February 22, 2024 • 50 mins
Emotions are in overdrive with just days until the State Coroner delivers her findings into Marion’s disappearance. Criminal Behavioural Analyst Laura Richards gives her final assessment of the case, and how you can help one of Ric Blum’s victims. Plus, some BIG news from The Lady Vanishes team.
Fundraiser for Ghislaine Danlois-Dubois.https://schoolworkssupplies.com.au/the-lady-vanishes-fundraiser
Laura Richards' Crime Analyst Series on Marion:
https://www.crime-analyst.com/p/case-006/
Laura's most recent Crime Analyst episode:
Ep 174: Analyzing the Murder of Dr Naomi Dancy with Sam Robins, Part 4
And Laura's Crime Analyst You Tube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCksfRSwfwFqUCjcxKYju6_Q
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
This is the case of Marion Barter, a mother, teacher
friend missing for twenty six years.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You know, no sign that she was going to vanish,
that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
The bizarre circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I'm not sure if it was intentional. There something more
foul afoot.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
If you could imagine a teacher coming straight from say
little house on the prairie to the eighties, that was
Marian Barter.
Speaker 5 (00:40):
What I say, whether you find Marian Barter dead or alive,
I honestly believe somebody has that key piece of information.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
And the relentless quest of a daughter to find her mum.
Speaker 6 (00:55):
Something had happened, Something has happened to make her leave.
Speaker 5 (01:01):
I am one hundred percent sure, one hundred percent sure
that somebody knows something.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
The lady vanishes, episode fifty six. I'm Alison Sandy.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
And I'm Brian Seymour.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
On February twenty nine, the world will find out what
the New South Wales Coroner believes happened to Marian Barter
when Teresa O'Sullivan hands down her findings after what's turned
out to be more than two years of stop star
inquest hearings into Marion's disappearance. It's a memorable date, a
(01:50):
leite year day, marking an incredible journey of almost twenty
seven years searching for Marion's daughter, Sally, and more than
five years since the Lady Vanish's team first started collaborating.
What's kept driving us all forward is that gut feeling
(02:11):
that something wasn't right. Sally had it from the outset.
Speaker 6 (02:17):
Based on the fact of how quickly she quit school
and left.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
This is when we first interviewed her in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 6 (02:25):
She was not happy. She was very upset, she was frazzled.
Something had happened, something has happened to make her leave.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
The late Rebecca Cotts, who worked for the Australian Federal
Police Missing Persons Unit, also had that unsettling gut feeling.
Speaker 5 (02:47):
My opinion on the case, I think obviously there's something
that's happened to Mary and she hasn't just walked away
from her life, and she had so much to live
for and loved her kids and her family. I guess
they knows the truth. Somebody out there has the key
to the puzzle.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Retired super Detective Ron Iddles believed the case could be cracked.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
The answers always in the file.
Speaker 6 (03:16):
Somebody within the community, either here in Australia or overseas,
knows exactly what's happened.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
He was right, The answer was in the file. The
key to unlocking the case was in the name Marion,
adopted by deed Pole Flora Bella Natalia Marion Ramicel super sleuth.
Joni was first to find the piece to the puzzle
that changed everything, monsieur, the personal ad for a man
(03:51):
looking for love multiple pile. It raised everyone's suspicions.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
I can make definitely see, you know, even from a
week or a few weeks in, I think that Marion
was potentially a prime candidate for getting sort of swept up, captured,
you know, sell your house, sell everything, Let's go and
live in Luxembourg with the all of the lavender Bush's
(04:21):
and the music and the art and the French speaking
multiple languages.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Then police detectives brought Rick Blum into the frame. A
man who admits romancing Marian in the months before her disappearance,
a man with a history of fraud, multiple aliases, and
a reputation across two continents as a swindler who targets
(04:50):
vulnerable women and makes off with their money, a man
who blatantly lied repeatedly while giving evidence under oath. But
just how will it stack up? On February twenty nine.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Sali, Regardless of what's in the findings, how hopefully you
that they will bring you some sense of closure or satisfaction.
Speaker 6 (05:16):
The findings is a really important part of the case. Obviously,
it brings some resolution as to what has actually happened
to my mum after years and years of investigation and
you know, to nearly three decades of me trying to
find the answers. So I don't know if closure is
(05:36):
the right word for it, but it definitely will have
a point of resolution where we can pause and stop
and think and you know, give me an opportunity to
have a memorial service from my mum understanding what has
happened a little better than where we were before this
(05:58):
all took place.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
What does it mean to you to get to this
point in the journey to find out what happened to you, mum?
Speaker 6 (06:04):
Well, everybody who's been following along on the podcast will
know all too well the challenges that I've been facing
for twenty seven years now on trying to get some
answers and some clarity and just even some people to
actually help me. It's been it's been a huge challenge
and quite the milestone to get to this point in
(06:25):
the journey, I think where you know, we've done things
like petitions to get Mum put on the missing Person's
register for the very first time, and you know, I
wrote to the Coroner's Court requesting an inquest be held
into Mum and then we had the support of everyone
listening along on the podcast who helped those situations be
(06:46):
pushed forward and to get us to this point. So
you know, it's it's been a hard journey. It's not
been easy, but I've tried my best to stay level
headed and calm and making sure that my family is
safe and well and that I am healthy and well,
(07:07):
because that's important as well.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Sally has invited her supporters to watch online for the
live stream as Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan delivers her findings. Will
be providing a link on our social pages, or you
can join Sally at the Coroner's Court at Lidcombe in
Sydney on Thursday February twenty nine at nine thirty am
Australian Eastern Daylight saving time, Sally suggests wearing a splash
(07:32):
of green in memory of Marion. Can you talk about
the support you're getting from people around the world following
you and your story.
Speaker 6 (07:40):
The worldwide support has been absolutely mind blowing. I never
thought in a million years, by simply telling my story
about my missing mum that I would have the reach
that we've had and the support that has come from that.
It's amazing. I am just so grateful to everybody. And
(08:01):
I've said it many times before, but I will say
again that I wouldn't have got to this point had
I not had that love and support in the show
of care for my mum after so long and feeling
like no one really did care enough to want to
help me find the answers. Recently, we had someone send
us a photo of where they'd written Mom's name in
(08:25):
the sand, and Jackie mullin if I can give her
a shout out, she's in Scotland, and she came up
with the idea of getting everybody to do it and
sending her the photos and she would put it into
a collage as such. And it's such a beautiful thing
for me and my family to look at and just
(08:46):
know that my mom does matter. And you know, I've
been using the hashtag Marion matters and hashtag the missing matter,
and they do matter. And it shouldn't be a case
of oh well, we'll look for a little bit and
we'll put it to the side. You know, they'll be right, mate,
That's not the case. These people do matter.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
In twenty twenty three, more than fifty five thousand people
were reported missing in Australia, an average of around one
hundred and fifty a day. Of course, almost all were
found within hours, but across the country there are two thousand,
six hundred long term missing people who have not been
seen for more than three months. And in the morgues
(09:32):
there are the unidentified and the unclaimed, the remains of
seven hundred and fifty sons, daughter's friends who still don't
have a name.
Speaker 6 (09:46):
We do need to keep searching until we find the
answers for them. So yeah, I'm very grateful to everybody
around the world for helping me and sticking with me.
And you know, after such a long journey, I mean,
the podcast has been going for almost five years now
and people are still popping up the same names I
see who have just been here from the beginning and
(10:09):
even following along on my mum's Facebook page, which I
had started in twenty thirteen, where now you know, got
thousands of people following along on those pages and through
the podcast. So yeah, I am very grateful and very
humbled by the whole experience. So thank you everybody. Once again.
Speaker 7 (10:26):
Hello, Hi Ger, how are you?
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Hello? Laura, loved to see.
Speaker 7 (10:30):
You and you too. How are you doing, Brian?
Speaker 4 (10:33):
I'm good. Thanks.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Laura Richards, host of the Crime Analyst podcast and formerly
of New Scotland. Yard has been with us from the
first year. She works as a criminal behavioral analyst and
has provided expert insights based on years of experience investigating
high profile cases, which now includes Maring Barter's case.
Speaker 7 (10:54):
It must feel surreal, and you know, I cast my
mind back to the first conversation I have with Alison Sandy,
and there was such limited information to go on other
than Sally knowing that something wasn't right and an accelerated timeline,
and that accelerated timeline was the big red flag really
(11:16):
of finding who was on that accelerated timeline of marry
and changing everything in the four to six months before
she left. So I think you've done a tremendous job
of piecing what information you have together but throwing it
out there for other people to help. And how wonderful
that so many people have shared information or chase down
(11:38):
leads and it's just been such an incredible investigation. So
congratulations to you. And I'm sure it feels surreal coming
up to February the twenty ninth. It's not that not
that far away now, and you know, I feel the pressure.
I feel nervous about what's going to happen. So Goodness
knows how Sandy feels at the moment. And you and
(11:59):
Alison and Joanie and the team that have worked just
so diligently and done such an incredible job.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
It's a mixture of you know, excitement, anticipation and also
and also dread. So first of all, you've kind of
just touched on it. But what are your overall impressions
of the case of the disappearance of Marion Barda in
terms of other cases you've personally been involved in, or
read about or followed.
Speaker 7 (12:23):
Yes, I mean this case is just somewhat overwhelming. Now,
it's overwhelming in the amount of information that you have.
But at the start, when I was asked by Alison
Sandy to review the causity of information that you had
that Marian had disappeared, and Sally was adamant that something
had happened to her. All of the arrows point in
(12:46):
the same direction to mister Rick Blum, and the parallels
for me with Lynette Dawson. You know, it just screams
out in so many parallels really to what happened to
Lynette and it being a full year cold case and
Hedley Thomas reinvestigating it effectively and joining the dots and
(13:08):
creating an incredible podcast.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Laura was also involved in the Teacher's Pet podcast which
sheared new light on the nineteen eighty two disappearance of
Sydney woman Lenet Dawson, created by journalist Hedley Thomas. The
podcast ultimately led to her husband, Chris Dawson, being tried
and convicted in twenty twenty two of her murder, and
(13:36):
he is today at the age of seventy five, serving
a twenty four year sentence behind bars.
Speaker 7 (13:42):
And with Marion's case, what you've uncovered through the Lady
Vanishes is so many red flags and everything points back
in one direction. There's nothing that has come up that
has made me think, oh, we might have to rethink this.
We might have to think, oh there's X or I
or Z, and we need to pursue that because that
(14:03):
person actually is on Marion's timeline and they're very interesting.
That hasn't happened. But I have to say, from the
coroner's inquest, just everything that I observed and I saw
with my own eyes and heard with my ears, everything
still seemed to point in one direction and that cannot
be ignored. And of course at the coroner's inquest, I
(14:25):
got to see him under pressure. I got to see
when he lied, how he lied. He lied continuously, He
didn't care that he was at the coroner's inquest. He
lied to the police. You know, these are all sorts
of things that I look to in terms of building
and forming my own opinion about Rick Bloom.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Yeah, the last day he gave evidence, I took the
opportunity to confront Ric Bloom and let me ask you.
I asked him at one point, do you feel sorry
for Sally with their mum being missing for so long
and the children never having nit big Gwen mother, do
you feel sorry for Can you get what he said?
Speaker 7 (15:01):
Well, judging on how he was at the inquest. I
would imagine that it became about him, that he was
less interested in the impact on her, and it was
much more about him than me myself and I is
that what happened?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Yes, Laura really does know his subject matter for the
first time. Here is a snippet where you can hear
exactly what happened.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Hi the Rick, how are you feeling? Mate?
Speaker 2 (15:25):
An excerpt of that confrontation in April twenty twenty two.
Until now, we've been advised not to replay the fifteen
minute encounter. What do you say to SALIHI just tell
me something, I'll pass it on to her. Are you
sorry for Sally? Do you feel anything for her at all?
She doesn't seen a month of twenty five years. Do
you feel sorry for Sally just as a human being?
(15:47):
I mean, okay, you can say I feel sorry for her,
that's not incriminating.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
I feel sorry for me, he said, I feel sorry
for me.
Speaker 7 (16:00):
Wow, Yes, I mean that does not surprise me at all,
because what I witnessed was him trying to go oner
hympathy and hympathy is very specific to men, drawing on
patriarchy and how we react to men, where we're much
more like so, poor guy, he's had X, Y and
Z happen, whereas if a woman shows up with the
same she doesn't get the same sympathy. And Kate Mann
(16:23):
actually coined that term hympathy, and I tend to see
it with PMS poor me syndrome, which I coined in
twenty nineteen. But his lack of compassion and care.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I just want to know what happened to her? Where
is she?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
He is a bit more of my encounter with Bloom
a couple of years ago.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
Is this some sort of game? You think you've gotten
away with something?
Speaker 6 (16:44):
Oh? What does that?
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Man?
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yes, so it's a game you've won. Bloom pulled faces.
He smiled and raised his eyebrows as I spoke to him.
There's no one else around, mate, man to man.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
When he got to the.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
I know you want to all the coroner in the
world and the police tell me news.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Thing your common mind is that because you're too clever.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
What's the idea?
Speaker 4 (17:12):
Man, I'm tired of hearing you are. Well, you'll be.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Unsurprised that I don't really care what you're tired of,
because I know what you are and you feel I'm targeting.
You didn't you understand how those women feel? Will do
you understand how the women felt? Remember, Rick Bloom has
never apologized to any of his victims, despite admitting he
lied about his identity and his family in order to
(17:40):
have fraudulent sexual relationships with them. Laura Richards specializes in
coercive control, domestic abuse, and risk assessment, and she has
developed a profile of mister Bloom.
Speaker 7 (17:53):
You know, Brian, with all the proliferation of true crime,
and then you know the where we see so many documentaries,
you often hear people say on documentaries and so forth,
they talk about victims and they say, oh, her smile
would light up the room.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Right.
Speaker 7 (18:09):
They tend to say positive things about the victim and
airbrush out the negatives. What I witness with Rick Blum
is he did the exact opposite. At every opportunity, he
said something negative about Marion, that she was sexually promiscuous,
she was a sex addict. You know, he just said
she was insatiable. He just said so many derogatory things
(18:30):
about her that showed a callous disregard and I felt
that that was very intentioned to upset Sally and the family.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
The big question of course, is what will the coroner
find in relation to Rick Bloom, if anything, and will
she recommend the Director of Public Prosecutions consider charging him
with a crime or crimes, and if so, what might
they be.
Speaker 7 (18:57):
So some of the major things for me having written
reports like this for court and with the reminder that
circumstantial evidence is just as compelling and just as strong
as direct physical evidence, and many cases are built on
circumstantial evidence alone. I know you know that. But oftentimes
people will think, well, there's no body and there's no
(19:20):
direct physical evidence, therefore there's no case. But that is
absolutely not true. We know with Lynette Dawson, for example,
sadly her body has never been recovered. There will probably
never be an a mission from Chris Dawson given his psychopathology.
But the judge still found that there were so many
(19:42):
pieces of circumstantial evidence it all pointed in one direction.
And I feel similarly, we may not ever find Marion's body.
I hope we do, and I hope that the trip
that Sally and Joni are going to take to Japan
and so forth, I hote that they do uncover some
answers there. But for me that one of the most
(20:04):
compelling aspects to the case of the fact is the
fact that Rick Blum lied when he was asked by
the police in June twenty twenty one did he know
Marian He said no, and he changed his story the
next day and said that he did know her. Then
he later reveals he didn't on that police interview share
(20:27):
that he had a relationship with her. He later revealed that,
and when he was challenged about that relationship, which was
a sexual relationship, he tried to distance himself from that
relationship and said it was just sex. So you've got
three changes of story, but that's not all. He also
(20:48):
said in February twenty twenty two that he didn't know
what happened to her, and then later on he says that, oh,
he read somewhere that Queensland police felt that she had
joined a cult and that she was strange. And he
starts to sew in all these other narratives about men
that she may or may not have been with, from
(21:10):
motorcyclists to teachers, to Korean men to a pilot, I mean,
all sorts of men that apparently he's only had sex
with her three times, but he knows all these details.
So he's trying to distance himself from her, But later
on in June twenty twenty three, he says at the
inquest that she told him she wanted nothing more to
(21:32):
do with her family, So he changes the story again
to fit with the facts of the case. If he
were innocent, why would he do that. That's the question
that has to be answered first and foremost that with
somebody who's innocent, they have no need to lie.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Another key piece of circumstantial evidence is the trips mister
Bloom and Mary and talk in nineteen ninety seven when
she disappeared, both heading to Europe at the same time.
Mister Bloom confirming he stayed at the Hotel Nico in Narrita,
Japan in transit, and Marian writing to Sally using paper
with the letterhead Hotel Nico Narita.
Speaker 7 (22:17):
Yes, and that paper is very significant because we know
he was there. We know they on the timeline, which
again is very significant. They both leave Australia within the
same window of time, a few days, within a few
days of each other. He goes to Japan, she he
stays at that particular hotel, Hotel Nico in Narita. Diane
(22:39):
talks to that trip and him flying to Japan at
that time at the inquest, and we know that Marion
wrote to Sally on that letterhead Hotel Nico in Narrita,
the letter head when she's in England. Why would she
choose that letter head? I mean a how would she
(22:59):
get hold? And I suspect she did spend time in
Japan because she talked about spending time in the East
and having too much luggage. Whereas if you're in transit
and her luggage had just gone through, maybe she's not
in a direct flight, but she wouldn't be picking up
her luggage and having to do battle carrying it all,
et cetera. But she talks about spending time in the East.
(23:20):
There was Jenny mentioned that she had written down on
some of her passport information that she was going to Japan,
and then she writes to Sally on that letterhead. And
I felt on reflection that that letterhead was meaningful. It
doesn't just place them together, it's meaningful to Marian. So
does that mean that they got married, for example, in Japan?
(23:42):
And I don't know the answer to that, but I
did notice when I was open sourcing that hotel they
do do and they did do weddings, So is it possible.
You know, why would she write to Sally on that letterhead.
When you're abroad, you sometimes do things that connect you
to the people that you'd love. And I feel on
reflection that that was some kind of message that she felt.
(24:06):
She couldn't say what she had done, but she wanted
there to be a connection through using that letterhead, and
it would not surprise me if they had married there,
and that potentially there was some carrot dangled about, you know,
let's go abroad, let's get married. You can buy a school,
or we're buy a school, and this was sort of
(24:28):
the carrot that was being dangled, and in Marion's mind
that all sounded fantastic and very romantic, and.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
She would potentially have been missus fernand Ramagil at that time.
Speaker 4 (24:41):
Yes, the id to register a marriage in that night.
Speaker 7 (24:45):
Yes, it's possible, and I think that that has to
be really pursued. If they can be tied together, more
so from another coroborating, third party source, I think that
will be very compelling. At the moment, it's still compelling
to me because it means that he knew what was
in her head and she's writing on a letter head
(25:08):
that only he would have had access to, so it
puts them together. Of course, going to Tunbridge Wells. I
mean that was another very significant point to me knowing
the UK, knowing Tumbridge Wells. It's just not that destination
where you're going to put a pin in the map
and say the trip of my lifetime. First place when
I get out of London, I'm going to go to
Tunbridge Wells, said no one. Ever.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Then there is the police interview with mister Bloom in
September twenty twenty one, conducted by Detective Senior Constables Seneschho
Pinazza and Lisa Pisodo.
Speaker 7 (25:42):
It wasn't necessarily the two hour, twenty one minute interview
that was that all took place of you know, and
I felt, you know, unfortunately by or was conducted by
officers who probably didn't really understand who they had before them.
And it's a common thing that I see, particularly with
(26:03):
coercive controllers and manipulators, that oftentimes the police don't have
the measure of who they are.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
In the last few minutes of the interview, do you
see Pinazza asks mister Bloom, did you kill Marian Bada.
Speaker 7 (26:16):
And he answered the question with a question, and when
somebody does that on an interview or an interrogation, it's
always an indicator of deception or buying time. If you
didn't kill the person you're being asked about, it's just
a straight no and being very declarative, absolute about it.
(26:38):
He wasn't, and when he was asked again, it was no,
no fading facts. And then when he was asked did
he harm marry and he said I harm no one.
So he didn't directly answer the question, which was avoidance,
but more so when he thought the camera was turned
off when Sergeant Constable Pinatzer, I think it was lent over.
He thought the camera had been turned off. Then the
(26:59):
expletive came when the officer had left the room, and
he was really frustrated and angry and said the f
bomb that was missed. And when the officer came back
into the room, his demeanor changed again and he went
back to the bundling old man who's trying to be helpful. Well,
that was leakage and that was the point where he
was under pressure and it was a huge missed opportunity.
(27:21):
That's the moment that you wait for and you want
the follow up, and unfortunately in this case, the follow
up questions weren't asked.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
And there is the way mister Bloom talks about women,
especially the women he has admitted lying to.
Speaker 7 (27:35):
Some of them. He tried to get them to sell
their homes, the lure of something better and marrying and
moving abroad, the ruses that he used. There's similarities there.
And then when the women don't do what he wants,
he then in some cases turns nasty. So we know
(27:56):
that there's another site. And when I say nasty, the threats,
the things that Jeanette went through, where he's trying to
damage her professionally and throwing things on her lawn and
trying to destroy these are the sorts of things I
would expect from someone like him. And that's why it's
very important to pay attention to the other women of
(28:19):
what they say about him when he don't when they
don't do what he wants.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
Well, that's one of the very telling things about rig Blum.
I mean, I think of him as Willie Woods in
my head. Rig Bloom is just.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
The last in a long list of names with the aliases.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
But I mean Jeanette Gatney and he took nuke photographs
of her and threatened to disinminate and to her friends
in a church congregation. Just on the way he spoke
about women, Laura, it's how would you describe this man?
He said that Jeanette was a drunk, Marion was a
sexth graze predator, Jeanette Oldenburg was a stupid woman who
(28:58):
thought she could launch a belly down in Korea in
Europe at the age of fifty one. His daughter Evelyn,
he told her that she'd have to sell her body
because she had no brains and no talent. He said
that Andre Flomer was sitting in a wheelchair, stupefied and demented.
Every single woman he mentioned, even his own wife. He
denigrated her and came up with a childhood condition that
(29:21):
he said, meant that she basically was an idiot.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
And couldn't remember.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
The way he talks about women is consistent and awful.
But what does it tell us about him? And what
does it tell us about what might have happened in
this case?
Speaker 7 (29:34):
Yes, will it tells us that he doesn't value women
very much, and he doesn't like women very much. But
more so, it's everybody else's fault. It's all of them
not him, and the fact that he called them all liars.
I thought that was very interesting, and saying that the
order women got together through the Lady Vanish's podcast. But
of course each woman bal Monique I think it was,
(29:57):
had reported him to various authorities and police, so there
was a record of them reporting. So we know that
they weren't liars, but we know that he is. And
really it just shows again that he's a misogynist and
he leans into these sexist tropes about women and stereotypes
about women. If you say a woman's a drunk or crazy,
(30:19):
therefore you devalue them, you discredit them. They don't matter anymore.
But what's interesting about Marion is when listening to Sally
and others who knew her talk about victimology, Sally was
very clear that she probably would have confronted Rick Blum.
Let's say, you know, they got they did get married
(30:40):
or somehow. Let's take what he said with a grain
of salt. But he said that they broke up. Now
he didn't say what happened after they broke up. But
Marian was the only one who had changed everything. She
had changed her name, and she had given up everything
she'd gone overseas. She was in a very vulnerable state
by doing that, everything was in secret. There is a
(31:03):
scenario and one that I believe occurred, which is that
they did break up and Marian possibly found out he
was married. Most likely would have challenged him and been
angry about him leading her on a merry dance, because
that's what it was. So what's he like when things
don't go his way? We've seen some flashes of that,
(31:26):
haven't we? Through what Jeanette said, She even took out
the equivalent of a restraining order. She was so scared
of him. Evelyn said she was really scared of him,
that she just had this physical sense and felt with
the champagne bottle he was trying to kill her. Women
know these things. We can just be in the physical
presence of a man who gives a look or behaves
(31:47):
in a certain way, we get the message. We know
what the microaggression means. What happened with Marion and Rick Blum?
Did she challenge him? Did she say she was going
to out him? She was going to tell everybody what happened.
And it's possible that she wouldn't have stood for you've
taken my money, You've taken everything from me and you've
made a fall of me, And he may well have
(32:09):
wanted to hide what went on and disappear her, and
I think that's the most likely scenario, given what we
know behaviorally from other people who talked about him. When
things don't go the way that he wants. There's a
very different side to Rick Blum than the bumbling grandpa
character that he's trying to present at the coroner's court.
(32:32):
And we know that the women haven't lied. We know
through their testimony what they're saying is credible, it matches
up with police records and so forth. So I think
we've got somebody who would if challenged, they would not
like it. And he may well that could have been.
(32:53):
You know, the difference between Marion and the other women.
I know she has a difficult decision to make, but
based on the facts and the evidence, if you can
see the wood through the trees and look to what
the circumstantial evidence is, I believe that there is enough
and I believe that that would be the ultimate outcome
(33:15):
for the DPP, the case to be referred to the
DPP and that decision to be made. And the money
is another one. You know, I always said that follow
the money. There's still a lot to be done around
the financial side of investigation, so you know, I still
feel there's stones to unturn and to follow lines of investigation.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
And Gary Sheen, who was the investigator on this from
two thousand and nine up to twenty nineteen, when we
started the podcast, he said he checked all the coins
lad in New South Wales driver's.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
Licenses looking for that name, the name that Marian had adopted.
Why did they miss it? Why didn't they find it?
Speaker 2 (33:54):
How much time and evidence did we lose because they
didn't get that license?
Speaker 4 (33:58):
It was just sitting there.
Speaker 7 (34:00):
Yes, and I think there are many of those. Are
be diplomatic and call them missed opportunities. I'd call them
something else, off Mike, But What the Lady Vanishes has
shown that if you are tenacious, you can look at
a line of inquiry and think that it's a dead end,
but actually most lines of investigation are not dead ends.
(34:24):
You just have to see it through and put some
grit into it. And it takes You've got to roll
your sleeves up. It takes work, and that's what you
all did. And I think there are so many missed
opportunities in this case and the way that Sally has
been treated is you know, I listened to her in December.
She was in LA and we got together and she
(34:46):
was telling me more about the journey that she's been on.
And I ran multiple units across my decade of working
and I feel that at every turn she's had a
door slammed in her face, heard horror stories. It's not
just New Southwest Police, many other police services too, but
particularly about the way women are treated. And they've got
(35:07):
to start up in their game. You know, women. The
femicide rate is through the roof at the moment, not
just in Queensland and in New South Wales, but in
the UK and America. And when women go missing, it
should be looked at rigorously and all lines of investigation
should be pursued. And when you've got a case where
(35:30):
you've got someone very obvious who pops up and they
haven't done that. And I'm talking about all police forces
now with regards to mister Rick Bloom, because he's been
given a pass by so many and I'm talking about Europe,
I'm talking about immigration in Australia, who should have had
him flagged straight away. He shouldn't have even been in
Australia to even have that relationship with Marion.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
There's questionsenship, yeah.
Speaker 7 (35:55):
Exactly, and there's questions to be asked about how his
word has counted for so much and yet all the
women who've reported him have just been fobbed off. And
even Evelin who had that bottle, who everything she felt
there was that he was trying to poison her. So
I always flipped the script with cases as to you know,
(36:16):
what's the learning here and the learning for me, you know,
having run the homicide prevention unit, you know I say
things now I would never have said back in the day,
but misogyny and patriarchy player role and women should be
taken seriously. Each of the women who reported were all
fobbed off, and the police officers, even in New South
(36:38):
Wales when they interviewed Rick Blum, they had no idea
who they were dealing with. And actually in Brian at
New Scotland Yard, I had multiple slides in my presentations
where I would show hundreds of offenders who went on
to become serial killers, who were all interviewed by police
before they killed, And my header was do you really
(37:01):
know who you're dealing with, question mark, because each time
they interview these men and they think they sound, you know,
all right blokes, and it's because they're not asking the
right questions. And if you start to ask the right
questions and you're curious and you believe you know the
victim that's come forward, you can actually identify these individuals
(37:22):
far earlier on. And someone like Rick Bluhm. I believe
that there were so many windows of opportunity to identify
what a dangerous individual he was and still is, because
I don't believe that risk dissipates with age. I've never
seen that in the cases that I've worked that once
you get to seventy or eighty, you're no longer a risk.
(37:42):
With someone you know who's a psychopath, they will always
be a risk always, And with someone at this exploitative
and controlling and his desire to control the narrative has
shown that he is capable of doing anything in order
to get his way, and there for it has to
be taken seriously in terms of his behavior and can't
(38:05):
just be in my opinion, opinion notched up to oh,
he's a bit old now and is there any point
as I keep hearing people say that narrative to Sally.
Of course there's a point, there's a point to all
the women that he has harmed, and there has to
be accountability. That's what the criminal justice system is there for.
(38:27):
And therefore I hope that it is taken seriously in
terms of what the coroner has to you know, cut
through the noise. That's the only way I can say it.
It's like cutting through the noise of all the information
that exists and everything that was presented at the coroner's inquest.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
Yeah, and you know she was going to give her
findings nearly eighteen months ago, and then we found two
more victims in Europe through the podcast, and she did
the right thing and delayed in findings, and they, as
you said, gave evidence and pilling of it. I mean
he was engaged to July which he lied about on
the stand. I wasn't produced the engagement notice that Julian
(39:07):
had made up to invite friends and family.
Speaker 4 (39:10):
I mean, the pattern is undeniable.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
Where would you put rick woman in the panthe and
of convin who prey on women?
Speaker 7 (39:16):
Well, I think it's much more than being a comm man.
And I've always said that the John Meehan's you know
Dirty John Rick Blum, this is about power and control,
and this is about you know, power control related crimes.
It puts you up there as top level master manipulator
and enjoying that parent control over people and taking it
(39:38):
too far. It's not just about getting money, it's about
utter domination. And like with John Meehern, and I suspect
with Rick Blum, there's psychopathy there. They don't have the
capacity to feel empathy. They just see people as what
they can use up. They see them as targets of
what they can use up. And of course women tend
(40:00):
to be much more malleable in terms of the types
of targets that John Meehan went for, or Rick Blum
and the lack of compassion or cair These are men
who are meant to like these women, but what they
show is the exact opposite as you describe the things
that he said. So, you know, we have to take
(40:22):
cases like this seriously. And I would like Rick Blum
to be assessed for psychopathy, and I think he's a
very dangerous individual. Charm is one of the traits of
a psychopath. So I try and help them understand what
the traits will be. And you know, indirectly looking at
Rick Blum's behavior, and I haven't assessed him directly, but
(40:43):
indirectly from what others have said who know him well,
he certainly has some significant traits, you know, serious levels
of traits which are indicators of psychopathy.
Speaker 4 (40:55):
And just lastly, Laura, do you think we'll ever find
actually find Mary.
Speaker 7 (41:00):
I hope so. I mean I hope for Sally and
for the family. I hope that they do find out
what happened and they are able to recover Marian and
be able to say goodbye to her properly. If that
doesn't happen, well, I hope that they have a place
where they can go to where they can talk to
(41:23):
Marian and be able to lay her to rest. I mean,
that's what every family member wants when something like this happens.
And I just feel that Sally has just been such
an incredible force, asking questions and never giving up, and
(41:45):
I hope those answers. I hope they are revealed. I
doubt they will ever come from him, but I think
from doing the digging, and you know, she wants to
follow it through to every possible stone being unturned. To
get to that answer, and I just want to thank
(42:05):
you for the work that you have done and the
support that you've given Sally and Alison and the team.
The Lady Vanishes is really an incredible investigative podcast, which
is what I tell people to listen to all the
time if they want to understand the case. And then
of course my twelve episode series is really a companion
to that. So yes, I think about marrying often and
(42:28):
I hope that we do get answers on the twenty
ninth that are that feel that feel like a step
in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (42:39):
And your podcast analysis of our case was very good.
Just remind people where they can listen to that.
Speaker 7 (42:46):
So Crime Analyst it's a twelve episode series. You can
listen to it on all your podcast apps wherever you
get your podcast, Spotify, Apple, you can even go on
the Crime Analyst website which is just crime hyphen the Analysts.
So it should be available to everyone in Australia and
all over the world. So please do listen and have
(43:07):
Marian and Sally in your thoughts.
Speaker 4 (43:10):
Thank Laura, thank you so much.
Speaker 7 (43:12):
It's a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (43:17):
We also have an update on the grave of a
Lona Kinsel Lum's third wife, who died mysteriously in nineteen
seventy seven. After some effort, we were successful in having
the ownership of a Loner's Plot transferred from a former husband,
Michael Reid, to her daughter Evelyn. It continues to amaze
(43:43):
us how much this podcast has resonated with listeners and
with women, particularly. Not long ago, we received this email
from a self described survivor still looking for love at
age seventy to.
Speaker 8 (44:00):
I've only recently discovered your podcast and I'm spending hours
listening to it. I was a victim of an online
romance scam in twenty seventeen, so your story is helping
me understand what happened to me at that time. I'm
embarrassed and ashamed and have never divulged the huge financial
(44:20):
loss to anyone in my family. It caused me to
feel suicidal, and I sought help from my doctor, who
prescribed medication, which has helped. I'm in such a better place,
but feel it could have been handled better when reported
to the authorities. Marian's story resonates with me in many ways,
(44:42):
and I realized I had a lucky escape. I'm devastated
for all the victims whose reports are not taken seriously.
I hope you find out what happened to Varian and
that the perpetrator is punished. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (45:06):
Now to some big news. At Sally's request, we've agreed
to wind up The Lady Vanish's podcast once the inquest
findings are delivered. It's the right time. Episode fifty seven,
our next episode will also be our last.
Speaker 2 (45:29):
For everyone involved. It's been tumultuous and at times exhausting,
but thank you to our loyal listeners for coming along
for the ride. Sal and super Sleuth Joni are about
to embark on their own mission of discovery with a
series of speaking engagements and trips, and we wish them well.
(45:52):
While there'll be no more episodes, we will keep you
posted if there are any big developments.
Speaker 1 (46:00):
However, we couldn't leave without a parting gift for you all.
The team. Brian Seymour, Sally Ills, Mark Wright and I
have written a book titled The Lady Vanishers. It is
the story of this podcast. It's a condensed version of
(46:21):
what we've revealed over the past five years, with some
extra details we couldn't release, and a detailed look behind
the scenes of what has been an incredible and unique journey.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
So for the many listeners who have reached out trying
to remember when they hurt certain pieces of evidence, all
of the vital clues will now be easily accessible. Publisher
Harper Collins will launch The Lady Vanishers the book on
May fifteenth. If you're after a copy of the first
print edition, it's available for pre order now.
Speaker 1 (47:02):
For every sale via independent bookseller Schoolworks Supplies, ten percent
will be donated to the go fund me account of
Guilaine Dubois Danlis, one of rip Blum's victims who was
duped of her life savings. Details on how to do
this are in the show notes. Gilaine is now eighty nine,
(47:26):
living meagerly in France, but finding joy in the simple things.
Speaker 7 (47:33):
It's very kind of you.
Speaker 4 (47:36):
I can see it.
Speaker 3 (47:38):
Thank you.
Speaker 7 (47:40):
Look do you understand well?
Speaker 1 (47:48):
I just am glad we can do something for you.
Speaker 7 (47:52):
Thank you, Thank you very much.
Speaker 9 (47:54):
It's from my heart that I thank you.
Speaker 1 (47:58):
I saw the toll it took on you, the line
it would have caused you discomfort.
Speaker 7 (48:06):
Thank you, thank you very much. It was really difficult.
Speaker 9 (48:11):
Yes, you are right, but I'm still living. I am Alexandra,
a man other of my children, grandchildren. They are loving
me and it makes hope to continue to live. I
(48:36):
do my best to stay in life because you know
this year I will be in August, I will be.
Speaker 2 (48:48):
Ninety years old.
Speaker 9 (48:51):
I hope we will see us in Belgium.
Speaker 1 (48:57):
This year, or like you want, I would like that
we'll be back soon for one last time with the
long awaited findings of the inquest into the disappearance of
Marion Barter.
Speaker 2 (49:33):
If you knew Marian or have any information about her
or her whereabouts, we'd love to hear from you. Our
website is sevennews dot com dot au, slash news slash
the Lady Vanishers, and you can also message us here.
You can also send us an anonymous tip at the
Lady Vanishers dot org. If you like what you're hearing,
(49:58):
don't forget to subscribe. Please rate and review our series.
It helps new listeners find us. Presenter and executive producer
Alison Sandy, investigative journalist Brian Seymour, writer and producer Sally Yields.
Sound design Mark Wright, graphics Jason Blandford, Translation and transcripts
(50:19):
Estel Sanchez. The theme and much of the music by
Nicholas Gasparini at the Darkpiano dot com. Thanks again to
the Alliance Francais. This is a seven News production.
This is the case of Marion Barter, a mother, teacher
friend missing for twenty six years.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You know, no sign that she was going to vanish,
that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
The bizarre circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I'm not sure if it was intentional. There something more
foul afoot.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
If you could imagine a teacher coming straight from say
little house on the prairie to the eighties, that was
Marian Barter.
Speaker 5 (00:40):
What I say, whether you find Marian Barter dead or alive,
I honestly believe somebody has that key piece of information.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
And the relentless quest of a daughter to find her mum.
Speaker 6 (00:55):
Something had happened, Something has happened to make her leave.
Speaker 5 (01:01):
I am one hundred percent sure, one hundred percent sure
that somebody knows something.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
The lady vanishes, episode fifty six. I'm Alison Sandy.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
And I'm Brian Seymour.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
On February twenty nine, the world will find out what
the New South Wales Coroner believes happened to Marian Barter
when Teresa O'Sullivan hands down her findings after what's turned
out to be more than two years of stop star
inquest hearings into Marion's disappearance. It's a memorable date, a
(01:50):
leite year day, marking an incredible journey of almost twenty
seven years searching for Marion's daughter, Sally, and more than
five years since the Lady Vanish's team first started collaborating.
What's kept driving us all forward is that gut feeling
(02:11):
that something wasn't right. Sally had it from the outset.
Speaker 6 (02:17):
Based on the fact of how quickly she quit school
and left.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
This is when we first interviewed her in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 6 (02:25):
She was not happy. She was very upset, she was frazzled.
Something had happened, something has happened to make her leave.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
The late Rebecca Cotts, who worked for the Australian Federal
Police Missing Persons Unit, also had that unsettling gut feeling.
Speaker 5 (02:47):
My opinion on the case, I think obviously there's something
that's happened to Mary and she hasn't just walked away
from her life, and she had so much to live
for and loved her kids and her family. I guess
they knows the truth. Somebody out there has the key
to the puzzle.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Retired super Detective Ron Iddles believed the case could be cracked.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
The answers always in the file.
Speaker 6 (03:16):
Somebody within the community, either here in Australia or overseas,
knows exactly what's happened.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
He was right, The answer was in the file. The
key to unlocking the case was in the name Marion,
adopted by deed Pole Flora Bella Natalia Marion Ramicel super sleuth.
Joni was first to find the piece to the puzzle
that changed everything, monsieur, the personal ad for a man
(03:51):
looking for love multiple pile. It raised everyone's suspicions.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
I can make definitely see, you know, even from a
week or a few weeks in, I think that Marion
was potentially a prime candidate for getting sort of swept up, captured,
you know, sell your house, sell everything, Let's go and
live in Luxembourg with the all of the lavender Bush's
(04:21):
and the music and the art and the French speaking
multiple languages.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Then police detectives brought Rick Blum into the frame. A
man who admits romancing Marian in the months before her disappearance,
a man with a history of fraud, multiple aliases, and
a reputation across two continents as a swindler who targets
(04:50):
vulnerable women and makes off with their money, a man
who blatantly lied repeatedly while giving evidence under oath. But
just how will it stack up? On February twenty nine.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Sali, Regardless of what's in the findings, how hopefully you
that they will bring you some sense of closure or satisfaction.
Speaker 6 (05:16):
The findings is a really important part of the case. Obviously,
it brings some resolution as to what has actually happened
to my mum after years and years of investigation and
you know, to nearly three decades of me trying to
find the answers. So I don't know if closure is
(05:36):
the right word for it, but it definitely will have
a point of resolution where we can pause and stop
and think and you know, give me an opportunity to
have a memorial service from my mum understanding what has
happened a little better than where we were before this
(05:58):
all took place.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
What does it mean to you to get to this
point in the journey to find out what happened to you, mum?
Speaker 6 (06:04):
Well, everybody who's been following along on the podcast will
know all too well the challenges that I've been facing
for twenty seven years now on trying to get some
answers and some clarity and just even some people to
actually help me. It's been it's been a huge challenge
and quite the milestone to get to this point in
(06:25):
the journey, I think where you know, we've done things
like petitions to get Mum put on the missing Person's
register for the very first time, and you know, I
wrote to the Coroner's Court requesting an inquest be held
into Mum and then we had the support of everyone
listening along on the podcast who helped those situations be
(06:46):
pushed forward and to get us to this point. So
you know, it's it's been a hard journey. It's not
been easy, but I've tried my best to stay level
headed and calm and making sure that my family is
safe and well and that I am healthy and well,
(07:07):
because that's important as well.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
Sally has invited her supporters to watch online for the
live stream as Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan delivers her findings. Will
be providing a link on our social pages, or you
can join Sally at the Coroner's Court at Lidcombe in
Sydney on Thursday February twenty nine at nine thirty am
Australian Eastern Daylight saving time, Sally suggests wearing a splash
(07:32):
of green in memory of Marion. Can you talk about
the support you're getting from people around the world following
you and your story.
Speaker 6 (07:40):
The worldwide support has been absolutely mind blowing. I never
thought in a million years, by simply telling my story
about my missing mum that I would have the reach
that we've had and the support that has come from that.
It's amazing. I am just so grateful to everybody. And
(08:01):
I've said it many times before, but I will say
again that I wouldn't have got to this point had
I not had that love and support in the show
of care for my mum after so long and feeling
like no one really did care enough to want to
help me find the answers. Recently, we had someone send
us a photo of where they'd written Mom's name in
(08:25):
the sand, and Jackie mullin if I can give her
a shout out, she's in Scotland, and she came up
with the idea of getting everybody to do it and
sending her the photos and she would put it into
a collage as such. And it's such a beautiful thing
for me and my family to look at and just
(08:46):
know that my mom does matter. And you know, I've
been using the hashtag Marion matters and hashtag the missing matter,
and they do matter. And it shouldn't be a case
of oh well, we'll look for a little bit and
we'll put it to the side. You know, they'll be right, mate,
That's not the case. These people do matter.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
In twenty twenty three, more than fifty five thousand people
were reported missing in Australia, an average of around one
hundred and fifty a day. Of course, almost all were
found within hours, but across the country there are two thousand,
six hundred long term missing people who have not been
seen for more than three months. And in the morgues
(09:32):
there are the unidentified and the unclaimed, the remains of
seven hundred and fifty sons, daughter's friends who still don't
have a name.
Speaker 6 (09:46):
We do need to keep searching until we find the
answers for them. So yeah, I'm very grateful to everybody
around the world for helping me and sticking with me.
And you know, after such a long journey, I mean,
the podcast has been going for almost five years now
and people are still popping up the same names I
see who have just been here from the beginning and
(10:09):
even following along on my mum's Facebook page, which I
had started in twenty thirteen, where now you know, got
thousands of people following along on those pages and through
the podcast. So yeah, I am very grateful and very
humbled by the whole experience. So thank you everybody. Once again.
Speaker 7 (10:26):
Hello, Hi Ger, how are you?
Speaker 4 (10:29):
Hello? Laura, loved to see.
Speaker 7 (10:30):
You and you too. How are you doing, Brian?
Speaker 4 (10:33):
I'm good. Thanks.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Laura Richards, host of the Crime Analyst podcast and formerly
of New Scotland. Yard has been with us from the
first year. She works as a criminal behavioral analyst and
has provided expert insights based on years of experience investigating
high profile cases, which now includes Maring Barter's case.
Speaker 7 (10:54):
It must feel surreal, and you know, I cast my
mind back to the first conversation I have with Alison Sandy,
and there was such limited information to go on other
than Sally knowing that something wasn't right and an accelerated timeline,
and that accelerated timeline was the big red flag really
(11:16):
of finding who was on that accelerated timeline of marry
and changing everything in the four to six months before
she left. So I think you've done a tremendous job
of piecing what information you have together but throwing it
out there for other people to help. And how wonderful
that so many people have shared information or chase down
(11:38):
leads and it's just been such an incredible investigation. So
congratulations to you. And I'm sure it feels surreal coming
up to February the twenty ninth. It's not that not
that far away now, and you know, I feel the pressure.
I feel nervous about what's going to happen. So Goodness
knows how Sandy feels at the moment. And you and
(11:59):
Alison and Joanie and the team that have worked just
so diligently and done such an incredible job.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
It's a mixture of you know, excitement, anticipation and also
and also dread. So first of all, you've kind of
just touched on it. But what are your overall impressions
of the case of the disappearance of Marion Barda in
terms of other cases you've personally been involved in, or
read about or followed.
Speaker 7 (12:23):
Yes, I mean this case is just somewhat overwhelming. Now,
it's overwhelming in the amount of information that you have.
But at the start, when I was asked by Alison
Sandy to review the causity of information that you had
that Marian had disappeared, and Sally was adamant that something
had happened to her. All of the arrows point in
(12:46):
the same direction to mister Rick Blum, and the parallels
for me with Lynette Dawson. You know, it just screams
out in so many parallels really to what happened to
Lynette and it being a full year cold case and
Hedley Thomas reinvestigating it effectively and joining the dots and
(13:08):
creating an incredible podcast.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Laura was also involved in the Teacher's Pet podcast which
sheared new light on the nineteen eighty two disappearance of
Sydney woman Lenet Dawson, created by journalist Hedley Thomas. The
podcast ultimately led to her husband, Chris Dawson, being tried
and convicted in twenty twenty two of her murder, and
(13:36):
he is today at the age of seventy five, serving
a twenty four year sentence behind bars.
Speaker 7 (13:42):
And with Marion's case, what you've uncovered through the Lady
Vanishes is so many red flags and everything points back
in one direction. There's nothing that has come up that
has made me think, oh, we might have to rethink this.
We might have to think, oh there's X or I
or Z, and we need to pursue that because that
(14:03):
person actually is on Marion's timeline and they're very interesting.
That hasn't happened. But I have to say, from the
coroner's inquest, just everything that I observed and I saw
with my own eyes and heard with my ears, everything
still seemed to point in one direction and that cannot
be ignored. And of course at the coroner's inquest, I
(14:25):
got to see him under pressure. I got to see
when he lied, how he lied. He lied continuously, He
didn't care that he was at the coroner's inquest. He
lied to the police. You know, these are all sorts
of things that I look to in terms of building
and forming my own opinion about Rick Bloom.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
Yeah, the last day he gave evidence, I took the
opportunity to confront Ric Bloom and let me ask you.
I asked him at one point, do you feel sorry
for Sally with their mum being missing for so long
and the children never having nit big Gwen mother, do
you feel sorry for Can you get what he said?
Speaker 7 (15:01):
Well, judging on how he was at the inquest. I
would imagine that it became about him, that he was
less interested in the impact on her, and it was
much more about him than me myself and I is
that what happened?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Yes, Laura really does know his subject matter for the
first time. Here is a snippet where you can hear
exactly what happened.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
Hi the Rick, how are you feeling? Mate?
Speaker 2 (15:25):
An excerpt of that confrontation in April twenty twenty two.
Until now, we've been advised not to replay the fifteen
minute encounter. What do you say to SALIHI just tell
me something, I'll pass it on to her. Are you
sorry for Sally? Do you feel anything for her at all?
She doesn't seen a month of twenty five years. Do
you feel sorry for Sally just as a human being?
(15:47):
I mean, okay, you can say I feel sorry for her,
that's not incriminating.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
I feel sorry for me, he said, I feel sorry
for me.
Speaker 7 (16:00):
Wow, Yes, I mean that does not surprise me at all,
because what I witnessed was him trying to go oner
hympathy and hympathy is very specific to men, drawing on
patriarchy and how we react to men, where we're much
more like so, poor guy, he's had X, Y and
Z happen, whereas if a woman shows up with the
same she doesn't get the same sympathy. And Kate Mann
(16:23):
actually coined that term hympathy, and I tend to see
it with PMS poor me syndrome, which I coined in
twenty nineteen. But his lack of compassion and care.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
I just want to know what happened to her? Where
is she?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
He is a bit more of my encounter with Bloom
a couple of years ago.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
Is this some sort of game? You think you've gotten
away with something?
Speaker 6 (16:44):
Oh? What does that?
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Man?
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yes, so it's a game you've won. Bloom pulled faces.
He smiled and raised his eyebrows as I spoke to him.
There's no one else around, mate, man to man.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
When he got to the.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
I know you want to all the coroner in the
world and the police tell me news.
Speaker 4 (17:07):
Thing your common mind is that because you're too clever.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
What's the idea?
Speaker 4 (17:12):
Man, I'm tired of hearing you are. Well, you'll be.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Unsurprised that I don't really care what you're tired of,
because I know what you are and you feel I'm targeting.
You didn't you understand how those women feel? Will do
you understand how the women felt? Remember, Rick Bloom has
never apologized to any of his victims, despite admitting he
lied about his identity and his family in order to
(17:40):
have fraudulent sexual relationships with them. Laura Richards specializes in
coercive control, domestic abuse, and risk assessment, and she has
developed a profile of mister Bloom.
Speaker 7 (17:53):
You know, Brian, with all the proliferation of true crime,
and then you know the where we see so many documentaries,
you often hear people say on documentaries and so forth,
they talk about victims and they say, oh, her smile
would light up the room.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Right.
Speaker 7 (18:09):
They tend to say positive things about the victim and
airbrush out the negatives. What I witness with Rick Blum
is he did the exact opposite. At every opportunity, he
said something negative about Marion, that she was sexually promiscuous,
she was a sex addict. You know, he just said
she was insatiable. He just said so many derogatory things
(18:30):
about her that showed a callous disregard and I felt
that that was very intentioned to upset Sally and the family.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
The big question of course, is what will the coroner
find in relation to Rick Bloom, if anything, and will
she recommend the Director of Public Prosecutions consider charging him
with a crime or crimes, and if so, what might
they be.
Speaker 7 (18:57):
So some of the major things for me having written
reports like this for court and with the reminder that
circumstantial evidence is just as compelling and just as strong
as direct physical evidence, and many cases are built on
circumstantial evidence alone. I know you know that. But oftentimes
people will think, well, there's no body and there's no
(19:20):
direct physical evidence, therefore there's no case. But that is
absolutely not true. We know with Lynette Dawson, for example,
sadly her body has never been recovered. There will probably
never be an a mission from Chris Dawson given his psychopathology.
But the judge still found that there were so many
(19:42):
pieces of circumstantial evidence it all pointed in one direction.
And I feel similarly, we may not ever find Marion's body.
I hope we do, and I hope that the trip
that Sally and Joni are going to take to Japan
and so forth, I hote that they do uncover some
answers there. But for me that one of the most
(20:04):
compelling aspects to the case of the fact is the
fact that Rick Blum lied when he was asked by
the police in June twenty twenty one did he know
Marian He said no, and he changed his story the
next day and said that he did know her. Then
he later reveals he didn't on that police interview share
(20:27):
that he had a relationship with her. He later revealed that,
and when he was challenged about that relationship, which was
a sexual relationship, he tried to distance himself from that
relationship and said it was just sex. So you've got
three changes of story, but that's not all. He also
(20:48):
said in February twenty twenty two that he didn't know
what happened to her, and then later on he says that, oh,
he read somewhere that Queensland police felt that she had
joined a cult and that she was strange. And he
starts to sew in all these other narratives about men
that she may or may not have been with, from
(21:10):
motorcyclists to teachers, to Korean men to a pilot, I mean,
all sorts of men that apparently he's only had sex
with her three times, but he knows all these details.
So he's trying to distance himself from her, But later
on in June twenty twenty three, he says at the
inquest that she told him she wanted nothing more to
(21:32):
do with her family, So he changes the story again
to fit with the facts of the case. If he
were innocent, why would he do that. That's the question
that has to be answered first and foremost that with
somebody who's innocent, they have no need to lie.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Another key piece of circumstantial evidence is the trips mister
Bloom and Mary and talk in nineteen ninety seven when
she disappeared, both heading to Europe at the same time.
Mister Bloom confirming he stayed at the Hotel Nico in Narrita,
Japan in transit, and Marian writing to Sally using paper
with the letterhead Hotel Nico Narita.
Speaker 7 (22:17):
Yes, and that paper is very significant because we know
he was there. We know they on the timeline, which
again is very significant. They both leave Australia within the
same window of time, a few days, within a few
days of each other. He goes to Japan, she he
stays at that particular hotel, Hotel Nico in Narita. Diane
(22:39):
talks to that trip and him flying to Japan at
that time at the inquest, and we know that Marion
wrote to Sally on that letterhead Hotel Nico in Narrita,
the letter head when she's in England. Why would she
choose that letter head? I mean a how would she
(22:59):
get hold? And I suspect she did spend time in
Japan because she talked about spending time in the East
and having too much luggage. Whereas if you're in transit
and her luggage had just gone through, maybe she's not
in a direct flight, but she wouldn't be picking up
her luggage and having to do battle carrying it all,
et cetera. But she talks about spending time in the East.
(23:20):
There was Jenny mentioned that she had written down on
some of her passport information that she was going to Japan,
and then she writes to Sally on that letterhead. And
I felt on reflection that that letterhead was meaningful. It
doesn't just place them together, it's meaningful to Marian. So
does that mean that they got married, for example, in Japan?
(23:42):
And I don't know the answer to that, but I
did notice when I was open sourcing that hotel they
do do and they did do weddings, So is it possible.
You know, why would she write to Sally on that letterhead.
When you're abroad, you sometimes do things that connect you
to the people that you'd love. And I feel on
reflection that that was some kind of message that she felt.
(24:06):
She couldn't say what she had done, but she wanted
there to be a connection through using that letterhead, and
it would not surprise me if they had married there,
and that potentially there was some carrot dangled about, you know,
let's go abroad, let's get married. You can buy a school,
or we're buy a school, and this was sort of
(24:28):
the carrot that was being dangled, and in Marion's mind
that all sounded fantastic and very romantic, and.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
She would potentially have been missus fernand Ramagil at that time.
Speaker 4 (24:41):
Yes, the id to register a marriage in that night.
Speaker 7 (24:45):
Yes, it's possible, and I think that that has to
be really pursued. If they can be tied together, more
so from another coroborating, third party source, I think that
will be very compelling. At the moment, it's still compelling
to me because it means that he knew what was
in her head and she's writing on a letter head
(25:08):
that only he would have had access to, so it
puts them together. Of course, going to Tunbridge Wells. I
mean that was another very significant point to me knowing
the UK, knowing Tumbridge Wells. It's just not that destination
where you're going to put a pin in the map
and say the trip of my lifetime. First place when
I get out of London, I'm going to go to
Tunbridge Wells, said no one. Ever.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Then there is the police interview with mister Bloom in
September twenty twenty one, conducted by Detective Senior Constables Seneschho
Pinazza and Lisa Pisodo.
Speaker 7 (25:42):
It wasn't necessarily the two hour, twenty one minute interview
that was that all took place of you know, and
I felt, you know, unfortunately by or was conducted by
officers who probably didn't really understand who they had before them.
And it's a common thing that I see, particularly with
(26:03):
coercive controllers and manipulators, that oftentimes the police don't have
the measure of who they are.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
In the last few minutes of the interview, do you
see Pinazza asks mister Bloom, did you kill Marian Bada.
Speaker 7 (26:16):
And he answered the question with a question, and when
somebody does that on an interview or an interrogation, it's
always an indicator of deception or buying time. If you
didn't kill the person you're being asked about, it's just
a straight no and being very declarative, absolute about it.
(26:38):
He wasn't, and when he was asked again, it was no,
no fading facts. And then when he was asked did
he harm marry and he said I harm no one.
So he didn't directly answer the question, which was avoidance,
but more so when he thought the camera was turned
off when Sergeant Constable Pinatzer, I think it was lent over.
He thought the camera had been turned off. Then the
(26:59):
expletive came when the officer had left the room, and
he was really frustrated and angry and said the f
bomb that was missed. And when the officer came back
into the room, his demeanor changed again and he went
back to the bundling old man who's trying to be helpful. Well,
that was leakage and that was the point where he
was under pressure and it was a huge missed opportunity.
(27:21):
That's the moment that you wait for and you want
the follow up, and unfortunately in this case, the follow
up questions weren't asked.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
And there is the way mister Bloom talks about women,
especially the women he has admitted lying to.
Speaker 7 (27:35):
Some of them. He tried to get them to sell
their homes, the lure of something better and marrying and
moving abroad, the ruses that he used. There's similarities there.
And then when the women don't do what he wants,
he then in some cases turns nasty. So we know
(27:56):
that there's another site. And when I say nasty, the threats,
the things that Jeanette went through, where he's trying to
damage her professionally and throwing things on her lawn and
trying to destroy these are the sorts of things I
would expect from someone like him. And that's why it's
very important to pay attention to the other women of
(28:19):
what they say about him when he don't when they
don't do what he wants.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
Well, that's one of the very telling things about rig Blum.
I mean, I think of him as Willie Woods in
my head. Rig Bloom is just.
Speaker 4 (28:31):
The last in a long list of names with the aliases.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
But I mean Jeanette Gatney and he took nuke photographs
of her and threatened to disinminate and to her friends
in a church congregation. Just on the way he spoke
about women, Laura, it's how would you describe this man?
He said that Jeanette was a drunk, Marion was a
sexth graze predator, Jeanette Oldenburg was a stupid woman who
(28:58):
thought she could launch a belly down in Korea in
Europe at the age of fifty one. His daughter Evelyn,
he told her that she'd have to sell her body
because she had no brains and no talent. He said
that Andre Flomer was sitting in a wheelchair, stupefied and demented.
Every single woman he mentioned, even his own wife. He
denigrated her and came up with a childhood condition that
(29:21):
he said, meant that she basically was an idiot.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
And couldn't remember.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
The way he talks about women is consistent and awful.
But what does it tell us about him? And what
does it tell us about what might have happened in
this case?
Speaker 7 (29:34):
Yes, will it tells us that he doesn't value women
very much, and he doesn't like women very much. But
more so, it's everybody else's fault. It's all of them
not him, and the fact that he called them all liars.
I thought that was very interesting, and saying that the
order women got together through the Lady Vanish's podcast. But
of course each woman bal Monique I think it was,
(29:57):
had reported him to various authorities and police, so there
was a record of them reporting. So we know that
they weren't liars, but we know that he is. And
really it just shows again that he's a misogynist and
he leans into these sexist tropes about women and stereotypes
about women. If you say a woman's a drunk or crazy,
(30:19):
therefore you devalue them, you discredit them. They don't matter anymore.
But what's interesting about Marion is when listening to Sally
and others who knew her talk about victimology, Sally was
very clear that she probably would have confronted Rick Blum.
Let's say, you know, they got they did get married
(30:40):
or somehow. Let's take what he said with a grain
of salt. But he said that they broke up. Now
he didn't say what happened after they broke up. But
Marian was the only one who had changed everything. She
had changed her name, and she had given up everything
she'd gone overseas. She was in a very vulnerable state
by doing that, everything was in secret. There is a
(31:03):
scenario and one that I believe occurred, which is that
they did break up and Marian possibly found out he
was married. Most likely would have challenged him and been
angry about him leading her on a merry dance, because
that's what it was. So what's he like when things
don't go his way? We've seen some flashes of that,
(31:26):
haven't we? Through what Jeanette said, She even took out
the equivalent of a restraining order. She was so scared
of him. Evelyn said she was really scared of him,
that she just had this physical sense and felt with
the champagne bottle he was trying to kill her. Women
know these things. We can just be in the physical
presence of a man who gives a look or behaves
(31:47):
in a certain way, we get the message. We know
what the microaggression means. What happened with Marion and Rick Blum?
Did she challenge him? Did she say she was going
to out him? She was going to tell everybody what happened.
And it's possible that she wouldn't have stood for you've
taken my money, You've taken everything from me and you've
made a fall of me, And he may well have
(32:09):
wanted to hide what went on and disappear her, and
I think that's the most likely scenario, given what we
know behaviorally from other people who talked about him. When
things don't go the way that he wants. There's a
very different side to Rick Blum than the bumbling grandpa
character that he's trying to present at the coroner's court.
(32:32):
And we know that the women haven't lied. We know
through their testimony what they're saying is credible, it matches
up with police records and so forth. So I think
we've got somebody who would if challenged, they would not
like it. And he may well that could have been.
(32:53):
You know, the difference between Marion and the other women.
I know she has a difficult decision to make, but
based on the facts and the evidence, if you can
see the wood through the trees and look to what
the circumstantial evidence is, I believe that there is enough
and I believe that that would be the ultimate outcome
(33:15):
for the DPP, the case to be referred to the
DPP and that decision to be made. And the money
is another one. You know, I always said that follow
the money. There's still a lot to be done around
the financial side of investigation, so you know, I still
feel there's stones to unturn and to follow lines of investigation.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
And Gary Sheen, who was the investigator on this from
two thousand and nine up to twenty nineteen, when we
started the podcast, he said he checked all the coins
lad in New South Wales driver's.
Speaker 4 (33:47):
Licenses looking for that name, the name that Marian had adopted.
Why did they miss it? Why didn't they find it?
Speaker 2 (33:54):
How much time and evidence did we lose because they
didn't get that license?
Speaker 4 (33:58):
It was just sitting there.
Speaker 7 (34:00):
Yes, and I think there are many of those. Are
be diplomatic and call them missed opportunities. I'd call them
something else, off Mike, But What the Lady Vanishes has
shown that if you are tenacious, you can look at
a line of inquiry and think that it's a dead end,
but actually most lines of investigation are not dead ends.
(34:24):
You just have to see it through and put some
grit into it. And it takes You've got to roll
your sleeves up. It takes work, and that's what you
all did. And I think there are so many missed
opportunities in this case and the way that Sally has
been treated is you know, I listened to her in December.
She was in LA and we got together and she
(34:46):
was telling me more about the journey that she's been on.
And I ran multiple units across my decade of working
and I feel that at every turn she's had a
door slammed in her face, heard horror stories. It's not
just New Southwest Police, many other police services too, but
particularly about the way women are treated. And they've got
(35:07):
to start up in their game. You know, women. The
femicide rate is through the roof at the moment, not
just in Queensland and in New South Wales, but in
the UK and America. And when women go missing, it
should be looked at rigorously and all lines of investigation
should be pursued. And when you've got a case where
(35:30):
you've got someone very obvious who pops up and they
haven't done that. And I'm talking about all police forces
now with regards to mister Rick Bloom, because he's been
given a pass by so many and I'm talking about Europe,
I'm talking about immigration in Australia, who should have had
him flagged straight away. He shouldn't have even been in
Australia to even have that relationship with Marion.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
There's questionsenship, yeah.
Speaker 7 (35:55):
Exactly, and there's questions to be asked about how his
word has counted for so much and yet all the
women who've reported him have just been fobbed off. And
even Evelin who had that bottle, who everything she felt
there was that he was trying to poison her. So
I always flipped the script with cases as to you know,
(36:16):
what's the learning here and the learning for me, you know,
having run the homicide prevention unit, you know I say
things now I would never have said back in the day,
but misogyny and patriarchy player role and women should be
taken seriously. Each of the women who reported were all
fobbed off, and the police officers, even in New South
(36:38):
Wales when they interviewed Rick Blum, they had no idea
who they were dealing with. And actually in Brian at
New Scotland Yard, I had multiple slides in my presentations
where I would show hundreds of offenders who went on
to become serial killers, who were all interviewed by police
before they killed, And my header was do you really
(37:01):
know who you're dealing with, question mark, because each time
they interview these men and they think they sound, you know,
all right blokes, and it's because they're not asking the
right questions. And if you start to ask the right
questions and you're curious and you believe you know the
victim that's come forward, you can actually identify these individuals
(37:22):
far earlier on. And someone like Rick Bluhm. I believe
that there were so many windows of opportunity to identify
what a dangerous individual he was and still is, because
I don't believe that risk dissipates with age. I've never
seen that in the cases that I've worked that once
you get to seventy or eighty, you're no longer a risk.
(37:42):
With someone you know who's a psychopath, they will always
be a risk always, And with someone at this exploitative
and controlling and his desire to control the narrative has
shown that he is capable of doing anything in order
to get his way, and there for it has to
be taken seriously in terms of his behavior and can't
(38:05):
just be in my opinion, opinion notched up to oh,
he's a bit old now and is there any point
as I keep hearing people say that narrative to Sally.
Of course there's a point, there's a point to all
the women that he has harmed, and there has to
be accountability. That's what the criminal justice system is there for.
(38:27):
And therefore I hope that it is taken seriously in
terms of what the coroner has to you know, cut
through the noise. That's the only way I can say it.
It's like cutting through the noise of all the information
that exists and everything that was presented at the coroner's inquest.
Speaker 2 (38:45):
Yeah, and you know she was going to give her
findings nearly eighteen months ago, and then we found two
more victims in Europe through the podcast, and she did
the right thing and delayed in findings, and they, as
you said, gave evidence and pilling of it. I mean
he was engaged to July which he lied about on
the stand. I wasn't produced the engagement notice that Julian
(39:07):
had made up to invite friends and family.
Speaker 4 (39:10):
I mean, the pattern is undeniable.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
Where would you put rick woman in the panthe and
of convin who prey on women?
Speaker 7 (39:16):
Well, I think it's much more than being a comm man.
And I've always said that the John Meehan's you know
Dirty John Rick Blum, this is about power and control,
and this is about you know, power control related crimes.
It puts you up there as top level master manipulator
and enjoying that parent control over people and taking it
(39:38):
too far. It's not just about getting money, it's about
utter domination. And like with John Meehern, and I suspect
with Rick Blum, there's psychopathy there. They don't have the
capacity to feel empathy. They just see people as what
they can use up. They see them as targets of
what they can use up. And of course women tend
(40:00):
to be much more malleable in terms of the types
of targets that John Meehan went for, or Rick Blum
and the lack of compassion or cair These are men
who are meant to like these women, but what they
show is the exact opposite as you describe the things
that he said. So, you know, we have to take
(40:22):
cases like this seriously. And I would like Rick Blum
to be assessed for psychopathy, and I think he's a
very dangerous individual. Charm is one of the traits of
a psychopath. So I try and help them understand what
the traits will be. And you know, indirectly looking at
Rick Blum's behavior, and I haven't assessed him directly, but
(40:43):
indirectly from what others have said who know him well,
he certainly has some significant traits, you know, serious levels
of traits which are indicators of psychopathy.
Speaker 4 (40:55):
And just lastly, Laura, do you think we'll ever find
actually find Mary.
Speaker 7 (41:00):
I hope so. I mean I hope for Sally and
for the family. I hope that they do find out
what happened and they are able to recover Marian and
be able to say goodbye to her properly. If that
doesn't happen, well, I hope that they have a place
where they can go to where they can talk to
(41:23):
Marian and be able to lay her to rest. I mean,
that's what every family member wants when something like this happens.
And I just feel that Sally has just been such
an incredible force, asking questions and never giving up, and
(41:45):
I hope those answers. I hope they are revealed. I
doubt they will ever come from him, but I think
from doing the digging, and you know, she wants to
follow it through to every possible stone being unturned. To
get to that answer, and I just want to thank
(42:05):
you for the work that you have done and the
support that you've given Sally and Alison and the team.
The Lady Vanishes is really an incredible investigative podcast, which
is what I tell people to listen to all the
time if they want to understand the case. And then
of course my twelve episode series is really a companion
to that. So yes, I think about marrying often and
(42:28):
I hope that we do get answers on the twenty
ninth that are that feel that feel like a step
in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (42:39):
And your podcast analysis of our case was very good.
Just remind people where they can listen to that.
Speaker 7 (42:46):
So Crime Analyst it's a twelve episode series. You can
listen to it on all your podcast apps wherever you
get your podcast, Spotify, Apple, you can even go on
the Crime Analyst website which is just crime hyphen the Analysts.
So it should be available to everyone in Australia and
all over the world. So please do listen and have
(43:07):
Marian and Sally in your thoughts.
Speaker 4 (43:10):
Thank Laura, thank you so much.
Speaker 7 (43:12):
It's a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (43:17):
We also have an update on the grave of a
Lona Kinsel Lum's third wife, who died mysteriously in nineteen
seventy seven. After some effort, we were successful in having
the ownership of a Loner's Plot transferred from a former husband,
Michael Reid, to her daughter Evelyn. It continues to amaze
(43:43):
us how much this podcast has resonated with listeners and
with women, particularly. Not long ago, we received this email
from a self described survivor still looking for love at
age seventy to.
Speaker 8 (44:00):
I've only recently discovered your podcast and I'm spending hours
listening to it. I was a victim of an online
romance scam in twenty seventeen, so your story is helping
me understand what happened to me at that time. I'm
embarrassed and ashamed and have never divulged the huge financial
(44:20):
loss to anyone in my family. It caused me to
feel suicidal, and I sought help from my doctor, who
prescribed medication, which has helped. I'm in such a better place,
but feel it could have been handled better when reported
to the authorities. Marian's story resonates with me in many ways,
(44:42):
and I realized I had a lucky escape. I'm devastated
for all the victims whose reports are not taken seriously.
I hope you find out what happened to Varian and
that the perpetrator is punished. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (45:06):
Now to some big news. At Sally's request, we've agreed
to wind up The Lady Vanish's podcast once the inquest
findings are delivered. It's the right time. Episode fifty seven,
our next episode will also be our last.
Speaker 2 (45:29):
For everyone involved. It's been tumultuous and at times exhausting,
but thank you to our loyal listeners for coming along
for the ride. Sal and super Sleuth Joni are about
to embark on their own mission of discovery with a
series of speaking engagements and trips, and we wish them well.
(45:52):
While there'll be no more episodes, we will keep you
posted if there are any big developments.
Speaker 1 (46:00):
However, we couldn't leave without a parting gift for you all.
The team. Brian Seymour, Sally Ills, Mark Wright and I
have written a book titled The Lady Vanishers. It is
the story of this podcast. It's a condensed version of
(46:21):
what we've revealed over the past five years, with some
extra details we couldn't release, and a detailed look behind
the scenes of what has been an incredible and unique journey.
Speaker 2 (46:38):
So for the many listeners who have reached out trying
to remember when they hurt certain pieces of evidence, all
of the vital clues will now be easily accessible. Publisher
Harper Collins will launch The Lady Vanishers the book on
May fifteenth. If you're after a copy of the first
print edition, it's available for pre order now.
Speaker 1 (47:02):
For every sale via independent bookseller Schoolworks Supplies, ten percent
will be donated to the go fund me account of
Guilaine Dubois Danlis, one of rip Blum's victims who was
duped of her life savings. Details on how to do
this are in the show notes. Gilaine is now eighty nine,
(47:26):
living meagerly in France, but finding joy in the simple things.
Speaker 7 (47:33):
It's very kind of you.
Speaker 4 (47:36):
I can see it.
Speaker 3 (47:38):
Thank you.
Speaker 7 (47:40):
Look do you understand well?
Speaker 1 (47:48):
I just am glad we can do something for you.
Speaker 7 (47:52):
Thank you, Thank you very much.
Speaker 9 (47:54):
It's from my heart that I thank you.
Speaker 1 (47:58):
I saw the toll it took on you, the line
it would have caused you discomfort.
Speaker 7 (48:06):
Thank you, thank you very much. It was really difficult.
Speaker 9 (48:11):
Yes, you are right, but I'm still living. I am Alexandra,
a man other of my children, grandchildren. They are loving
me and it makes hope to continue to live. I
(48:36):
do my best to stay in life because you know
this year I will be in August, I will be.
Speaker 2 (48:48):
Ninety years old.
Speaker 9 (48:51):
I hope we will see us in Belgium.
Speaker 1 (48:57):
This year, or like you want, I would like that
we'll be back soon for one last time with the
long awaited findings of the inquest into the disappearance of
Marion Barter.
Speaker 2 (49:33):
If you knew Marian or have any information about her
or her whereabouts, we'd love to hear from you. Our
website is sevennews dot com dot au, slash news slash
the Lady Vanishers, and you can also message us here.
You can also send us an anonymous tip at the
Lady Vanishers dot org. If you like what you're hearing,
(49:58):
don't forget to subscribe. Please rate and review our series.
It helps new listeners find us. Presenter and executive producer
Alison Sandy, investigative journalist Brian Seymour, writer and producer Sally Yields.
Sound design Mark Wright, graphics Jason Blandford, Translation and transcripts
(50:19):
Estel Sanchez. The theme and much of the music by
Nicholas Gasparini at the Darkpiano dot com. Thanks again to
the Alliance Francais. This is a seven News production.
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