Australia Australia - Marion Barter, 51, missing after trip to UK, Jun 1997 #3

[KiwiNZ]

interestingly Goran Markovic's grandmothers name was Natali (not quite Natalia but close)

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

I've been away and look what happened! The Markovic idea is tantalizing-- and plausible. Pieces fit. However Markovic is 58. Marion would be 75. Not an impossible age difference, but a small glitch. However, if it's a mail con, you don't see the man and age is no problem. Interesting to think (or imagine) that Marion maybe showed up unannounced in UK to find Markovic. Maybe Kelly will come back and comment, or others of you know if he conned older women.

 

[KiwiNZ]

interestingly Goran Markovic's grandmothers name was Natali (not quite Natalia but close)

I've been away and look what happened! The Markovic idea is tantalizing-- and plausible. Pieces fit. However Markovic is 58. Marion would be 75. Not an impossible age difference, but a small glitch. However, if it's a mail con, you don't see the man and age is no problem. Interesting to think (or imagine) that Marion maybe showed up unannounced in UK to find Markovic. Maybe Kelly will come back and comment, or others of you know if he conned older women.

have you seen a picture of him, I am not sure he ever looked very youthful ;-) but your right that is a bit of an issue. he was born is 1959 (?) so would have been 37 / 38 (?) math's is not my strong point.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

My name is Kelly Boulter. Unfortunately I am one of many victims of the convicted fraudster Goran MARKOVIC (as a result of my effort, he appeared on 60 Minutes and in the SMH article). I have recently been contacted by one of your members who thinks MARKVOIC may have something to do with a woman who went missing in the UK in 1997. I have limited access to records that confirm he was in Melbourne between the 21st of April to the 4th of October, 1997. At some point whilst still on bail (I don't know if it was in 1997 or afterwards) he fled Australia for the UK. I can find out in which year this was if you need the information. MARKOVIC's MO is stealing money and cars, abusing people in the process. He is a sadistic psychopath whom I believe is capable of murder but I have no evidence of the latter. I have been told he has done online romance scams in order to steal money. His real name is Goran MARKOVIC, confirmed by many sources, but he does use aliases, such as Adrien Albert Basile, Gordon Maverick, Gary McDonald, Scott Billinger, Gordon Michael McCormick (also changes the spelling of these names), and many others I don't know of. If you have any questions, let me know and I will be happy to answer them. I believe he now lives in Sydney, Australia.

Just adding an afterthought Kelly. Just if you find some connection, some link,/info, maybe it's best not to post it up here but forward info onto this email: theladyvanishes@seven.com.au - they have a full investigation of the case now. As much as I want to know everything straight away, that's probably best.
Cheers

 

[KiwiNZ]

1

 

[BKB]

Just adding an afterthought Kelly. Just if you find some connection, some link,/info, maybe it's best not to post it up here but forward info onto this email: theladyvanishes@seven.com.au - they have a full investigation of the case now. As much as I want to know everything straight away, that's probably best.
Cheers

I don't know if I can help with any sort of connection, link/info that relates to the missing woman. The information I have is only what I know of in relation to other crimes unconnected to this woman. He targets anyone- young, old, couples, singles, any nationality...anyone is fair game to him. All he is concerned about is stealing money, cars etc. I have photos of him from 2014 as well as when he was younger if you want them. Markovic was born in 1959.

 

[BKB]

Hi Kelly, firstly so sorry to hear about what you went through.
I think my first question is whether he was fluent in French? The ad in question (from 1994) was in French and I just don’t believe someone would post that ad unless they were fluent in the language.
Thankyou for offering information aabout him.

I spoke with someone who confirmed he is not only fluent in French but other languages, too. I never heard him speak French. I know he is very good with languages and can speak German, Indo-Dutch, Russian, Bulgarian, English. He was born in Serbia so speaks fluent Serbian. He immigrated as a child to Australia with his mother, Jovanka Arezina, and his siblings, and stepfather. I think his father immigrated too but not sure. I believe he is capable of killing someone for money.

 

[BKB]

Re: Gordon Markovic

This smh article on him states “But sources in France, who alleged they were scammed by him, say the French police deported Markovic after discovering that he was in the country illegally.”

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp...r-to-face-charges-in-nsw-20170306-gurp0v.html

So from that you would think he is fluent in French.

Wow there are certainly many red flags pointing at this guy as a possible scamming suspect for Marion. If he was living in the Northern NSW area back in 1994-1997 then I think he is red hot flag material!

I know the background to the SMH article as I was involved in it. A retired English couple who had fallen victim to him lured him back on the pretence of him working off what he stole from them. Somehow this English couple were bamboozled by his lies again and allowed him to stay 3 months before the French police were called. Markovic was then held in a detention centre in or near Toulouse and deported back to Sydney. In 2014, unknown to me at the time, the French police had given him an order to leave France within 3 months which he didn't comply with. Markovic has spent 10-15 years travelling around the UK and Europe scamming and stealing so I think he would be fluent in French. I don't know if he was fluent in French back in 1997, though, but he does state this on his RAAF form. French would be an easy language for someone like him to master. Markovic was definitely going between NSW and Victoria in 1997 as per his criminal record charges and people I have spoken to. But I don't know if he was in the north of NSW.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

I don't know if I can help with any sort of connection, link/info that relates to the missing woman. The information I have is only what I know of in relation to other crimes unconnected to this woman. He targets anyone- young, old, couples, singles, any nationality...anyone is fair game to him. All he is concerned about is stealing money, cars etc. I have photos of him from 2014 as well as when he was younger if you want them. Markovic was born in 1959.

Thanks Kelly, he certainly sounds like a POI. I would be very interested to see photos from around 94, 97,. I’ve seen his file in the National Archives which has a photo and is pretty interesting, seen Arezina’s too. I feel like this fellow is considerably more of a POI than fernand but I’m no expert. If he was involved with someone who looked like Marion back in 97 would be interesting as her wallet was stolen and credit card used by someone who looked just like her, only younger

 

[BKB]

Markovic has been committing crimes going back to 1980, maybe earlier, but I don't have evidence prior to 1980, mostly fraud-related but one was for impersonating an AFP officer. In 2000 or 2001 he fled Australia using a fake passport so he had contacts back then who could supply fake passports. He fled whilst still on parole, hence there were still outstanding warrants for his arrest when he was deported back in 2016. He was on the run for 3 months before being arrested and extradited back to NSW. While in prison, he conned someone else and used the money to get out only after serving 7 or 8 months which was an absurdly lenient sentence given his prior numerous incarcerations and charges.

 

[BKB]

I've been away and look what happened! The Markovic idea is tantalizing-- and plausible. Pieces fit. However Markovic is 58. Marion would be 75. Not an impossible age difference, but a small glitch. However, if it's a mail con, you don't see the man and age is no problem. Interesting to think (or imagine) that Marion maybe showed up unannounced in UK to find Markovic. Maybe Kelly will come back and comment, or others of you know if he conned older women.

A 17 year old age difference is irrelevant to someone like Markovic. I know of retired people he scammed in France. Age, race, gender- all irrelevant to him. All he thinks about is whether he can steal from the person or persons

 

[BKB]

Thanks for sharing here Kelly, fascinating and disturbing tale .... why isn't he living out his days in the slammer, strange his sentences seem to have been so light in comparison to the harm he has caused to others. It's a given he hasn't been convicted for everything he's been up to over the years ... err, my opinion only. Ah well, we're looking for some kind of connection to this advertisement which appeared in a French newspaper called Le Courrier Australien on 10 December 1994. Whether he knew someone in the Ballina area or was known to go Ballina, Lennox Heads, Byron Bay in 94/95, would be interested to hear if there's any link, thanks Kelly. Click on the #47 to see the ad. Thank you for your time, and very sorry that happened to you, hope everything is going better for you now and things are looking brighter for you. Cheers
Itsapuzzle, May 12, 2019
#47

There are things that fit Markovic from that ad and others that don't but keep in mind the person who placed that ad might have been lying. Here is my breakdown of that ad as it relates to MARKVOIC: Markovic is a heavy smoker but I don't know if he smoked back then (I can find out), he was married back in 1997 but that means nothing to some men (and I was told he was having affairs at that time), a multi-owner of what ? property? Markovic didn't own property back then (my source has confirmed this), he is not an academic although very intelligent, he thinks he is moral because he is very religious (he could be acting religious to con people) and his actions do not demonstrate morality, he is tall and used to have brown hair.

 

[BKB]

[

Thanks Kelly, he certainly sounds like a POI. I would be very interested to see photos from around 94, 97,. I’ve seen his file in the National Archives which has a photo and is pretty interesting, seen Arezina’s too. I feel like this fellow is considerably more of a POI than fernand but I’m no expert. If he was involved with someone who looked like Marion back in 97 would be interesting as her wallet was stolen and credit card used by someone who looked just like her, only younger

I have asked one of your members to post a photo of Markovic when he was younger. Only thing is I don't know how old he was in this photo but it will still give you an idea of how he looked back then. Markovic stole my credit card so I think he has stolen other peoples credit cards too and used them. Markovic is a very convincing conman. The NSW police detective who arrested and charged him in 2016 said he was one of the best he'd ever come across. He could easily convince another woman to help him

 

[KiwiNZ]

[

I have asked one of your members to post a photo of Markovic when he was younger. Only thing is I don't know how old he was in this photo but it will still give you an idea of how he looked back then. Markovic stole my credit card so I think he has stolen other peoples credit cards too and used them. Markovic is a very convincing conman. The NSW police detective who arrested and charged him in 2016 said he was one of the best he'd ever come across. He could easily convince another woman to help him

Thanks BKB, I am not sure I am allowed to post pictures, if anyone wants a copy I can private message a copy. Just send me a message if you want a copy.

 

[Estelle]

I am not sure what you mean - arrival cards are issued by the Australian government not the Airline, its a generic form

The flight landed in Brisbane at 10am, she could not have made the call from the UK, flight was approx. 24hrs depending on layer over, but if you look on the Lady Vanish facebook page they have that in detail, someone tracked the flight.

She came via Hong Kong its on the arrival card.

As far as Arrival Cards are concerned, I realise they are issued by the Australian Government but they are given out by the airline stewards before one lands in Australia so you can fill them out before you disembark. However, if you mislay it before you get to Passport Control, there are many empty ones available for you to collect on desks near by. If this conman had a plan in mind, he could have collected some if he had arrived in Australia earlier or asked a contact to do the same.

IMO this conman is capable of whatever it takes to achieve his goal.

So it appears that Marion either

1. Made that call from the UK. If she made such a call, it would have been from Hong Kong

2. Posts later have suggested that Sally could have gotten the dates wrong.

3. I still feel that another woman could have posed as Marion and took that flight. It is fanciful but not impossible.

 

[Estelle]

about her flight and the call. It is more than likely that Sally has the wrong day that Marion called. How can sally be so sure about the time she received the call? Remembering that event of the phone call would have been weeks after she received the call , when she started worrying about not hearing from her.

IMO, when you have to recall such an important event as the last time your mother called you on the phone, you would look back to other events which happened on that day to trig your memory and you would ask your husband what day he thought it was to get confirmation. After all, it was only weeks.

Does Sally herself have any doubts?

I think there is a chance she has it wrong but also the Thredbo disaster happened on the 30th at 11.30pm so the call could not have been before that if she referenced Thredbo, the earliest it could be was the evening of the 31st and she said around dinner time, she may have had the time of day wrong ? Not sure if you move the call to the mid morning, afternoon, if you would then make the flight

She also left a message on the answer phone first Which would likely be the morning of the 31st, and called back later. Wonder how many hours between the first message and the 2nd call.

This is a good point. But I think most people would definitely remember what time of day. If Sally thinks "dinner time", I would say that would be correct. As the call would have been to a landline, it would have been to Sally's home phone not to her at work. I think in those days, Sally would have been working all day. Do we know what type of work Sally did then and if it was a 9-5 job?

Where was the first layover on this flight? I think there would have been two layovers in those days. Perhaps that was where Marion made the first call from and left a message if it was her. (I have not located the flight times and layovers on Facebook yet).

Otherwise, the first call (if from England) could have been before Marion went to bed and the second after she woke up in the morning which would have been Sally's dinner time I think.

 

[Seriallyaddicted]

IMO, when you have to recall such an important event as the last time your mother called you on the phone, you would look back to other events which happened on that day to trig your memory and you would ask your husband what day he thought it was to get confirmation. After all, it was only weeks.

Does Sally herself have any doubts?



This is a good point. But I think most people would definitely remember what time of day. If Sally thinks "dinner time", I would say that would be correct. As the call would have been to a landline, it would have been to Sally's home phone not to her at work. I think in those days, Sally would have been working all day. Do we know what type of work Sally did then and if it was a 9-5 job?

Where was the first layover on this flight? I think there would have been two layovers in those days. Perhaps that was where Marion made the first call from and left a message if it was her. (I have not located the flight times and layovers on Facebook yet).

Otherwise, the first call (if from England) could have been before Marion went to bed and the second after she woke up in the morning which would have been Sally's dinner time I think.

I haven’t really looked into the issue of the timing of the call and when she got on the flight because I’m very confident that the writing on marions passenger card is hers. I studied it very closely and the writing is very similar to writing on marions postcards that she sent. In fact the uppercase ‘australia’ found on a postcard and the passenger card are pretty much exactly the same, and the writing is quite unique.
A leading handwriting expert has said it was marions handwriting.
There was no need for anyone to forge a passenger card because anyone can write each other’s passenger cards, it’s just the signature that border security looks at.
Marion was on that flight.

 

[Itsapuzzle]

A 17 year old age difference is irrelevant to someone like Markovic. I know of retired people he scammed in France. Age, race, gender- all irrelevant to him. All he thinks about is whether he can steal from the person or persons

Just a slight correction with the age, it’d be a 14 year age difference, Marion was born in 1945 and GM in 1959. She was said to be interested in an airline pilot, a father of a child from the TSS school and he was 13 years younger, not GM, and her previous boyfriend was nine years younger. Marion looked a lot younger than her age and was probably very youthful in mind and spirit, so the age gap wouldn’t be a problem .... just my thoughts anyway.

 

[Estelle]

Thanks Kelly, he certainly sounds like a POI. I would be very interested to see photos from around 94, 97,. I’ve seen his file in the National Archives which has a photo and is pretty interesting, seen Arezina’s too. I feel like this fellow is considerably more of a POI than fernand but I’m no expert. If he was involved with someone who looked like Marion back in 97 would be interesting as her wallet was stolen and credit card used by someone who looked just like her, only younger

So Marion's wallet was stolen and credit card was used by someone who looked just like her - only younger??

Do you have a link to this information? Why couldn't this woman be the one who flew back to Australia on Marion's passport and withdrew the money and used Marion's Medicare card?

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

The Markovic connection is the first thing I've heard which, for me, ticks all the boxes. England, Australia, Luxembourg, the languages, the smarminess of the newspaper ad, Marion being taken in and manipulated to have done the things she did, the name change. He sounds like the kind of person who could have worked her like a puppet. I always felt like it was too complicated to have been just a "bad" boyfriend guy who happened along and took advantage. I hope this information is forwarded along to the FB people.