are dodgy doctors who do plastic surgery on mafia members so defo a dodgy doctor could cut off a foot. Esp as she had lots of money to give them!

But surely forensically they would be able to tell if it had been removed by a profession; hacked off by a non-professional or as MrsTerryPratchett says a biological phenomena.

HRTQueen · 15/07/2022 12:05

peachescariad · 15/07/2022 12:04

Would that be a podiatry cast.....! 😆

Show quote history

😆😆😆😆

that’s funny (shouldn’t be but it is) 😆

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