Couple's $1.7million life insurance scam went astray when man refused to jump in front of train

Esther Maree Vella had a $700,000 debt on her property in Strathfield, Sydney, Australia, she was determined to be rid of. So she concocted a plan in which her long-suffering partner Peter Siskos would increase his life insurance to $1.723 million, name her as the sole beneficiary, and then commit suicide. But the plan backfired spectacularly when Siskos, a 49-year-old security guard "chickened out" of throwing himself in front of a train. Instead, he disappeared from work and slept rough for a week-and-a-half until he was spotted in a Burwood Park. Several people then came forward to police to say Vella, a 51-year-old school teacher and boarding house owner, had let slip details about the macabre plan. Vella and Siskos were charged under the common law of conspiring with each other to defraud an insurance company, OnePath.

The Crown case was that Vella and Siskos deliberately omitted to inform OnePath of Siskos' intention to commit suicide despite knowing they had a duty of disclosure when taking out the policy. The couple pleaded not guilty but were convicted by a District Court jury in October 2013. Vella was sentenced to six-and-a-half years' jail with a non-parole period of four years and nine months, while Siskos was imprisoned for two-and-a-half years with a non-parole period of 15 months. Vella and Siskos appealed their convictions and sentences. Last week the Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed the appeals, noting the case was "extremely unusual". During the trial the jury heard the couple had been in a "tumultuous relationship" since 1989, characterised by Vella's utter domination of Siskos. Several witnesses testified Vella repeatedly said Siskos was to blame for her financial situation and she "wished he was dead".



In March 2010 she told a woman renting a room in a boarding house she owned in Cabarita that Siskos "should kill himself to pay for the debt". The boarder was so alarmed she made contemporaneous notes of the conversation, which she later provided to police. Vella also told friends and acquaintances she was due to receive a large amount of money from an inheritance from her family in Malta. The Crown said this was to cover the money she expected to receive after Siskos committed suicide. The policy was taken out in July 2010. In October 2011, shortly after the 13-month suicide preclusion period expired, Siskos didn't show up for work. He was reported missing 10 days later. The following day he was found, looking dishevelled, in Burwood Park.

Questioned by police, Siskos said he'd been "riding the trains". He denied intending to harm himself or having discussed collecting on his insurance policy. The following day, one of Vella's tenants, Tony Appleby, went to police and confessed to helping Vella destroy incriminating evidence. He agreed to meet Vella wearing a listening device and police recorded a conversation in which they discussed suicide involving a train, destruction of incriminating evidence and her lost opportunity to claim an insurance payout. "So what happened to Peter, he just chickened out, did he?" Mr Appleby asked. "Yeah … he's always been a coward," Vella replied. Siskos continued to deny the conspiracy at trial and even carried out work at Vella's boarding houses while he was on bail and she was on remand. However the jury, and subsequently the Appeals Court, found the case proven beyond reasonable doubt. Siskos will be eligible for parole on July 3.