The extraordinary war between Sydney property developer Mario Evangelo and his former wife Janelle has reached an unexpected legal conclusion, with an application for an apprehended violence order withdrawn and dismissed before the allegations could be tested at a public hearing.
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allegations → reach → hearing
The case had threatened to air allegations about one of the construction industry's most remarkable marital fallouts, with previous court documents detailing Mr Evangelo's claims that his estranged wife had tried to poison him with her home cooking.
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wife → threaten → cooking
But the police application for Mr Evangelo against Ms Evangelo has now been withdrawn and dismissed, meaning the matter will not proceed to a public hearing.
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matter → withdraw → hearing
To be clear: the allegations outlined in the court documents have not been tested in court, the application subject of the documents withdrawn, and Ms Evangelo has not been charged with any criminal offence in relation to them.
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Evangelo → outline → them
According to those documents, Mr Evangelo, the chief executive behind the Panthera property empire, told police he had become ill for extended periods after eating meals prepared by his then-wife.
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he → accord → wife
He alleged she would prepare separate meals specifically for him and instruct him not to share the food with their children.
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she → allege → children
The claims took a more alarming turn in February 2023, when, according to the documents, Mr Evangelo allegedly became so unwell, with symptoms of jaundice, that his doctor insisted he go to hospital.
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he → take → hospital
Doctors at St George Hospital reportedly investigated him for possible liver damage before he 'stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated' by medical staff, according to the documents.
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he → investigate → documents
Mario Evangelo and then wife Janelle at the 2023 Women in Business Awards, before he accused her of poisoning his food, according to court documents
They now live separately, with Ms Evangelo residing in the couple's reported $9.5million apartment inside Crown Towers
Mr Evangelo also claimed in the documents that he noticed his health would improve whenever he travelled overseas or went away on business.
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he → accuse → business
The couple first began a romantic relationship in the early 1990s and went on to marry and divorce twice over the ensuing years.
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couple → begin → years
They now live separately, with Ms Evangelo residing in the couple's reported $9.5million apartment inside Crown Towers.
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Evangelo → live → Towers
But the allegations did not end with the claims about his health.
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allegations → end → health
According to the police documents, first reported by The Daily Telegraph, Mr Evangelo claims Ms Evangelo approached a third party in September 2025 seeking to hire a bikie to assault him.
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Evangelo → accord → him
The documents allege she asked: 'Can you find someone to hurt Mario?
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you → allege → Mario
I am willing to pay any price.
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I → pay → price
I don't have any other choice.'
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I → have → choice
She allegedly went on to ask: 'Isn't Forest Inn Hotel a hangout for the bikies?'
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Hotel → go → bikies
Ms Evangelo, who previously spearheaded her own women's empowerment foundation, has not been charged with any criminal offence.
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who → spearhead → offence
Mr Evangelo posted this selfie on Facebook with the psychic Melanie Obeid, whom he referred to as his 'Queen'.
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he → post → Queen
Ms Obeid told the Daily Mail that she was gay and that we should not 'read too much into' her birthday dinner
Mario Evangelo is the CEO of the $300million Panthera property empire
While the legal development brings an abrupt end to the AVO proceedings, a separate twist remains decidedly unresolved.
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twist → tell → proceedings
The Daily Mail revealed in May that Mr Evangelo had been consulting married psychic Melanie Obeid, who also has links to his colourful criminal lawyer Zali Burrows.
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who → reveal → lawyer
In a series of Facebook posts, Mr Evangelo described Ms Obeid as his 'Queen' and 'Amore' - Italian for 'love' - while sharing photographs of the pair together at several Sydney fine-dining establishments.
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Evangelo → describe → establishments
One image was captioned: 'Happy birthday, my Queen.
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image → caption → ?
However, Ms Obeid told the Daily Mail at the time that she remained married to her wife, Tess, and rejected any suggestion the posts indicated a romantic relationship with Mr Evangelo.
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posts → tell → Evangelo
I am gay,' she said.
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she → say → ?
'I wouldn't read too much into that [the Facebook posts].'
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I → read → that
The Daily Mail accepts that Mr Evangelo and Ms Obeid are good friends, that Ms Obeid is in a committed relationship with her wife and does not suggest otherwise.
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Obeid → accept → wife
Mr Evangelo's lawyer Zali Burrows (pictured outside Downing Centre Local Court) is a colourful character within the legal fraternity, having represented Mark Latham and Bruce Lehrmann
It seems Ms Burrows once sought Melanie Obeid for an 'extremely accurate' psychic reading
During happier times, the Evangelos appeared every inch the glamorous power couple.
In 2023, they hosted high-profile events together, including the Gold Coast Women in Business Awards, smiling for photographs while, according to the timeline outlined in court documents, Mr Evangelo allegedly believed his wife's cooking was making him sick.
Mr Evangelo launched Panthera in 2000, building the construction outfit into a reported $300million property empire responsible for more than $3billion worth of developments across Australia and New Zealand.
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Evangelo → picture → Australia
Last year, one of the developer's entities, Panthera Mermaid, collapsed, triggering the sale of the high-profile Mermaid Waters shopping centre on the Gold Coast and marking a rare stumble for the once fast-expanding operation.
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one → collapse → operation
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