CEO of construction firm Panthera who claims ex-wife poisoned him with home cooking reveals his new 'Queen': Now she tells LUCY MANLY the truth behind their relationship

By LUCY MANLY, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 14:32, 25 May 2026 | Updated: 14:39, 25 May 2026 The bizarre divorce now unfolding between Sydney property developer Mario Evangelo and his former wife, Janelle, is the talk of the real estate industry. According to explosive court documents, Mr Evangelo claims that Janelle attempted to poison him with her home cooking on multiple occasions and later allegedly tried to hire a bikie to 'hurt' him. Mr Evangelo, the CEO behind the Panthera property empire, told police he became mysteriously ill for extended periods after eating meals prepared by his then-wife. Notably, he claimed she would prepare separate meals for him and allegedly instruct him not to share the food with their children. According to police documents, things allegedly escalated in February 2023 when the businessman allegedly became so sick with signs of jaundice that his doctor insisted he immediately go to hospital. Doctors at St George Hospital reportedly investigated him for liver damage before, according to the documents, he stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated by staff. The documents further claim Mr Evangelo noticed he would mysteriously begin to recover whenever he travelled overseas or went away on business. The couple first formed a romantic relationship in the early 1990s but have married and divorced twice in the subsequent years. Mario Evangelo and then wife Janelle at the 2023 Women in Business Awards - before he accused her of poisoning his food, according to explosive court documents Mr Evangelo posted this selfie on Facebook with the psychic Melanie Obeid, whom he referred to as his 'Queen'. Ms Obeid told the Mail that she was gay and that we should not 'read too much into' her birthday dinner They now live separately, with Ms Evangelo residing in the couple's reported $9.5million apartment inside Crown Towers. But in an even stranger twist, the Daily Mail has discovered that Mr Evangelo has, in recent months, been consulting married psychic Melanie Obeid, who also happens to have links to his colourful criminal lawyer Zali Burrows. In a series of Facebook posts, Mr Evangelo described Ms Obeid as his 'Queen' and 'Amore' - Italian for 'love' - while sharing cosy photos of the pair together at a number of Sydney's fine-dining institutions. One image was captioned: 'Happy birthday, my Queen. Looking forward to dessert.'  It's curious because Ms Obeid is still very much married - to her wife. This was confirmed by Ms Obeid herself when the Mail called her on Monday afternoon.  'I'm married to Tess. I am gay,' she said when asked about the nature of her relationship with Mr Evangelo. 'I wouldn't read too much into that [the Facebook posts].' Another Facebook caption by Mr Evangelo refers to Ms Obeid is as 'amore' Melanie Obeid is pictured kissing wife Tess The Daily Mail accepts that Mr Evangelo and Ms Obeid are simply good friends and that Ms Obeid is in a committed relationship with her wife, and does not suggest otherwise. According to the AVO application currently before the court, police allege that Ms Evangelo - who previously spearheaded her own women's empowerment foundation - approached a third party last September seeking help to hire a bikie to assault her former husband. Police documents allege she told the third party: 'Can you find someone to hurt Mario? I am willing to pay any price. I don’t have any other choice.' The documents further allege she asked: 'Isn't Forest Inn Hotel a hangout for the bikies?’ The third party allegedly contacted police and is now expected to be called as a witness in the AVO proceedings. Ms Evangelo has not been charged with any criminal offence and is expected to contest the allegations. 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 Ms Burrows enjoyed a friendly drink with courtroom personality Bruce Lehrmann in Hobart's fashionable Salamanca Place, after she appeared for him at Hobart Magistrates' Court It seems Ms Burrows once sought Melanie Obeid for an 'extremely accurate' psychic reading The matter returned briefly before the Downing Centre Local Court last week, where prosecutors revealed police were considering laying charges, although no details were provided about who exactly may be charged. The prosecutor did not elaborate on the nature of the potential criminal charges, nor specify who police intended to charge. Mr Evangelo's solicitor Zali Burrows, raised no objection to the lengthy adjournment, while Joshua Sneesby, appearing for Ms Evangelo, also consented to the application. The case is set to return to court on July 22. During happier times, the pair 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 that his wife's home cooking was poisoning him. Mr Evangelo launched Panthera in 2000, transforming the construction outfit into a reported $300million property empire responsible for more than $3billion worth of developments across Australia and New Zealand. But even the glossy world of luxury developments hasn't been without its cracks. 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. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.