Australia Australia - Marion Barter - Missing After Trip to UK - June 1997 #18

Liselle

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Please excuse me for my "off topic" question, but, has anyone here on Websleuths been personally acknowledged as being of assistance with finding any informative facts that has led to more investigation by Facebook/TLV/Ch7, etc? I certainly hope so, as a few more/new names popped up in the podcast.
 

gwebb9

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An absolute pig of a human. The audacity of this lying piece of filth is despicable.
I have been thinking on and off, IF I was one of his children, AND I knew nothing about my father's "secret life" before it all came out at the inquest.... how would I look at my father the same way again! And then, there is more and more and more irrefutable evidence coming out ... my mental state would be an absolute shambles. I would be questioning EVERYTHING he ever told me. Truly sad....... Just adds to his layers of being despicable and not really a human.
 

CuriousKat99

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An absolute pig of a human. The audacity of this lying piece of filth is despicable.
The true hideous character can’t help oozing out like slime over the carefully crafted personas: the gentle but pitiful old man at the inquest, the cool, calm & collected man in the police interviews, the indignant citizen being hounded by the media, the charming, well-read international man of mystery in the love bombing stage of his relationship scams and the sanctimonious man on his pedestal describing the sexual activities of the women that he abuses.
 

Meligator

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I know this is a pretty out there idea, but given that RB collects identities-is it possible Marion was found dead by authorities but any identifying information found near her (eg license/passport) were in a different name? If poisoned, it may have just looked like she died of natural causes or even committed suicide.
 

MrsEmmaPeel

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On a seperate note great episode TLV
What I found most exciting was Laura Thomas's work in Coercive Control as a punishable offense. This is huge. In the past scammers could claim (like rapists) that their victims were willing. With CC on the legal table it means someone like RB can be nailed for past offenses while they build a case against him for something bigger, like murder.
 

MrsEmmaPeel

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I know this is a pretty out there idea, but given that RB collects identities-is it possible Marion was found dead by authorities but any identifying information found near her (eg license/passport) were in a different name? If poisoned, it may have just looked like she died of natural causes or even committed suicide.
I believe if she had false identification on her she might still appear as a Jane Doe, if no one claimed her and the ID led to a dead end. (no pun intended.)
 

TootsieFootsie

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On August 1, 1997, the former teacher spoke to her daughter, Sally Leydon, Down Under from a phone box she said was in Tunbridge Wells.

Now British researcher Kristina Panter, who teamed up with Sally after listening to the podcast, is appealing for anyone who may have known anything about Blum while he was here, or who saw Marion, to come forward.

Mrs Panter said: “I offered to look at places Marion had visited, tracing staff from shops and hotels in 1997.”

Along with Sally, she contacted Kent Police, but a spokesman said the National Crime Agency was liaising with officers in Australia.

The NCA did not respond to requests for comment.

An Interpol missing person yellow notice remains live under Marion’s new name.

Mrs Panter added: “Sally has been fighting for 25 years to try to find her mother and get answers. There may also be other people who knew Blum that we don’t yet know about.”
 

TootsieFootsie

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The disappearance of the Australian teacher linked to Luxembourg remains mysterious. The light on this case could be shed at the end of May.

The case of an Australian woman who has been missing since 1997, whose disappearance has hitherto unexplained links with Luxembourg, is experiencing a new twist. A New South Wales Australian State Attorney hearing has been trying since June 2021 to determine the whereabouts of teacher Marion Barter.

In November 2022, the proceedings were suspended sine die shortly before the date set for their conclusion. A few days earlier, the Luxemburger Wort had reported on the scam of a Belgian pensioner, whose case has significant similarities with that of Marion Barter.


A new date has now been announced for the end of May. A letter from the New South Wales government, a copy of which was obtained by the Luxemburger Wort , read: " The inquest into the disappearance and presumed death of Marion Barter , also known as Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel , will be reopened in May. A three-day hearing before Magistrate Judge Theresa O'Sullivan will begin on May 31, 2023 at 10 a.m. (local time). According to information from the daily The Australian , other witnesses will be heard on this occasion.


Ric Blum, a key figure​


In the meantime, it is above all the pressure on a key figure in the trial which has increased considerably following numerous press articles in Luxembourg, Belgium and Australia. Belgian-born Ric Blum, a witness at the hearing since February 2022, admitted having had an affair with Marion Barter in 1997. However, he claims not to be involved in the disappearance of the latter.


Ric Blum, born Willy Wouters in Tournai in 1939, has a long criminal record for various thefts and frauds. Over the past 50 years he has used several dozen pseudonyms, some of which have been officially registered in Australia. In his police file, there is an arrest in Wiltz in 1976 or 1977 under the name of Roger Lauzoney. The police found another passport in his home in the name of Frederick de Hedervary. When questioned, the Luxembourg prosecutor's office and the National Archives have not yet been able to confirm this fact.


The name change is a lead to Luxembourg​


Shortly before her disappearance, Marion Barter also had her name changed - to Florabella Remakel. Blum had already used the same surname in the 1980s, after “stealing” it from a Luxembourger. Barter's release papers indicated that she planned to live in Luxembourg in the future, where she most likely never arrived. Since the summer of 1997, there has been no trace of this woman, then 51 years old.


Ric Blum ran since 1980, probably under the name of Fredy David, the furniture store "L'Européenne du Meuble" in Noertzingen, next to an electronics store called "Mobigros". This is also what he said during the hearing.


Several women have spoken since the beginning of the proceedings and said that Blum had stolen significant sums of money from them under different assumed names, but using similar scam schemes. The Luxemburger Wort spoke during the winter of 2021 and the spring of 2022 with two Belgian retirees who claim to have lost a total of more than 200,000 euros to the scammer in 2006 and 2012, partly in cash and partly by the theft of valuables, jewelry and securities.


Ric Blum denies these accusations. In the Marion Barter case, he is not currently accused of any crime, but will be heard as a witness.


Do you know this man?​


Ric Blum, “the man of many names”, has links to Luxembourg which have not yet been fully disclosed. He stole the identity of a Luxembourg citizen and used it since 1988, he was probably arrested in Wiltz in 1976. From 1980 to 1983 he lived with his family in Itzig and ran a furniture store in Noertzange.


Do you remember a man named Roger Lauzoney, Ric West, Richard Lloyd Westbury, Frederick de Hedervary or Fredy David? Do you remember "L'Européenne du Meuble" or "Mobigros" in the industrial zone of Noertzange, route de Kayl?


In this case, do not hesitate to contact us. Confidentiality assured: [email protected] , [email protected] .
 

Lord Peter Flimsy

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On August 1, 1997, the former teacher spoke to her daughter, Sally Leydon, Down Under from a phone box she said was in Tunbridge Wells.

Now British researcher Kristina Panter, who teamed up with Sally after listening to the podcast, is appealing for anyone who may have known anything about Blum while he was here, or who saw Marion, to come forward.

Mrs Panter said: “I offered to look at places Marion had visited, tracing staff from shops and hotels in 1997.”

Along with Sally, she contacted Kent Police, but a spokesman said the National Crime Agency was liaising with officers in Australia.

The NCA did not respond to requests for comment.

An Interpol missing person yellow notice remains live under Marion’s new name.

Mrs Panter added: “Sally has been fighting for 25 years to try to find her mother and get answers. There may also be other people who knew Blum that we don’t yet know about.”
At last one UK National newspaper running the story. The Express having an older readership too. Was it in the printed version?
 

gymtonic

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On August 1, 1997, the former teacher spoke to her daughter, Sally Leydon, Down Under from a phone box she said was in Tunbridge Wells.

Now British researcher Kristina Panter, who teamed up with Sally after listening to the podcast, is appealing for anyone who may have known anything about Blum while he was here, or who saw Marion, to come forward.

Mrs Panter said: “I offered to look at places Marion had visited, tracing staff from shops and hotels in 1997.”

Along with Sally, she contacted Kent Police, but a spokesman said the National Crime Agency was liaising with officers in Australia.

The NCA did not respond to requests for comment.

An Interpol missing person yellow notice remains live under Marion’s new name.

Mrs Panter added: “Sally has been fighting for 25 years to try to find her mother and get answers. There may also be other people who knew Blum that we don’t yet know about.”
Finally, and I for one am happy to see that this report leaves open the question mark of MB’s return using more indefinite language to describe the mystery of the phone call and passport returning.
 

wallyworld

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I’d love to know more about what makes con artists tick. Given the enormous amount of time involved, why not just get honest employment? It’s insane.
IMO, normal employment for RB would be a blow to his ego.
Creating a FANTASY WORLD to gain power over others no doubt gives him a Dopamine High in turn,s feeding his over-inflated ego.
 

wallyworld

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I know this is a pretty out there idea, but given that RB collects identities-is it possible Marion was found dead by authorities but any identifying information found near her (eg license/passport) were in a different name? If poisoned, it may have just looked like she died of natural causes or even committed suicide.
I love your thinking....every possibility and something that should be considered.
 

Liselle

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From Luxembourg Wort - "The police found another passport in his home in the name of Frederick de Hedervary." Is this the first we have been told that the police did a search of the de Hedervary home? I don’t remember it coming up in the court hearing. So, in which of their many homes was it found, when did this occur, was it an actual "search" and what else might the police have discovered?? Or is it just an unfortunate journalistic error?
 

KiwiNZ

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From Luxembourg Wort - "The police found another passport in his home in the name of Frederick de Hedervary." Is this the first we have been told that the police did a search of the de Hedervary home? I don’t remember it coming up in the court hearing. So, in which of their many homes was it found, when did this occur, was it an actual "search" and what else might the police have discovered?? Or is it just an unfortunate journalistic error?

This was when he was arrested in Wiltz in 1976 or 1977 and going by the name of Roger Lauzoney. They found the FDH passport. Not a search of his home in Aus
 

mishy66

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Ohhhh please post that again Mishy. Amateur sleuth here can't find it.
 

Liselle

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Th
This was when he was arrested in Wiltz in 1976 or 1977 and going by the name of Roger Lauzoney. They found the FDH passport. Not a search of his home in Aus
Yes, I recall that incident, but the police on that occasion found the concealed de Hedervary passport on him, along with the R.L. one he produced. So I was really hoping they searched one of his homes in Australia! Just a journalistic error, then. ☹️
 
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