7News Spotlight: May 22

Unusually, it’s a 7News Spotlight double edition on Sunday, with a story on Melissa Caddick’s husband makes a million-dollar demand plus, the explosive trial of ‘killer’ NT cop Zachary Rolfe.

Melissa Caddick’s husband Anthony Koletti has threatened to sue ASIC for millions, after accusing the securities and investment watchdog of “defaming him” and ruining the lavish life he had before his fraudster wife’s disappearance.

Now, in a bombshell new interview in 7NEWS Spotlight this Sunday night on Seven and 7plus, Koletti tells Michael Usher he wants “a few million [dollars]” as compensation from ASIC, claiming they “made out like I’m some kind of violent criminal, which is not true”.

Counting himself among the scandal’s victims, he tells 7NEWS Spotlight he has lost his wife, his prosperity and his future – all taken, he claims, by those who busted the missing conwoman’s $23 million Ponzi-style investment scheme.

“Have they affected my life going forward? Yes, they [ASIC] have. Have they affected my past? Yes, they have. My present, certainly. My future? Definitely.”

In shocking developments in the mystery that has mesmerised the nation, 7NEWS Spotlight follows Koletti as he is forced out of the couple’s palatial Sydney Harbour view home and into a tiny new apartment.

The hair stylist says he was rejected by more than 20 landlords because of the case’s notoriety and has now downsized to a two-bedroom rental with Caddick’s son, who has remained in his custody since the 51-year-old mother vanished in the early hours of 12 November 12, 2020.

As 7NEWS Spotlight cameras capture, Koletti has been stalked by paparazzi since that day, with photographers dramatically swarming his car as he makes an embarrassing exit from the luxury Dover Heights home.

Still mourning his wife’s loss, he tells Usher: “I would give anything to have Melissa back. Absolutely anything. I loved her. This is just a house. Put yourself in my shoes. Would you care if you lost your house, if you got your wife back? That’s the way I feel.”

Then, in a 7NEWS Spotlight double edition and an Australian TV first, Denham Hitchcock takes viewers inside one of Australia’s most explosive legal dramas, following “killer” cop Zachary Rolfe, as he stands accused over the death of Warlpiri teen Kumanjayi Walker.

7NEWS Spotlight was given unprecedented access to Rolfe during his trial which sparked Australia’s own Black Lives Matter protests and outcry beyond Indigenous communities.

The murder charge unsettled police around the country, as Rolfe was forced to plead his innocence and defend his lethal actions during Walker’s arrest on that fateful night.

Rolfe’s family share their devastation at the murder charges, which they believe were ordered by the highest levels of the NT government.

His tearful mother Deb weeps as she recalls the trauma of talking to her son through prison glass “just like in the movies”, while a former police investigator on the case speaks out about his grave concerns over the rush to charge Rolfe with murder.

When the controversial police officer is found not guilty of Walker’s murder, the behind-the-scenes drama is inflamed again, all captured by 7NEWS Spotlight.

Rolfe shares his shocking reaction to his acquittal for the first time in-depth, in a chilling moment Walker supporters won’t want to miss and will never forget.

9.00pm Sunday on Seven.