What happened to Marion Barter: Coroner accepts she is dead

The disappearance of a teacher 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.

Mother-of-two Marion Barter, 51, disappeared in 1997 under suspicious circumstances.

She was last seen on June 22, the day she flew from Brisbane for a trip to England with Ric Blum, a man she had recently started a relationship with after meeting him through a personal ad.

Her daughter Sally Leydon says her mother’s behavior before leaving Australia was uncharacteristic

Ms Barter’s daughter, Sally Leydon, reported the incident to police in October amid concerns 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 persons report and lay dormant for ten years.

NSW State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan on Thursday accepted Ms Barter was dead and described the circumstances surrounding her disappearance as “disturbing”.

Dozens of Ms Leydon’s friends and supporters filled the Sydney courtroom for the inquest findings, with many wearing green in tribute to Ms Barter’s favorite colour.

The Belgian-born Mr Blum did not appear.

Ms O’Sullivan dismissed the NSW Police investigation into Ms Barter’s disappearance as inadequate, noting little was done until 2019, when the case became the subject of a popular podcast series.

The coroner described a series of police missteps, including an initial failure to document Ms. Barter as missing.

She also criticized Detective Inspector 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 any police investigation – despite Ms Leydon’s repeated attempts to get officers to investigate the matter – meant crucial evidence was lost, Ms O’Sullivan said.

The coroner also outlined a series of extraordinary coincidences in the case, including the unusual name Mrs Barter had adopted by deed poll in the month before she disappeared.

She was last seen on June 22, the day she flew out of Brisbane for an indefinite trip to England with Ric Blum (pictured)

Ms Barter was last seen at a bus station in the hours before she took a flight under her new identity, Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel.

Her outgoing passenger card stated that she was divorced and intended to live in Luxembourg.

Weeks later, on August 2, it was reported that she returned to Australia with an incoming passenger card showing that she was married and living in the small European country.

Ms. Barter changed her name because “she was in a relationship with Mr. Blum and wanted to share a name and life with him,” Ms. O’Sullivan discovered.

The teacher met Mr. Blum after the married man placed a personal advertisement under the name “MF Remakel” without the knowledge of his wife and family.

He encouraged Ms Barter to change her name and start a new life with him in Luxembourg, the coroner said.

There was also evidence that, at Mr. Blum’s encouragement, she had withdrawn tens of thousands of dollars from her account before disappearing.

Investigation revealed that someone had gained access to the missing woman’s bank account after her disappearance.

Marion Barter, then aged 51, was last seen at a bus depot on Scarborough Street in Southport, Queensland

Ms O’Sullivan said she did not accept any evidence from Mr Blum, who she said withheld important information and introduced himself to ‘single, vulnerable women for financial gain’.

“His lies and deception during this inquest convince me that he indeed knows more than he says,” she said.

Ms O’Sullivan has referred the case to the NSW Police Unsolved Homicide Team for review.

A tearful Ms Leydon hugged supporters after the findings were announced, telling them: ‘We’ll get him eventually.’

In a statement, NSW Police said they would consider the coronial findings.

“This case has been referred to the Homicide Squad, the Unsolved Homicide Squad for continued monitoring and review,” the statement said.

“Anyone with information that could assist Strike Force Jurunga investigators is urged to contact police.”

A $500,000 reward is still being offered for information about Ms. Barter’s disappearance.