Australia Australia - Marion Barter - Missing After Trip to UK - June 1997 #19

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I watched it again just now, and to be fair he does appear to take a while before being able to stand. Looked like he was sort of rocking in order to get up. I may be over-thinking, but there's a lot of it about!
IMO-AKA’S memory and cognitive abilities tend to be very much limited to alleged criminal activity answers which would reflect badly in him.
Cognition seems generally good in some areas.
I thought motor decline and cognition deteriorated equally.
Hmm
Looking forward to the coroners outcome and where she believes Marion was last seen?
Perhaps an Oast House in Kent?
Or a bank in Byron Bay or QLD??
There must be some resolution for Sally.. I hope
 
I agree with everything you stayed here, however, I meant what do you think he will claim is physically wrong with his head and what explains the stuttering - even can his disability be proven?

Now that he's been interviewed so many times at such great lengths, I don't think he can evade any further process by claiming to be disabled or impaired in any way.

He's left it too late to come up with some excuse about his brain not working as it provenly does.

Any distress or discomfort caused to him by the questioning is perfectly normal and any forgetfulness or confusion on his behalf is also perfectly normal as in fact he's demonstrated remarkable clarity and recall. He is also alert and aware. The stuttering and tics and coughing all suddenly *wear off* under great duress so that's not any type of supporting evidence.

His legal representation could volunteer for him for psychiatric assessment (or a court could order it in future proceedings). They would need to argue he doesn't have capacity to understand the proceedings which would be disingenuous and dishonest IMO.

He's demonstrated capacity to turn up in court and sit for sustained amount of time answering questions with clarity and recall. He's demonstrated capacity to sit assisted by his lawyer and answer questions over video conference.

For headaches, distress, anxiety, the emotional toll on him = totally normal reactions to being busted for lifelong criminal activity, I guess he could have some physical health checks? AFAIK his only legal right is to have any disabilities taken into account and adjusted for.

What are the legal precedents for older people being brought to justice in later life? We've seen war criminals and child sex offenders and the like taken to prison for historic offences.
 
Agreed. IMO not enough evidence unless there’s things we don’t know about still being investigated (which likely would’ve formed part of the inquest so I’m doubtful). Might be other elements he can be arrested for in the future but IMO probably not the romance scams. Also unless there’s some exceptions to the statute of limitations in Belgium then there’s not a great deal their courts can do either IMO.

I wonder if they can have him under any of the new types of legislation relating to coercive control? If there are such things internationally.
 
I’m not sure how the rewards claims work but surely there would have to be some rigour around the process otherwise they would be inundated with claims. IMO, the only conclusion is either that the bank manager is telling the truth but mixing up the time markers, or she’s making the story up to cover herself for allowing a withdrawal by an imposter.

Are we allowed to sleuth her / this situation?

Something is very wrong here and it's the only thing we've got.

Why would a retired bank manager insert herself into such a situation looking for reward money, seems very unlikely to me? However, would they be motivated to cover up making a grave error that was breach of banking conduct?

Can a person be stripped of their pension if they did something that means they should have been sacked before their retirement?
 
I wish to sign a petition that Mr. Ric Blum be kept away from older vulnerable women, particularly those in any of the Uniting Church retirement villages. In my opinion he is still a danger to society and his pattern of fraud has been well-established legally.
 
Are we allowed to sleuth her / this situation?

Something is very wrong here and it's the only thing we've got.

Why would a retired bank manager insert herself into such a situation looking for reward money, seems very unlikely to me? However, would they be motivated to cover up making a grave error that was breach of banking conduct?

Can a person be stripped of their pension if they did something that means they should have been sacked before their retirement?
Theories are one thing and proving them is another. Even if proof still existed, it’s such a long time ago that it’s probably impossible to prosecute. I doubt that the bank manager could be stripped of her super and/or pension either. Just look at AKA, still living his life freely for decades on a generous disability pension, travelling the world and passing on his large “inheritances”/ill gotten gains to his children, leaving behind him a trail of destruction, possibly even murder. If authorities can’t even charge him, they sure have no hope with the bank manager, who for all we know may be telling the truth. At least her evidence places Marion in the same location as AKA
 
I know everyone is frustrated at all the evidence being admitted. It really does make your blood pressure rise. But there really is massive evidence of a pattern of swindling vulnerable women - and the benefits system in Australia - I don't understand why he hasn't been arrested based on all the years of testimony from victims ALREADY!!!

I suspect once the inquest has drawn a conclusion and made some statements, there will be solid grounds for formal criminal investigation of his other frauds and financial behaviour - if in fact there hasn't been already by other agencies. He's not going to get away with these things.
 
I wish to sign a petition that Mr. Ric Blum be kept away from older vulnerable women, particularly those in any of the Uniting Church retirement villages. In my opinion he is still a danger to society and his pattern of fraud has been well-established legally.

I'm not on Facebook but this sounds like a great suggestion for sharing via the social medias and for people in the chat group, I would certainly sign it.

I have a close family member who reminds me of RB and he was still predating on and inappropriately sexually harassing older women right up to the end of his life, despite being crippled with illness. They don't stop, they get worse over time as the neural pathways become set in concrete as opposed to plastic is my opinion JMO.
 
I wonder if they can have him under any of the new types of legislation relating to coercive control? If there are such things internationally.
Unfortunately, it’s unlikely they could get him on coercive control as legislation has only just been introduced in NSW. Unless of course he starts practising his dark arts in the aged care home now.

Chris Dawson is now on trial for his sexual relationships with his underage students and they can only get him on legislation that was in place at the time the offences were committed. Unbelievably, at that time it was legal for a teacher to have a sexual relationship with a student who was over 17, hence he is running the argument that his sexual relationships didn’t commence until the students were 17. Only sentencing is in line with current legislation.
 
There was one thing he may have been honest about.
He clearly couldn't believe he was asked the question about why he just left women, without saying a word.

His voice rose and he said there was no reason why he would have stayed.
He seemed incredulous at the question.

I'm thinking there was nothing more for him there..
The women had nothing left to give...
 
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If anyone can help with how to create such a petition whilst retaining our anonymity, help with its wording and to whom it would be directed—social media is best practice for mass communication these days it seems. Shall we give it a few days and see what shakes out from the coronial inquiry? Wonder when those findings will be announced.
 
I suspect once the inquest has drawn a conclusion and made some statements, there will be solid grounds for formal criminal investigation of his other frauds and financial behaviour - if in fact there hasn't been already by other agencies. He's not going to get away with these things.
I think we all really hope you are right He has been given far too many years of freedom to destroy other people’s lives.
 
IMO-AKA’S memory and cognitive abilities tend to be very much limited to alleged criminal activity answers which would reflect badly in him.
Cognition seems generally good in some areas.
I thought motor decline and cognition deteriorated equally.
Hmm
Looking forward to the coroners outcome and where she believes Marion was last seen?
Perhaps an Oast House in Kent?
Or a bank in Byron Bay or QLD??
There must be some resolution for Sally.. I hope
Physical and mental decline don’t necessarily proceed at the same rate. If cognitive abilities are good, then any criminal charges should be able to proceed regardless of physical decline
 
There was one thing he may have been honest about.
He clearly couldn't believe he was asked the question about why he just left women, without saying a word.

His voice rose and he said there was no reason why he would have stayed.
He seemed incredulous at the question.

I'm thinking there was nothing more for him there...
Agree, it’s as if he believes his behaviour shouldn’t even be questioned. Time and again he has demonstrated the absence of a guilty conscience and empathy. Yet he has the hide to call Marion strange. Yet annother example of him projecting his behaviour onto his victims.
 
There is absolutely no evidence that I've heard to make me doubt that RB intentionally murdered Marion after she challenged him.

Agree.

Maybe it's just me but when right near the end, he firmly said he believes she was still alive, something along the lines that she'd run off with a 'cult society' and how would he know because 'she was still living her life...', that put chills through me.

I also perceived there was a entire shift in the demeanour of everyone in court, perhaps I invented it, but they to my mind all looked suddenly saddened and resigned. Also from the second of saying those words it was o.v.e.r.

I believe that firstly these legal professionals are abuser aware and they will have taken consultation from forensic psychology / psychiatry experts. It is classic behaviour of an abuser (and a murderer) to suggest the alternative theory or blame (she ran off with a cult society) and then to speak the opposite of truth 'she was still living her life'. He just went and did it. Personally, I feel sure what that means.

An innocent person would say hey I may have led these other women a merry dance and maybe we've got disputes about finances but wow I'm no murderer, I'm going to sit here going through every single thing I remember about Marion with a fine tooth comb so we can figure this out together.
 
Agree, it’s as if he believes his behaviour shouldn’t even be questioned. Time and again he has demonstrated the absence of a guilty conscience and empathy. Yet he has the hide to call Marion strange. Yet annother example of him projecting his behaviour onto his victims.

Certain types of people have no empathy, conscience, moral compass. That's because those areas of their brain neural pathways and emotional intelligence literally didn't develop as infants and children. When he says his brain isn't the same as anyone else's he is absolutely correct IMO. He has self declared himself as exactly what he is.

If so, he will have terrorised others all his life. It is time they picked a side and spoke up and tell all they know, most especially his children.

I believe we are looking at the tip of the iceberg here. How many unfortunate vulnerable souls have had everything taken that we have no idea about, maybe older women who have already passed. Heartbreaking.
 
I'm trying hard to be fair so don't hate me, but is there any chance at all that Marion figured out that most of her life savings and assets had been swindled out of her and she felt so humiliated that she fell for it,
and she felt she couldn't pick herself up and start again.

Also there's the realisation that he didn't love her. Maybe she really did love him and was heartbroken.

And what would she do, where and how would she live. A lifetime of work, and what did she have left to show for it.

She may have felt she might have been judged because once again a "marriage" had failed.
I believe she thought she was married.

I do blame RB, but what if Marion did kill herself.

It is possible she went somewhere remote and jumped and hasn't been found. And sometimes people who go into the ocean are never found at all.

It's also possible he killed her.

Either way I believe if she never met him she would not have disappeared
 
I'm trying hard to be fair so don't hate me, but is there any chance at all that Marion figured out that most of her life savings and assets had been swindled out of her and she felt so humiliated that she fell for it,
and she felt she couldn't pick herself up and start again.

Also there's the realisation that he didn't love her. Maybe she really did love him and was heartbroken.

And what would she do, where and how would she live. A lifetime of work, and what did she have left to show for it.

She may have felt she might have been judged because once again a "marriage" had failed.
I believe she thought she was married.

I do blame RB, but what if Marion did kill herself.

It is possible she went somewhere remote and jumped and hasn't been found. And sometimes people who go into the ocean are never found at all.

It's also possible he killed her.

Either way I believe if she never met him she would not have disappeared
Of course there is a small chance that Marion took her own life BUT, in my view, if she did in fact do this, she would have at least owed her own children an explanation with a suicide note. Also, based on what we know about her, surely she would have put up a fight/gone to the police etc before taking her life in vain like that (if I were in that situation, I would have made sure I took him down with me)) As discussed in the Lynn Dawson/Simms case it’s quite difficult & unusual to commit suicide and be able to hide your own body. In addition, if this was the case then how do we explain the stories of her wanting to start a new life. Just remember how Chris Dawson peddled theories of Lynn taking her own life and wanting no contact with her family….
 
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