A teacher’s disappearance has been referred to homicide detectives after a series of police failures left the case dormant for decades while her family were told she was alive and well.
Marion Barter, 51, a mother of two, disappeared under suspicious circumstances in 1997.
She was last seen on June 22, the day she flew out of Brisbane for an open-ended trip to England with Ric Blum, a man she had recently begun a relationship with after meeting him through a personal ad.
Marion Barter, 51, a mother of two, disappeared under suspicious circumstances in 1997.
Barter’s daughter, Sally Leydon, filed a police complaint in October, concerned that she had not heard from her mother while also noting that $80,000 had been taken from her bank account in a series of transactions.
But the file was not marked as a missing person report and remained dormant for a decade.
New South Wales state coroner Teresa O’Sullivan accepted on Thursday that Ms Barter was dead and described the circumstances surrounding her disappearance as “troubling”.
Dozens of Leydon’s friends and supporters packed the Sydney courtroom to hear the inquest’s findings, with many wearing green in homage to Barter’s favorite colour.
Mr. Blum, born in Belgium, did not appear.
O’Sullivan dismissed the NSW Police investigation into Barter’s disappearance as inadequate, noting that little was done until 2019, when the case became the subject of a successful podcast series.
The coroner detailed a series of police errors, including the failure to initially document Ms Barter’s disappearance.
He also criticized Senior Detective Constable Gary Sheehan’s decision to reclassify Ms Barter as located in 2011, when she had not been seen and there was no evidence she was alive.
The lack of police investigation, despite Leydon’s repeated attempts to have officers consider the case, meant the loss of crucial evidence, O’Sullivan said.
The coroner also described a number of extraordinary coincidences in the case, including the unusual name Ms Barter adopted by public deed the month before she disappeared.
She was last seen on June 22, the day she left Brisbane for an open-ended trip to England with Ric Blum (pictured).
Ms Barter was last seen at a bus station hours before taking a flight under her new identity, Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel.
Her departure travel card stated that she was divorced and intended to live in Luxembourg.
Weeks later, on August 2, she was listed as returning to Australia with an incoming passenger card indicating she was married and living in the small European nation.
Ms Barter changed her name because “she was in a relationship with Mr Blum and was seeking to share a name and a life with him”, Ms O’Sullivan discovered.
The schoolteacher met Mr Blum after the married man posted a personal ad under the name ‘MF Remakel’ without the knowledge of his wife and family.
He encouraged Mrs Barter to change her name and start a new life with him in Luxembourg, the coroner said.
There was also evidence that she withdrew tens of thousands of dollars from her account, encouraged by Mr. Blum, before disappearing.
Investigations revealed that someone accessed the missing woman’s bank account after her disappearance.
Marion Barter, 51 years old at the time, was last seen at a bus station on Scarborough Street in Southport, Queensland.
O’Sullivan said he did not accept any evidence given by Blum, who he believed was withholding key information and had represented himself to “single, vulnerable women for financial gain”.
“His lies and deceptions throughout this investigation convince me that he really knows more than he lets on,” she said.
Ms O’Sullivan has referred the case to the NSW Police Unsolved Homicide Team for review.
A tearful Ms Leydon hugged her supporters after the findings were revealed and told them: “We’ll get him eventually.”
In a statement, New South Wales Police said they would consider the coronial findings.
“This matter has been referred to the Homicide Squad, Unsolved Homicide Team, for continued monitoring and evaluation,” the statement said.
“Anyone who may have information that could assist Strike Force Jurunga investigators is asked to contact police.”
A $500,000 reward continues to be offered for information regarding Ms. Barter’s disappearance.