Australia Australia - Marion Barter - Missing After Trip to UK - June 1997 #17

[Brown Alleycat]

Maybe but it have to depend on what the poison was - what was the poison in the Taylor case.

She wasn't cremated.
She lies in the Catholic section of a cemetery.
Odd for a Jewish woman right?

He is Catholic, on both sides, MB FB page said.
Her burial record was misspelt with a swap of a letter - something he and diane both do with their names

Her report is typed up. NOT signed by husband. Although it says he came to the hospital and was told by the Dr.
Yet her body was ID by someone else the day after her death.

The whole thing stinks of a psychopath

Agree with you 100% Mishy66. You spell out all that I am thinking!

 

[MrsWattle]

William Coppenolle in orphanage then becomes William (Willy) Wouters

 

[mishy66]

William Coppenolle in orphanage then becomes William (Willy) Wouters

nailed it

 

[TootsieFootsie]

I wonder if he's retired now from his "career"

I can see some more money might be needed if he's charged with anything and pleads not guilty.

Somehow I don't see many women being attracted by an old hunched over man using a walking frame.
Unless that's just his go to court look

Haha court, courting

 

[mishy66]

The Australian Write up today​

Curious case of the alleged conman Ric Blum and the missing coins​

It’s the conman’s collection – a combination of unusual artefacts and rare coins traced back to alleged serial fraudster Ric Blum.

A Roman bronze-plated phallus and a bronze “fibula” or brooch, circa 75BC, along with ancient coins, are among numerous items Mr Blum has sold via a leading Australian auction house.

Some of the objects sold for less than $100, while other sales were worth thousands of dollars for the disability pensioner.

Mr Blum’s financial position and his dealing in rare coins and antiquities are under the microscope after he was linked first to a missing Queensland schoolteacher, Marion Barter, and then to a succession of alleged scams.

Barter mysteriously withdrew large sums of cash before she vanished in 1997, aged 51, following a relationship with Mr Blum that she kept secret from her two children, family members and even her closest friends.

He has always maintained he has no knowledge of what happened to Barter.

Since Mr Blum was first linked to Barter by amateur sleuths researching her disappearance on the back of a popular podcast, The Lady Vanishes, other women have come forward to say he robbed them of their money and in some cases their valuable coin collections.



One woman, Ginette Gaffney-Bowan, who met Mr Blum through a personal ad in a newspaper, has told police he stole from her two coins made from a gold nugget. The coins had sentimental value as the nugget had been purchased for her twins by their father.

Mr Blum allegedly also stole from Ms Gaffney-Bowan some pure silver coins from Argentina that a friend had given her in the 1970s.

He suggested they launch a coin-trading business together, but when she refused to sell her Sydney home to buy a Paris apartment he tried to blackmail her with naked photos taken without her consent.

An elderly woman from Belgium, Andree Flamme, has also alleged Mr Blum stole her coin collection.

Mr Blum, now 83, last year rejected the allegations from the women at a NSW inquest into Barter’s disappearance.

At the inquest, he also sought to downplay his coin trading, stating that in the 1990s he briefly set up a coin business at an office in Ballina, but that the only items he sold were worth in the hundreds of dollars at most and never at auction.
Some coins were from his grandfather, and others were mainly purchased through car boot sales, Mr Blum said.

“I never sold coins in the thousands of dollars, never,” he said.

However, Mr Blum was a regular client of online auction house Noble Numismatics, The Australian can reveal.
His coins and antiquities were sold under the name of his family, Coppenolle.

At one auction alone in 2010, he is believed to have put up for sale tens of thousands of dollars worth of coins, antiquities and “didactic” material.

The items were discovered by volunteer researcher Joni Condos, a key supporter of Barter’s daughter Sally Leydon in her search for answers.

Ms Condos said she set out to see whether coin trading was a hobby or profession for Mr Blum.

“I found he was dealing with some of the most recognised coin dealers in the world,” she said.

Travel records show Mr Blum frequently travelled overseas, including in the 1990s.

Rare and valuable coins would have been an easy way to move wealth across borders without raising red flags with authorities.

“An expensive coin is something that can be transported around the world with a high value but a very small size,” Ms Condos said.

The inquest is ongoing.

 

[mishy66]

Some coins were from his grandfather, and others were mainly purchased through car boot sales, Mr Blum said.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Did he only con women, or were their male victims.
I don't mean in a romantic way, although who knows how far he'd go to get hold of someone's money and belongings.

I mean he did con males, by stealing their id. But did he steal sums of money from males.
Or did he just see himself as irresistable to women.

And was it a dislike and contempt for women.

 

[Lord Peter Flimsy]

Did he only con women, or were their male victims.
I don't mean in a romantic way, although who knows how far he'd go to get hold of someone's money and belongings.

I mean he did con males, by stealing their id. But did he steal sums of money from males.
Or did he just see himself as irresistable to women.

And was it a dislike and contempt for women.

Not saying he wouldn’t con males given the chance but IMO I wonder if his pathological dislike of women and the urge to humiliate and leave them penniless was born out of a hatred for his mother or some matriarchal figure in his early life?

 

[Carovb5]

We will never be recognised for any leads @TootsieFootsie
I heard she even asked someone here to contact her if something interesting was found..... weird right for a supersleuth to say
I mean we are all numbskulls here on WS with no idea how to research...

Don’t forget her messages trying to get people to shut up about certain info. If it’s posted, it’s findable on the internet en then the ‘me me me’ house of cards crashes. Wondering which other well documented search will be adopted after this one.

 

[KiwiNZ]

Remember, was it J.O.?, she thought she’d been drugged and he took compromising photos? Sounded like she thought he’d drugged her? ie if not poison, a drug?

I agree I think he uses drugs or poisons just not botulism, I think that is a scary word he would like to throw around it's not a toxin you would want to mess with, the risk to yourself developing is very high.

botulism is undetectable to the person eating the product but not undetectable when testing for it in someone with symptoms.

I much prefer @mishy66 suggestion of potassium cyanide

I do a botulism course ever few years, I work in the food / canning industry, the symptoms are very recognizable and it's a reportable illness in most countries NZ, Aus, USA, mainland Europe, if someone is reported to have botulism the regulatory body have a team on it straight away to locate the source because if came from a food source you could have mass deaths.

I just find it odd that Joni put that out there to be honest ... I mean how do they know did they test the yogurt ??

 

[HinterlandObserver]

I wonder if he's retired now from his "career"

I can see some more money might be needed if he's charged with anything and pleads not guilty.

Somehow I don't see many women being attracted by an old hunched over man using a walking frame.
Unless that's just his go to court look

Haha court, courting

Did you happen to catch the brand if walker too?
“Hero”
Purely aesthetic.

 

[MrsEmmaPeel]

You all are brilliant. The potassium cyanide idea since AKA fancies himself a coin expert and the dyeing of the hair blonde to cover its traces makes so much sense. Brava! It would be the most delicious justice if IK and her daughter provide the piece that brings him down.

 

[Eyespywithmylittleeye]

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/curious-case-of-the-alleged-conman-ric-blum-and-the-missing-coins/news-story/75a0af3d1d80460df8611985d264ec9f?amp

It’s the conman’s collection – a combination of unusual artefacts and rare coins traced back to alleged serial fraudster Ric Blum.

A Roman bronze-plated phallus and a bronze “fibula” or brooch, circa 75BC, along with ancient coins, are among numerous items Mr Blum has sold via a leading Australian auction house.

Some of the objects sold for less than $100, while other sales were worth thousands of dollars for the disability pensioner.

“I never sold coins in the thousands of dollars, never,” he said.

However, Mr Blum was a regular client of online auction house Noble Numismatics, The Australian can reveal.

His coins and antiquities were sold under the name of his family, Coppenolle.

At one auction alone in 2010, he is believed to have put up for sale tens of thousands of dollars worth of coins, antiquities and “didactic” material.

The items were discovered by volunteer researcher Joni Condos, a key supporter of Barter’s daughter Sally Leydon in her search for answers.

Ms Condos said she set out to see whether coin trading was a hobby or profession for Mr Blum.

“I found he was dealing with some of the most recognised coin dealers in the world,” she said.

Well this is slightly incorrect

The fibulas and Bronze statues are listed in CAPPENALLE not Coppenolle..

Sold through his normal nobles channel.

I sent them through to J back in June of last year she had already seen them but that was when I was told a slight letter change is a common trait of his.

 

[brjakj]

Well this is slightly incorrect

The fibulas and Bronze statues are listed in CAPPENALLE not Coppenolle..

Sold through his normal nobles channel.

I sent them through to J back in June of last year she had already seen them but that was when I was told a slight letter change is a common trait of his.

Wonder who he stole all these things from?

 

[Eyespywithmylittleeye]

Wonder who he stole all these things from?

It’s interesting as I found one then by searching Lucien Lerat the rest of the Cappenalle collection popped up

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

It does make you wonder why Marion would go to Bali when she had just sold up and was looking forward to her European tour and trip on the Orient Express? No mention of Bali on any communications home. If Bali is involved how did Aka spin this yarn?

Maybe on the premise to get married in Bali? have a wedding where they invite all Marion's friends and family, announce their plans to everyone then go back to Europe on honeymoon, the Orient Express, and invest in a property? It's heartbreaking to think how happy she must have been to find her dream man, I wonder when / if she saw through him?

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

Well he hasnt covered ALL of his tracks because I have found a few!!!!!
Just cant post up because of legals

You're an absolute star mishy66! I've been reading this case from London UK for about 18 months now and like I everyone else I imagine, it blew my mind when the Remakel name emerged from tracing the personal ad. It's incredible to think this hateful hateful man nearly got away with all the harm and evil he's done.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

I have a weird feeling that something is happening.
Why would he suddenly give an interview.

Something is up.
In my opinion.

He's been controlling the narrative of every situation he's ever been in for 80 years. He's an old man and his neural pathways are solidified so whatever games he plays at this juncture will be the same as he's ever played - lying, deceiving, controlling. I'm not fond of the saying 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' but in this instance, it certainly applies, he's a creature of habit and repetition as we know.

I imagine if he's got things to say they will be about him being the victim of horrific childhood traumas and a huge conspiracy to paint him out as a bad man when he is simply misunderstood and has 'problems in his head from reading too many books' and loving all the wrong types of women who wanted to start businesses with him but badly let him down and ran off with other men leaving him with all their money.

He'll be hoping for some form of compassionate leave and to be excused from any legal charges. He'll probably add in new life threatening ailments like cancer or heart disease. He wants to die at home with his family, not in a prison cell surrounded by young hoods who want to knock him about a bit.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

If I was DH or the children, I would be seriously concerned that RB could take DH out as a last act so she can't reveal what she knows.

100% - very important nobody should eat, drink, or touch anything that RB has had access to at this point, most especially DDH :O She's in the crosshairs I should imagine. I'd be going out of my mind with anxiety if I was her or one of his children.

 

[Annalize]

He's been controlling the narrative of every situation he's ever been in for 80 years. He's an old man and his neural pathways are solidified so whatever games he plays at this juncture will be the same as he's ever played - lying, deceiving, controlling. I'm not fond of the saying 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks' but in this instance, it certainly applies, he's a creature of habit and repetition as we know.

I imagine if he's got things to say they will be about him being the victim of horrific childhood traumas and a huge conspiracy to paint him out as a bad man when he is simply misunderstood and has 'problems in his head from reading too many books' and loving all the wrong types of women who wanted to start businesses with him but badly let him down and ran off with other men leaving him with all their money.

He'll be hoping for some form of compassionate leave and to be excused from any legal charges. He'll probably add in new life threatening ailments like cancer or heart disease. He wants to die at home with his family, not in a prison cell surrounded by young hoods who want to knock him about a bit.

Extradite him to a country with harsh penalties.. he has committed crimes in all continents so there is a wide choice.. put him in solitary confinement for the rest of his life.. and give him absolutely no attention.. fairly sure there are places where regular health checks are not heard of.. so any ailments will make no difference as far as lenience.. slide his food tray and toilet paper through a slot.. full stop..
Let's see how long this "poisoner prisoner" can maintain his delusions of grandeur if he has no audience.. no technology.. no contact with the outside world.. no champagne bottles.. no travel.. no pink linen shirts tied in a bow at the waist.. no coins, house titles, or artefacts to steal.. just his own company 24/7..