Australia Australia - Marion Barter, 51, missing after trip to UK, June 1997 #13

[gymtonic]

To answer your question:

• They would definitely need a physical medicare card.
• Optometrist would NOT be suspicious at all. All Dr cares about is ensuring they send the slip away to get paid for treating a patient.
• Whoever was seen at optometrist would need to be a woman claiming to be named Marion.

hmmm...re the last...I just wondered why BS asked whether AKA had gone to Grafton AND had an eye test? It would seem to me that a Legal Eagle asking that question would seem to think it was possible for a man to use MB's Medicare Card.

 

[Estelle]

Yes I know he’s not trial but he has a long wrap sheet - not expecting them to mention everything but simply inquest into missing woman and a Belgium man using up to 30 aliases giving testimony.. IMO that’s news worthy in Belgium..
It may then trigger memories of any other people who have been ‘done’ over by this man especially if aliases were mentioned

Perhaps some of our members here could send a few articles to journalists in Belgium.

 

[Deleted member 249471]

hmmm...re the last...I just wondered why BS asked whether AKA had gone to Grafton AND had an eye test? It would seem to me that a Legal Eagle asking that question would seem to think it was possible for a man to use MB's Medicare Card.

You're right, he could present himself as Marion Google says it's a gender neutral name in EU.

 

[gymtonic]

Perhaps some of our members here could send a few articles to journalists in Belgium.

It may be that there are active investigations happening that police want to keep a bit hush, hush for the moment?

 

[gymtonic]

You're right, he could present himself as Marion Google says it's a gender neutral name in EU.

Yes, and as I said John Wayne's real name was Marion and, being a stalker of everything famous, AKA might just have known that!

 

[KateM]

Marion's name would be on the card though.

Yes, and as I said John Wayne's real name was Marion and, being a stalker of everything famous, AKA might just have known that!

 

[KateM]

 

[Estelle]

hmmm...re the last...I just wondered why BS asked whether AKA had gone to Grafton AND had an eye test? It would seem to me that a Legal Eagle asking that question would seem to think it was possible for a man to use MB's Medicare Card.

IMO Smith did not wish to implicate RB's wife at this stage so he suggested RB went there.

 

[KiwiNZ]

Yes did the dentist really witness MB's passport application or did RB sign it saying he was the dentist as it's never checked.

I think the dentist would have said if it wasn't his signature - with the assumption they gave him a copy of it for the inquest

 

[Eyespywithmylittleeye]

I agree there would be no risk at the time of consultation to have a female use the card. A receptionist would simply swipe the card.
BUT the risk would be IF Marion had been reported missing and police HAD followed up immediately, the receptionist may have been able to identify the female who used the card. He had no way of knowing it would take 20 odd years to follow up on the cards use.

I have always believed in the simplest explanation that it WAS Marion who used the card with or without RB's knowledge. It just fits the timeline.

31st Jul & 2nd Aug - They both return to Australia
3rd Aug - 10th Aug - They spend a week together for re-inforcement of control & planning by RB. Marion requires more effort than past victims. During this time Marion may have changed her appearance (cut or coloured her hair) DdH has no idea RB has returned from OS at this stage.
11th Aug - RB purchases the car from Alstonville, near his home in Wollongbar. DdH knows he is home now.
13th Aug - RB takes Marion to a location in the Grafton area where she uses her Medicare card.

I agree I think she believed she was heading back OS and had time to kill on her own and thought I’ll get my eyes checked while I’m in Australia

 

[KinseyFan]

Yep I'm trying to figure this out myself.

So, with JO he wanted her out of the way whilst he 'took' her house.

Working on the same method, he wanted Marion out of the way whilst he 'took' her money.

So, maybe it's blindingly obvious?

With JO, she did not follow instruction to take a flight at a later date, and thwarted RB by coming home early. Albeit accidentally. Insofar as she hadn't seen through him, despite her cousin (I think it was) had suspicions, she did not.

With Marion, she did not thwart his plan, accidentally or on purpose, she did not return early. The money was taken, nobody knows by whom, and nobody has ever seen Marion again. We do not have any proof she returned to Aus.

Maybe that's the logic. His plan worked. He came back and took her money whilst someone - who? - 'dealt with' Marion in the UK.

The clue to unpicking that would be examining / scrutinising EXACTLY the minutiae of where exactly did RB leave JO in the UK? what did he tell her to do? where did he tell her to go? what instructions did he leave her with?

Was RB planning to leave JO alone in the UK and totally disappear, leaving her alive and well but somewhat stranded on the other side of the world? Or did he have some fate 'arranged' for her? If so, what? Did he suggest JO some contacts or places to stay or companions or any type of instruction whatsoever? Because those are the clues.

Did RB think he could strand Marion in the UK, drain her bank account, and just disappear, leaving her alive and well and able to tell the tale, return to Aus, report to the police and bank detectives, all of whom could try to track him down somehow and then she could identify him? I suspect not. How realistic would that be?

Therefore, he possibly has at least one accomplice. A female accomplice, or a couple, who 'dealt with' Marion in the UK and then the female travelled on her passport? The Dutch Dentist and 'Maz'?

JO is a very very lucky to be alive woman.

Also, something that crosses my mind whilst pondering all this - as RB has possibly simultaneously held numerous identities and passports (fake or real), we don't know if it is even him who travelled back into Aus on his own passport in the July, if you see what I mean. Even that cannot be truly depended upon as a definite fact.

Yes! (wow)

 

[Nnbee]

I wish we could find earlier photos of RB. Did he say he volunteered at his kids swim meets? I wonder if there are photos. It’s just odd in 2022 to have no online presence.

 

[mishy66]

This MC really has me questioning her involvement in all of this and subsequent letter that she gave up.

What is her reasoning for outing him when he said himself she was his best friend. That is twice now he was really taken aback that she ratted him out. They seemed to have had a very long romance.

IMO They had an affair while she was married to FR - another teacher ( *sidenote - LOTS of teachers in this saga going right back to his arrival in 1971 as Fredy David) - Dianne says they were in Itzig, Lux for around 3 years in the early 80s and M is born in 1981 Lux. And Blum was having an affair with her while Dianne was pregnant looking at the dates of the letter and babys birth...

MC states she and FR divorced 1987 / 88 give or take a yr or two ( going on her age was 38 at the time and she is now 70 odd)

And the relationship between her and Blum is still playing out in 1992 with correspondence he sends her.

WHAT IF the name Marion changed her name to was more about MC and RB - documents in the name of FNMR were needed for an offshore account that FR had and that MC and Blum wanted access to?

He certainly had planned this for a very long time.

And could it be that MC was the one who came back to Aust in 1997? to access Marions accounts???

MC has now certainly distanced herself from anything to do with Blum. That is a weird thing to do after years of being lovers for no reason. Blum must have really done a number on her for her to humiliate him with giving up that letter.
Did he not live up to his side of the deal with her so now she is shifting all focus back to him?

There is something about this union that doesn't sit right with me.

 

[mishy66]

I wish we could find earlier photos of RB. Did he say he volunteered at his kids swim meets? I wonder if there are photos. It’s just odd in 2022 to have no online presence.

I personally could never imagine him volunteering for anything let alone helping his kids that he never spent time with on school holidays

 

[KinseyFan]

The dentist who signed the passport application is one of the dentists at the Queensland Teachers Health Union Centre at St Paul's Terrace in Brisbane. QTHU (now Teachers Health) have their own Centre with their own practitioners. As a QTUH member MB visited this centre for her dental and eye checks (verified by SL) as did I. The dentist gave evidence that he signed the application and as he was also a dentist I saw at the centre, I am inclined to believe he did sign it. There are multiple dentists at the centre that you might see, so he would not necessarily have known MB as well as he would have if she had attended a regular dentist outside of the QTUH system, but as a trusted member he would have authority to verify the documents.

So why then would MB not get eye check at QTUH rather than that optometrist? Apologies if I’ve missed something. So many twists and turns, Smoke and mirrors!

 

[KinseyFan]

If she did, it would have been to create confusion, as she would have had her own card. I've always suspected that she's an accomplice.

He could have manipulated his wife into doing this/things. Especially if she is a long suffering victim.

 

[gymtonic]

So why then would MB not get eye check at QTUH rather than that optometrist? Apologies if I’ve missed something. So many twists and turns, Smoke and mirrors!

Well, that's one of the reasons that I tend to come down on the side of "it was not MB who had the eye check at Grafton" and that the reason for it is for a "proof of life" demonstration by AKA. I know that it's possible that she was in hiding in or near Grafton and that it was her, but the on balance and IMO not. IMO she would have taken advantage of health checks with QTUH prior to leaving for O/S (and there is evidence to say she did). I can't see any pressing reason she would have another one, especially if she was in hiding. What I would like to find out was whether she put her QTHU membership on hold prior to leaving. You can do this if you think you will be O/S for an extended period of time (I did).

 

[gymtonic]

I wish we could find earlier photos of RB. Did he say he volunteered at his kids swim meets? I wonder if there are photos. It’s just odd in 2022 to have no online presence.

There is one earlier photo that I have seen, but it is very poor quality.
EDIT: Actually I checked and there are 3 earlier photos, 2 on docs in NAA files and the other I have no idea now as to the provenance.

 

[Brown Alleycat]

Thank you for this!
A particularly interesting paragraph:

"Rye News has been contacted by an individual laying claim to the $250,000 reward money. This person confirmed she has submitted a name to the court, that of a Rye man, as a possible suspect, and in addition, the details of a former bank employee put forward as a person of interest. We understand there is also a Metropolitan Police involvement in this fascinating story."

So it IS an international effort and UK police are in on it

It's just a shame the article never uses the words 'Marion Barter' or 'Florabella Remakel' so it won't come up on searches. They simply call her 'missing Marion'.

This is so interesting and looking forward to the outcome of any more info regarding this news piece. Could this be a link to the "Dutch Dentist" being possible suspect and "Maz" being the female that has submitted the name of possible suspect?!

 

[BonnieB]

This MC really has me questioning her involvement in all of this and subsequent letter that she gave up.

What is her reasoning for outing him when he said himself she was his best friend. That is twice now he was really taken aback that she ratted him out. They seemed to have had a very long romance.

IMO They had an affair while she was married to FR - another teacher ( *sidenote - LOTS of teachers in this saga going right back to his arrival in 1971 as Fredy David) - Dianne says they were in Itzig, Lux for around 3 years in the early 80s and M is born in 1981 Lux. And Blum was having an affair with her while Dianne was pregnant looking at the dates of the letter and babys birth...

MC states she and FR divorced 1987 / 88 give or take a yr or two ( going on her age was 38 at the time and she is now 70 odd)

And the relationship between her and Blum is still playing out in 1992 with correspondence he sends her.

WHAT IF the name Marion changed her name to was more about MC and RB - documents in the name of FNMR were needed for an offshore account that FR had and that MC and Blum wanted access to?

He certainly had planned this for a very long time.

And could it be that MC was the one who came back to Aust in 1997? to access Marions accounts???

MC has now certainly distanced herself from anything to do with Blum. That is a weird thing to do after years of being lovers for no reason. Blum must have really done a number on her for her to humiliate him with giving up that letter.
Did he not live up to his side of the deal with her so now she is shifting all focus back to him?

There is something about this union that doesn't sit right with me.

Agree totally @mishy66, there's a lot more to MC than meets the eye.
Why would she keep love letters and all his other cards etc. dating from 1980?
I have suspected this affair continued with all his overseas trips since the 1980's.
I suspect DdH left RB at least once, perhaps more over his affair with her.
As I have read, the only people narc's respect, are other narc's.