Australia Australia - Marion Barter - Missing After Trip to UK - June 1997 #23
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Hey Folks been following this case for a few years now, on and off. Just one thought to add all IMO and JIMO , Strictly my opinion only 
1. There is no way RC would say MB had been to his house (albeit said it was to pick up tea chests with pilot boyfriend blah blah) unless She actually had been to his house. And he knew there was ways police could find that out (maybe someone sighted them when she arrived at his house at wherever it was he lived with family in 97 , Ballina NSW ? CCTV near his house ? one of his teens leaving the house when she entered maybe ?)
Ergo Marion at some point was at his house in 97. This had to have been some point between Aug 2 to Oct 17 1997).
2. There is only one possible reason Marion could have entered his house where he lived with his wife and kids ? She followed him one day when suspicious of where he lived /how he lived/his backstory / his stories to her. THis cant have been before June 22 cos she was still excited then about being a married housewife in LUX and that had to have been as Mrs Remakel with him ?
Given his usual MO, he would have just stolen her docs, any jewels suitcases, come back and stole whatever else he could while she was still stranded in the UK.
What if.....something made MB very suspicious of his actions while in UK , on the day he left July 31 and her having had a day to think about it, starts wondering if its a con, then travels back the very next day to investigate - maybe she was cleverer than all the others, and used some snippet of info he had given her to track down one of his usual hangouts that he had let slip - the rare bookstore - and stalked it out for a day or two till she spotted him and followed him to his house. Then rung the bell and confronted.........
I dont believe it was her who went to the bank in August through to October ......
1. There is no way RC would say MB had been to his house (albeit said it was to pick up tea chests with pilot boyfriend blah blah) unless She actually had been to his house. And he knew there was ways police could find that out (maybe someone sighted them when she arrived at his house at wherever it was he lived with family in 97 , Ballina NSW ? CCTV near his house ? one of his teens leaving the house when she entered maybe ?)
Ergo Marion at some point was at his house in 97. This had to have been some point between Aug 2 to Oct 17 1997).
2. There is only one possible reason Marion could have entered his house where he lived with his wife and kids ? She followed him one day when suspicious of where he lived /how he lived/his backstory / his stories to her. THis cant have been before June 22 cos she was still excited then about being a married housewife in LUX and that had to have been as Mrs Remakel with him ?
Given his usual MO, he would have just stolen her docs, any jewels suitcases, come back and stole whatever else he could while she was still stranded in the UK.
What if.....something made MB very suspicious of his actions while in UK , on the day he left July 31 and her having had a day to think about it, starts wondering if its a con, then travels back the very next day to investigate - maybe she was cleverer than all the others, and used some snippet of info he had given her to track down one of his usual hangouts that he had let slip - the rare bookstore - and stalked it out for a day or two till she spotted him and followed him to his house. Then rung the bell and confronted.........
I dont believe it was her who went to the bank in August through to October ......
I always thought there was a reason for this admission. He must have believed at the time that the police could find out she was at his house, otherwise why not deny it? They would not have been able to prove beyond suspicion that the relationship had even existed without his admission. There is something here, some fear of his that they had uncovered some proof. But what?Hey Folks been following this case for a few years now, on and off. Just one thought to add all IMO and JIMO , Strictly my opinion only
1. There is no way RC would say MB had been to his house (albeit said it was to pick up tea chests with pilot boyfriend blah blah) unless She actually had been to his house. And he knew there was ways police could find that out (maybe someone sighted them when she arrived at his house at wherever it was he lived with family in 97 , Ballina NSW ? CCTV near his house ? one of his teens leaving the house when she entered maybe ?)
Ergo Marion at some point was at his house in 97. This had to have been some point between Aug 2 to Oct 17 1997).
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Just looking back over the dates from my timeline in regard to police interviews etc with RB and DdeH Blum
2021
June 8- police call to his house whereby he denies knowing MB and also that of FR
*he now realises the police are onto him*
*he changes his tune because he doesn't know what they may have on him*
June 9 - he calls the police station to arrange a statement from him
"June 2021, Mr Blum had provided a written statement confirming he had an intimate relationship with Barter before she went missing."
Sept 14 - RB and DdeH Blum both make statements to Ballina police
( maybe dags didn't know that he had already made a statement to the police)
She drives him to the Ballina Police Station
Sept 14 - This is the same day RB is recorded in a 2 hour long interview, and at the end of it, was caught on tape using the F Bomb.
Knowing that he "helps" to pack up the treasures of his victims and promises to store them for safe keeping.
"M Barter asked him to store “three or four wooden tea chests” at the family home he shared with his wife and two teenage children in Wollongbar in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
RB later said, MB collected her belongings with a man wearing the uniform of a pilot or navy officer, who she planned to travel overseas with."
IMO this is why he admitted in his first statement that MB came to his house. He had said her things were stored there and now they are not there, so where are they, Mr Bloooooooom.
I dont think she went to his family home at all JMO
Marion was a person above all else that loved kids. She had herself been in broken marriages, had affairs and was known to her family as "marrying Marion".
IMO there is no way she would have turned up out front of what looks like from the outside, a family home and confronted RB there, knowing that there was a possibility a wife and kids lived at that family home. And how would she even know where he lived?????
He is a seasoned lifelong criminal, he isn't about to reveal a thing about his personal life, we seen that with all the other victims.
Aside from some of them revealing he rings his wife *another mystery*
Especially given MB wanted no one to know she was back in Australia. If there was a raucous and neighbours called police, cover blown.
IMO she never went to his house.
It's his excuse for why he sold all her treasures that he stored for "safe keeping " . A pilot collected them with MB and they flew off into the sunset.
Hello Pilot? Have you come forward to help solve your missing girlfriends whereabouts.
No. Because there is no pilot.
Just a criminal that makes up BS
No one would have ever known about MB and his connection, aside from the Advert Joni found and MB using the same surname.
That's where it all came unstuck for him.
That Advert and getting MB to use that name.
Otherwise we wouldn't be here today.
His massive stuff up and someone who happened upon a piece of gold in the newspaper.
2021
June 8- police call to his house whereby he denies knowing MB and also that of FR
*he now realises the police are onto him*
*he changes his tune because he doesn't know what they may have on him*
June 9 - he calls the police station to arrange a statement from him
"June 2021, Mr Blum had provided a written statement confirming he had an intimate relationship with Barter before she went missing."
Sept 14 - RB and DdeH Blum both make statements to Ballina police
( maybe dags didn't know that he had already made a statement to the police)
She drives him to the Ballina Police Station
Sept 14 - This is the same day RB is recorded in a 2 hour long interview, and at the end of it, was caught on tape using the F Bomb.
Knowing that he "helps" to pack up the treasures of his victims and promises to store them for safe keeping.
"M Barter asked him to store “three or four wooden tea chests” at the family home he shared with his wife and two teenage children in Wollongbar in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
RB later said, MB collected her belongings with a man wearing the uniform of a pilot or navy officer, who she planned to travel overseas with."
IMO this is why he admitted in his first statement that MB came to his house. He had said her things were stored there and now they are not there, so where are they, Mr Bloooooooom.
I dont think she went to his family home at all JMO
Marion was a person above all else that loved kids. She had herself been in broken marriages, had affairs and was known to her family as "marrying Marion".
IMO there is no way she would have turned up out front of what looks like from the outside, a family home and confronted RB there, knowing that there was a possibility a wife and kids lived at that family home. And how would she even know where he lived?????
He is a seasoned lifelong criminal, he isn't about to reveal a thing about his personal life, we seen that with all the other victims.
Aside from some of them revealing he rings his wife *another mystery*
Especially given MB wanted no one to know she was back in Australia. If there was a raucous and neighbours called police, cover blown.
IMO she never went to his house.
It's his excuse for why he sold all her treasures that he stored for "safe keeping " . A pilot collected them with MB and they flew off into the sunset.
Hello Pilot? Have you come forward to help solve your missing girlfriends whereabouts.
No. Because there is no pilot.
Just a criminal that makes up BS
No one would have ever known about MB and his connection, aside from the Advert Joni found and MB using the same surname.
That's where it all came unstuck for him.
That Advert and getting MB to use that name.
Otherwise we wouldn't be here today.
His massive stuff up and someone who happened upon a piece of gold in the newspaper.
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Not much happening unfortunatelyI really miss not seeing posts daily on here
Wondering about the clarity / thoughts of when it was that SL found out about M name change.
When S was at Tafe studying to get into the police force and her friend in customs found that M had returned in August 1997 - how would this be possible, with just the name MB and her birthdate ?
A new passport and different name, has a new PP number, so it cant be the PP number that found it.
If the customs friend told S that M had returned on August 1997 , and her name was so obscure, why would he then not tell her about the name change???
The friend had already possibly breached protocol by saying she arrived back so why not include the name to S? Its October, SL had already been to BB police to report M.
I keep thinking if someone said she arrived back into Aust on this date, then why not also mention her peculiar name change ???
Something like, I have found her card, it doesnt say MB but FNMR, did she change her name S ????
I just find this whole scenario very bizarre TBH and I guess looking for options on why someone wouldn't have mentioned this vital piece of information given S friend was looking for a mother who hadn't been in contact with family for 2 months or so?
The name MB and her birthdate was given and someone finds a passenger card stating the same birthdate yet completely different name and says nothing?????
S said she didn't know M new name until 2011 when she was told by Sheehan.
Anyone got any thoughts on this?
When S was at Tafe studying to get into the police force and her friend in customs found that M had returned in August 1997 - how would this be possible, with just the name MB and her birthdate ?
A new passport and different name, has a new PP number, so it cant be the PP number that found it.
If the customs friend told S that M had returned on August 1997 , and her name was so obscure, why would he then not tell her about the name change???
The friend had already possibly breached protocol by saying she arrived back so why not include the name to S? Its October, SL had already been to BB police to report M.
I keep thinking if someone said she arrived back into Aust on this date, then why not also mention her peculiar name change ???
Something like, I have found her card, it doesnt say MB but FNMR, did she change her name S ????
I just find this whole scenario very bizarre TBH and I guess looking for options on why someone wouldn't have mentioned this vital piece of information given S friend was looking for a mother who hadn't been in contact with family for 2 months or so?
The name MB and her birthdate was given and someone finds a passenger card stating the same birthdate yet completely different name and says nothing?????
S said she didn't know M new name until 2011 when she was told by Sheehan.
Anyone got any thoughts on this?
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I vaguely remember this was discussed on one of the podcasts a while back. I can’t remember whether it was Laura Richards or TLV. Essentially, all of the names are linked to the same passport record, so the name change may not have been obvious to the person doing the checking. If ithe passport record was being searched in a mainframe computer database, I imagine the person doing the search would have plugged in the name MB plus birth date and just looked at the field in the database where it recorded the movement, ie a re entry date into Australia. They wouldn’t have been looking at the actual passport.
Thanks @CuriousKat99 , that makes sense to some degree
If all names are linked to a persons previous PP records then, wouldn't it also show her FR name?
Surely for security entering into Aust, Customs could see the names of passengers and not just a birthdate and previous known name ?
They had AH list of names for decades entering and leaving Aust
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SL didn’t go into the details but she seemed satisfied that this person wouldn’t have noticed the name change.
My understanding is that the passport record would have shown both names but the person doing the search may have just used the name fields for the search then not actually viewed those fields in detail once the record came up. SL probably just asked them to check the movement, which they did. After all, who could imagine such a scenario of someone changing both given and family names to such a bizarre combination (except of course for a seasoned criminal)
In one of the recent Facebook comments, SL did clarify that the person who did the search was just a class mate, not a close friend so even less likely to pay attention to extra & unusual names in the record of someone they didn’t know.
Having worked for many years in a very large organization where I frequently had to look up employee records, I can easily imagine this scenario. Especially if the person was doing the search in an open office (hardly any WFH in those days) in a hurry due to it being a breach of protocol.
All depends on the type of database query that was made. If they asked for just movements then it's entirely possible that's all the data that comes back to the screen - just the dates of leaving and entering.
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How sad is this for her family. Such a complicated and mysterious situation, with no end in sight. No closure for family. Has anyone got a theory on how this can be solved?
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Wow, any chance of posting Part 2?
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Aka will take most of his dirty secrets to the grave and NSW Police appear to have lost all interest in the case despite the Coroner’s findings (they could have nailed this guy decades back had Marion’s case been properly investigated at the outset).
Attention should turn to his family who have no doubt (knowingly or unknowingly) financially benefited from Aka’s life of crime, and the worldwide acquaintances that have helped assist him in his dodgy dealings over many decades.
Not sure any more victims or families of those victims will come forward after all this time. Sadly even now the story isn’t well known enough across Europe. I’ve no doubt there are unknown victims matching the dates he was coming in and out of Australia.
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You would still think that whatever record is brought up would still show a name? How would you know for certain you were even viewing the correct record?
It’s difficult to miss the name Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel. It would have filled the screen.
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More problems re Queensland Forensic Lab
www.abc.net.au
FSQ is an independent statutory authority and forensic service provider, which supports the criminal justice and coronial systems with specialised services in forensic biology and forensic chemistry.
Two commissions of inquiry, in 2022 and 2023, found serious failings over many years at the FSQ lab, including a "fatally flawed" automated testing method that might have seen offenders escaping conviction.
Forensic Science Queensland director suspended over 'contamination issues'
Attorney-General Deb Frecklington says she has moved to immediately suspend the director, Linzi Wilson-Wilde, pending a show cause notice for removal.
www.abc.net.au
Forensic Science Queensland director Linzi Wilson-Wilde suspended after 'contamination issues' identified
FSQ is an independent statutory authority and forensic service provider, which supports the criminal justice and coronial systems with specialised services in forensic biology and forensic chemistry.
Two commissions of inquiry, in 2022 and 2023, found serious failings over many years at the FSQ lab, including a "fatally flawed" automated testing method that might have seen offenders escaping conviction.
Yes, it would have been which is why I think it didn't show. Maybe they searched under passport number?
Latest episode of Sal and Joni's podcast (episode 7, currently behind a paywall) finally has some interesting new information.
It reports that Janet Oldenburg died on 30 May 2025. Sally also recounts one of her last conversations with JO where she told Sally it has been troubling her that she did not tell the police that when she was in Bali with RB, he made her write two letters to her family saying that she did not want any further contact with them. Sally asks her if she will agree to talking about it on a recorded call, and she does, and we hear the audio.
We also hear Ghislaine Danlois-Dubois saying, again for the first time I believe, that RB wanted her to change her name.
Joni sleuths during their stay in Belgium that both GDD and the victim being called "Charlotte" approached coin dealers in Belgium asking for catalogues, and that the association of coin collectors has published a warning about a R.L.West defaulting on payments. Customer address is the Ballina PO Box and Luxembourg.
Next episode: Luxembourg where they meet Monique Cornelius.
It reports that Janet Oldenburg died on 30 May 2025. Sally also recounts one of her last conversations with JO where she told Sally it has been troubling her that she did not tell the police that when she was in Bali with RB, he made her write two letters to her family saying that she did not want any further contact with them. Sally asks her if she will agree to talking about it on a recorded call, and she does, and we hear the audio.
We also hear Ghislaine Danlois-Dubois saying, again for the first time I believe, that RB wanted her to change her name.
Joni sleuths during their stay in Belgium that both GDD and the victim being called "Charlotte" approached coin dealers in Belgium asking for catalogues, and that the association of coin collectors has published a warning about a R.L.West defaulting on payments. Customer address is the Ballina PO Box and Luxembourg.
Next episode: Luxembourg where they meet Monique Cornelius.
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