The Bizarre Case of Marion Barter
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 พ.ย. 2022
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Sources:
www.theguardian.com/australia...
marion-barter-a-daughters-25-year-quest-to-find-her-missing-mother
www.police.nsw.gov.au/can_you...
spicious_disappearance_of_marion_barter
www.theladyvanishes.org
www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-1...
disappearance-/101543898
7news.com.au/original-fyi/the...
letter-heard-at-inquest-into-disappearance-of-marion-barter-c-6647333
7news.com.au/original-fyi/the...
meeting-airy-fairy-marion-barter-before-her-mysterious-disappearance-c-
8577440
7news.com.au/original-fyi/the...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappe...
Music credit:
Cause of Death OST - Hard Time
CO.AG Music - Father Marcus
CO.AG Music - Abandoned
Writer and Researcher: Nikkielmas
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BREAKING NEWS: The Coroners Court has concluded its inquiry into Marion Barter's disappearance, delivering their findings. It has been established that Marion is deceased, with the likely date of death being after October 15, 1997. However, the place and circumstances of her death remain unknown as no body has been found. The case has been passed on to the unsolved homicide team for further investigation.
Rick Blum's testimony has been deemed unreliable, with the Coroner noting his dishonesty and lack of forthcoming information during the inquest. It is believed that Mr. Blum possesses additional knowledge regarding Marion's disappearance, which he has not divulged. He will be referred to the Director of Prosecutions Office for further action.
Our thoughts go out to Marion's daughter, Sally Leydon, and all of her loved ones at this time❤️
When someone has 30 aliases and 12 legal name changes, there has to be something strange going on.
Absolutely. Kind of a obvious red flag, but these people can talk their way outta anything
This comment just glued me in for the ride.
How do you legally change your name that many times?
@@ThatGirlJD you don’t legally. You just steal someone’s purse that looks like you and steal their identity
Oh maybe that's why they're telling her story!! 🤔 Just a wild thought.
Another Aussie already commented this but the fact she's not claiming her pension is incredibly alarming. She's in her 70s and Aussie Pension and Senior Concession entitle you to so many benefits with healthcare and finance that the average elderly person cannot live without. A woman with 0 savings and no family to fall back on would not be passing up her old age benefits such as the pension because it's what she needs to live. I really don't believe she's alive.
probably claiming 10 pensions under 10 aliases
If she is in Europe she would not claim it.
I don't think she is alive either. I hope she wasn't murdered. However, I cannot feel sorry for a woman who chose to abandon her family to go on "an adventure"...without explanation of her whereabouts for years, and rarely spoke with them again. I have zero respect for those who abandon their children that they choose to have. I do have tremendous sorrow for her daughter and the others left behind. What this woman put them thru initially, and for many years...is a travesty. I have no pity for Marion...at all.
@@maureenperez5676 she didn't take off for years without contact. She was traveling for only 2 months and was in contact with her family while traveling, before going missing while in a relationship with a prolific abuser. She spoke to her daughter a couple of days before going missing & was possibly murdered.
@@maureenperez5676 Totally agree with You
I know of a case slightly similar to this, where a woman disappeared for years, and law enforcement came up with a dead end!
It wasn’t until years later, where her children and other relatives started using social media for a major push to find out if anyone knew anything at all, then the kids suddenly got a call telling them to remove the pictures of her from Social Media platforms, she told them, "I will always love you, and if you love me, you pull those pictures and forget about me, I can’t explain it to you, but if you don’t remove the pictures, I’ll end up dead!" - next day they got a letter from the Police, but not from those who had been searching for her, but from Criminal Intelligence Service, telling them to pull everything from social media, no other explanation.
When they contacted their local law enforcement, the detective in charge of their case told the family that he had just received a strange order to shut down any investigation into her disappearance!
Turns out, she had fallen in love with a guy who entered the Witness Protection program!
Edit May 2023: She is now back with her family, in late April the guy she was with got convicted of abusing her.
Thank you to everyone who’s been interested and asked questions in regards to this case…
Wow!!! Fascinating. Would love to see the story behind that
Wow, I'm glad the family got a somewhat limited kind of closure but what a story no one can really tell. I'm so curious now lol.
Its not worth it to me. No love is stronger than the love I have for my daughter. I'd rather die than be away from her. So if I go then I go but at least my last moments were happy with my baby. A life without seeing her face everyday is a life I would never live.
@@ebonimom6964 honestly I don’t have kids but can’t imagine doing that. It’s not something my mom would ever do.
@@ebonimom6964 I was going to write something similar but after I read your comment, I feel:
👉 *you’ve managed to nail exactly how I feel, and I couldn’t have written it better myself. Many thanks* 🙏
Love, Grace
This happened to my mother. She was divorced and wooed by a guy who was a conman. We didn't see her for 15 years. She eventually came to her senses and had to escape from him. Once she did, she was able to contact us. He had kept her as a virtual slave all that time and had taken every penny she had saved...
🙁
💕☯️😢🙏🏻
I’m so sorry. These conmen are nothing but pathetic parasites.
Oh dude that's insane. I'm glad she broke free and is reunited with you guys
Thanks! It was a very difficult time for us. And we always held out hope she would reconnect us. I kept my landline and had it publicly listed so she could get it if she ever was able to call us.
Nothing sounded off to me until the money started disappearing. Seems she left her life by her own choice but then became a victim of foul play by a scammer.
I have to agree. However that does raise the question of a certain comment. Why this person, Clark Hunter, wrote in 2013 that Marion was alive on her daughter’s Facebook page?
Well, she did withdrawal the money herself. What happened after that is unknown.
@@mirandagoldstine8548 One message from some random person after all those years? Could easily be fake and someone messing with the family
@@IBeMelissa True. Yet I’m not sure how much public awareness there was in 2013 of the case. There’s something about the message that nags me. If I was investigating I would have done an IP trace on the account to see where the message was posted from. It might be a troll but what if it wasn’t?
@@IBeMelissa Yes. Unfortunately, some cruel people get fascinated with a crime case and do things like that.
I’m sorry and I know this is not the whole Takeaway of this case but if any guy writes me a sappy letter about his testicles I’m done. Immediately I’d know that something wasn’t right
Ikr
😂😂😂 Agreed
I know, unreal my God. 🤣
Oh my gosh. 🤣 Evidently it did it for Marion. 😳
I don't get answering lonley heart's adds in the paper and believing a word of it..let alone the part about his testicles lols.
I do have a friend who think's with her girly bits, her life has always been chaotic and weird.
I work at a bank and I think it’s insane that the bank wouldn’t freeze her accounts after the unusual activity of $5000 a DAY for 3 weeks being withdrawn… and the $80,000 transfer out of the account would definitely have been flagged and not sent through if the bank couldn’t verify the receiver………..maybe I’m expecting too much from the bank but if the daughter already alerted them she wasn’t acting herself?? If I was the teller I would have frozen those accounts the second her daughter came in
This story was waaaaay too long.
I think at the time it was less unusual to see larger sums of money being withdrawn or transferred and the procedures to prevent fraud were also less developed. But I agree it definitely screams suspicious by any standards!!
Funny how you all never question deposits...only when people are trying to get THEIR currency out do yall act like God himself.
Hell will be hot for you, your sins will find you out
@@whiteyfisk9769 schizo alert
@@ungabungus01 wow, you totally disproved everything i said with your completely objective rebuttal...wow
Selling her house, when she was just going on a extensive holiday should have been a huge red flag.
Liked this comment before watching bc it has good common sense in it. W comment.
If you listen to the podcast, it really wasn’t. Marion had been talking about downsizing for a long time and had always wanted to travel. Her children were finally in their mid 20s and leading their own lives. There were sexual assault allegations at the school Marion was working out, she had been extremely stressed from work and relationships and decided to resign and get away for a bit. The plan was to take a holiday for a couple of months, possibly teach overseas for a bit, then come back and find a smaller place and a new job.
On the podcast, her daughter Sally said she intended on downsizing to a unit when she returned and she was in the family home with a pool, etc. but both of her children had moved out but she didn’t want to buy a unit and have it sit empty while she was away.
"You’re a song in a man's testicles" thanks bro *block*
Agreed. Gross 🤢
What did she write to him?
Lol
The weirdest thing to say, ever.
@@myunknownland9272 probably something equally ridiculous.
There is no excuse for the bank to not be able to trace the $80,000 electronic transfer. In the 90s it was fairly simple to trace transactions. To be difficult to trace, it would have to be cashed and dispersed that way, but the point where it was cashed up should be visible.
The were just as lazy as the cops to do their job. It6not their family so they could careless.
That's what got me too. They will hound you and find you if you haven't paid $30 parking ticket, but somehow a missing mother and $80,000 transaction cannot be traced...yet one completely unrelated person with internet access breaks the whole case wide open decades later 🙄 So much wrong all together in this story.
Agreed. The transaction has to go somewhere and there is (and was then, too) always a confirmation message from the recipient end.
Yeah that was ridiculous to me because that’s a large amount of money.
@@iamsherlocked345 My bank freaks out if I spend $500, and suspend my account for "suspicious activity" Lol. BTW, I love your handle, can't wait for the next season of Sherlock (if they make it anyway)
Con artists know exactly what lonely and desperate and dissatisfied women are longing to hear. My cousin is especially prone to flattery and married one, but discovered his fakery on their honeymoon and annulled their marriage as soon as she could.
Yep same with a coworker who so convinced this person was legit even though he always had excuses about not meeting her.
Yes, I always just roll my eyes when a man flatters me - even nice men are usually after something
Yeah. I think that’s what happened with Marion. She was lulled with promises of la dolce vita by a conman. Apparently she wasn’t exactly street smart and it seemed to be implied she trusted easily. I could definitely see that happening. This is why I’m a worry wort about getting into a relationship. Too many horror stories about conmen.
The thing is thebitch wasn't lonely, she already had a husband (that was her third as a matter of fact), whom she left for the sole purpose of another's company
@@mirandagoldstine8548 she wasn't a complete idiot or mentally disabled, it didn't have just "happen" to her, she's not an angel she knew what she was doing.
Unfortunately men took precedence over her children
"You are a song in a man's testicles!" Never has my brain said WTF so fast.
Yeah, she feel for THAT line.😂😂😂 You can bet he was laughing his arse off at her being so gullible.
Yeah that was awesome
🤣🤣🤣🤣
He truly is a poet 😂😂😂
And he had the audacity to accuse *her* of being a sex addict!
This is so recognisable. Some years ago my sister went through the most black period in her life. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and lost her breast. During the chemotherapy she found out that her partner had started an affair with another woman because “she wasn’t a pleasant person anymore “. I guess that being bald, having the chemo wreck your body, having undergone a mammectomy and having fear that the cancer won’t go away can make one a bit unpleasant… not that she really was. After she got back on her feet she left her no good for nothing partner with her two children. She was in such a state of mind that any man who smiled at her made her swoon. This unfortunately happened with a guy who had just come to know that she was divorced and had come into some money from selling the family home. They “met” on an office party. Not long after they started to date and after 6 months they moved in together with their kids. Now, once they lived together the guy started to change. He got more demanding, wanted her to pay the bills, to buy him a new car, to pay for the school for his special needs son … and started exhausting her psychologically. You probably, just like I did, see a bright red light start to flare. I told her she had to leave him, run as far away as she could. Off course she didn’t listen at first. After one year with him, she finally moved out. It had cost her a lot of money. This guy saw an easy victim to use as money cow until the money dried up… My poor sister. Even though she has two beautiful caring teens she is a person who can’t be without being in a relationship. Otherwise she feels alone. That are the people this kind of crooks smell from far away and try to get their claws in.
I hope that Marion’s children find out what happened to their mother and get some closure.
So sorry for your sister, Lilith. Some women are just addicted to men or relationships. We as women need to be okay with being alone till the right man comes along. Thankfully I've never had that problem. I just celebrated my 19th anniversary!!!
Much blessings to you and your family!!
💜
@@clover5668 Hey Clover, thanks for your nice words. You are still starting the journey of life I see. It’s true as you say women should feel comfortable with being alone. I mean without a man or a boyfriend. It’s mostly society that makes us believe we are weak without a man. My daughter is now 29 and after she broke it off with her boyfriend I gave her the advise to live by herself (or she could also come back home off course. What mother wouldn’t want that hey. Your baby back with you) . Now she hires a little flat and she has made it her own. She is never really alone because she has 9 cavias and an adorable little bunny rabbit. Well, she is a veterinarian and she can’t stop taking in homeless or found animals.
So you live your life and never let a guy take advantage of you. Women are stronger than men can ever imagine.
@@lilitheden748 Thank you, Lillith!!! You are very sweet. I appreciate your comment alot!!! I wish nothing but the best for you and your daughter!!
💘
Hi Lilith. Im so sorry to read about your sister. Terrible. Your all in my prayers.
.. lol the cheater dude don't seem that bad lol
I listened to almost the entire podcast (as far as most recent updates go) and it was just astonishing. And the way her family just didn’t want her daughter to push for answers was so frustrating. It seems pretty clear she met with foul play early on.
I watched my only child die. Unending grief. To have someone vanish and never know must be so much worse. Thinking that they did it voluntarily, leaving behind a grieving and confused child and family is about the most selfish thing a human can do. But was she in her right mind?
No sooner had I said to myself, Marion sounds like one of those women that can’t be alone, har daughter said the same thing. From the beginning it sounded like she was running off with a man. I think she did and ran into some foul play. My next thought is she was in a “love scam”and then comes the “lonely heart.” I knew it! What pisses me off is that she was lied, never planned to come back, ditched her kids and took all the money leaving them with nothing. She’s either dead or was too ashamed to come home. Best wishes to the people she left behind. Great case!
I think she’s dead. That’s why the plan with her “husband” to live the lifestyle on a boat. Hard to track and then oops she’s gone and he crafts a lie.
My thoughts exactly. Made me a little bit angry, not as sympathetic as I like to think of myself. Definitely best wishes to all those she left behind.
@@isobel2323 Same here and I feel bad about not feeling as bad as I usually do for victims, even if they kind of walked in to it. That guy was running a hell of a racket, but I don’t see a woman and mother being easily talked into changing identities, selling her house for cash, ditching her kids and running a whole scheme on everyone she loved for basically, a stranger… UNLESS she was already half way out the door and was just waiting for a man to come along and “take her away” from her boring mid life crisis. It’s the pure selfishness of it all for me.
@@LotsofLisa I have to agree. Her daughter’s description of her mom as always needing a significant other really triggered things in my mind. But also the fact she wasn’t that street savvy disturbed me.
@@mirandagoldstine8548 It triggers me too. Marion is one of those mothers that end up on the news because her boyfriend killed or molested and abused her and her kids. All because she wanted a warm body in the bed. I actually started to think that it’s good she did leave the kids behind.
God, I would never leave my family for a man
Lots do though 😔
I couldn't even imagine never seeing or speaking to my daughter again, by my own choosing.
Exactly. It’s not worth it
You never know what you may be capable of once you become a song in a man's testicles.
On a different note ...my ex and I put off divorcing for many years bc we knew we'd fight over our kids. Neither of us wanted them.
😆.
Kidding.
What a strange case. Marion has a unique face, I hope she is found or comes forward.
Yes, the bank witness sounds legit. I've only known one person in my life who resembles Marion, but she's about 40 years younger.
She reminds a bit of actress Melanie Lynskey.
@@riggs20 Oh, I can definitely see that!
She was actually beautiful, she looks like a painting from the 1700s. What a shame she seemed to have no self esteem and was taken advantage
@@melonie_peppers i was thinking the same thing, she has a timeless beauty about her
I’ve listened to the entire wonderful podcast (The Lady Vanishes) - the man who imho is definitely responsible for her “going missing” (and his very loooong history of stealing money from vulnerable older women after crafting ridiculous stories of his wealth an Europe blah blah - all lies) is infuriating with his endless BS and refusal to answer questions AND the horrible, unforgivable behavior of the Australian authorities (not taking the huge amounts of missing money seriously and lying to Sally about having seen a healthy, alive Marion - which NEVER HAPPENED, and their endless attempts for nearly twenty years to drag their feet on a case that screams foul play - it’s so lazy and dismissive of what they are SUPPOSED TO DO)
I am quoting an Australian police chief here... who commented on the killing of an Iranian woman by her husband... He said something like... "How could you protect a woman when her husband is bent on killing her..." which is basically the job of the police... I was shocked..
@M S you're unrealistic. Come on, how do the Police stop him ??
I hope young women are smarter these days and don’t put up with strange men love bombing them. They are usually con men or sociopaths
My heart goes out to this family. Marian sounds like quite a normal, naive woman. She saw her children entering young adulthood and thought that part of her life was over. She was lonely, and thought she had one last shot at happiness. She allowed herself to enter some romance novel-esque fiction, because she thought she had nothing to lose but money. I know what my children would do if I said I was galavanting off to europe, and wanted to be left alone. They would yell , get your head out of the clouds mom! The worlds a dangerous place! I am so thankful I have sons like this. (But I never would have spoken that way to my mother. But thankfully my mother put us before all else) Word of caution. Don't be a woman that NEEDS a man, it makes you a target. It makes you weak, and the perfect prey. To be a con artist would be so easy, all you need is a way with words, and no conscience whatsoever.
Sadly I guarantee you that while you are reading this comment or watching this video countless women are getting scammed in romance scams all over the world. And very likely some men as well ,by women who are just as evil.
I knew a woman who I immediately recognized was being scammed. I was 18 at the time and she was around 63, my coworker, she said a man was sending her emails saying he really liked her and just needed some money, and she honestly believed he may actually like her, she believed they were forming a relationship, she said she was thinking about actually sending him money. I softly broke the news that she was definitely being scammed, it’s so sad.
@@caitlyn7310 It's especially sad that after a certain age, one can't see through the crock of bs these heartless scammers are feeding them.
@@caitlyn7310 How did she respond after you told her that? Did she break it off or keep seeing him?
That's a wild story. I hope her daughter gets some answers.
Her mom is either dead or very cruel to not verify if she's okay or not. I'm sure news of the search for her would reach her multiple times over 25 years.
When they mentioned he was off to buy a boat, I’m like ‘uh oh’. That’s never a good sign, sailing off with a con man alone on the sea. I think Marion may have met her end where no one would find her. So heartbreaking for that family!
That’s what I thought too.
Look into Colleen Wood. Was convinced by a well known con man to sell all her asserts to sail the world with him. She got on the boat and was never seen again. Lots of obvious swindling and murder but the culprit fled the country.
I have to agree. Marion is described in the video as not being street smart so I think she was lulled in by the promise of la dolce vita only to end up dead. I do think that’s what happened to Marion. I honestly don’t know whether I pity her or feel annoyed by her. She really sounded like a gullible individual if she wasn’t known for her street smarts. Rule #1 of dating: make sure to do research on your significant other before you make any big decision.
@@mirandagoldstine8548 i thought the same…. Being that gullible can attract someone not good.
@@iamsherlocked345 Indeed.
She quits her successful job, quick-sells her home at a loss, changes her legal name without telling her family, makes a hasty exit from the country, then cuts off from her kids, returns to Australia without telling anyone, makes weird cash withdrawals from the bank, and deceives her family about her whereabouts? This sounds like a mental shift. I've heard of people (usually women) who run off and reinvent themselves.
yeap married and divorced 3 times. Something wrong in the head department.
@@chuckh5999 Agreed. I so very much agree. She needed a reality check.
This is a crazy story. Why abandon her kids. So sad for the kids. Thank you for your stories.
That guy wormed his way into her heart and she was too weak and naive to fight it. He convinced her to do what she did in a similar way Meghan Markle is manipulating Harry. Very sad.
They were adults
One of them committed suicide I believe. Truly tragic.
@@alsmith9853 so sad.
@@norml.hugh-mann but still no contact with mom? Sad
I feel so bad for her children, imagine the pain they’ve been feeling all these years. And being largely ignored by authorities when they just want answers. I hope they solve this, for her and her children’s’ sake
I feel for them too but only because of what a horribly selfish person their mother is.
Owen, her son committed suicide years ago, so only her daughter Sally and her family now.
How did police not know she changed her name? There's records for that stuf
police don’t actually pay attention to any of that stuff. they don’t care sadly
Because they didn’t care. She wasn’t even on the National missing persons list until recently. Police did no research into where she was, they just told her daughter that she didn’t want to be found.
I knew something was weird when her daughter mentioned seeing her at the gas station with a man, but couldn't quite see the man. That man was my first suspect from that moment on, and he was probably Fredrick- or whatever his name was. I do hope that Marion is alive and living somewhere, starting anew. But you never know when it comes to a man like Fredrick. They usually will do whatever it takes to get what they want.
*Edit:* She probably wasn't a sex addict like Fredrick says, but she clearly has some mental issues, because she willingly (at least I hope she was willing) left her whole family behind for some guy. Even her kids. That, or she really was/is (?) that selfish. Or she's too ashamed of her actions to come back like others suggested. But I try to give the benefit of the doubt most of the time. Especially with possible victims of foul play. Hopefully her family will have answers eventually.
Seemed so odd to me she ran from her daughter then but was in touch by phone. I feel She was not free to communicate as she wished.
@@zombiechicken7114 if it was him (which I believe it most likely was), he may have spun one of his fantastical stories about being a special agent and in hiding, or that it was not safe for others to see him. And Marion fell for it, thinking perhaps she was protecting both him and her daughter. His track record and the behaviour of them both is so unusual that I wouldn’t find such a seemingly absurd story to be true… well not true but the lie and fantasy they were living under. Also, I get the sense that perhaps Marion may even have had a personality disorder of sorts, one where an obsession to be in the early flourishes of love and it’s excitement and impulsiveness both drove her, and sadly also made her an easy target for a man like this. In the 90’s we simply weren’t as aware of personality disorders or mental illnesses, or concepts such as red flags etc. People were often just seen as a bit eccentric or impulsive or a bit odd, that sort of thing. I can’t imagine what her children have been through, I hope they find some answers and peace through this inquest.
Wow. This story was absolutely captivating and the deliverance of it was perfect! 💖🔥
Not knowing is, to me, the worst torture of all. Sincerely and deeply hope answers are finally found!
Not knowing always seems to be the worst torture in cases.
@@VioletJoy because our minds imagine the absolute WORST!
@@rebeccav9969 Agreed.
The only ones I truly pity are her kids & her family. The willingness to leave is... idk I'm at a lost for words here
One word that came to my mind was: Selfish. I can understand cutting off family, boy can I understand that 😂, but NEVER your children. That is unacceptable and so very selfish knowing they will always being wondering where there was or what happened to their mom and possibly think “what did I do wrong that my mother no longer wants to be in my life”….. 😔
@@eringomez-watters7881 Yeah. I will never understand how a woman can leave her children for a man. In this case, a man she didn't even know.
@@eringomez-watters7881 ouuu I'm with you on the cutting off family thing, as well lol & yess I agree
I've never followed through with a marriage. (Engaged twice, but neither relationship worked out.) I don't have children either. Yet even I can't comprehend a mother making a conscious decision to cut off contact with her children. Not just exiting their lives, which is odd as hell by itself, but leaving them to wonder what happened? To cause your kids (adults or not - age is irrelevant here) to suffer through years upon years upon years wondering if their mother is even alive... it's so horrible! How could she allow them to be in limbo for twenty+ years? It was cruel, it was selfish, and unfortunately for her children, it was 100% intentional. She freely chose to abandon her children and you cannot convince me that she didn't know exactly what she was doing and what her actions would mean for her kids. She knew. She just didn't care. Horrible human being. Just horrible.
Stupid desperate bimbo...selfish as all Hell
wow, the amount of cringe in that love poem. Times have certainly changed
😂
Haha it made no sense either!!
Ladies: cautionary tale. Alone is better than most of what's out there anyway.
Most people are not like this, at least i have to think that
This is truly such a bizarre case. Thank you for covering Marion's disappearance.
It was bizarre until they said “lonely heart” newspaper ad. Immediately I said, Love scam. She’s dead! America has some old love column murder cases too. Today they call it Craig’s List.
I have to agree. There’s one detail however I think needs to be mentioned. In 2013 Leydon received a Facebook message from someone named Clark Hunter stating that her mom was alive but never returning. This person also said that Marion (Natalia) had not disappeared willingly but was forced to. I think this Hunter person is connected to Fernand but in what way I don’t know. This does suggest that in 2013, if the post is to be believed, Marion was still alive.
@@mirandagoldstine8548 oh my god. One single Facebook message from an unrelated person to the case in 2013? Must be 100% true!
@@maddieb.4282 I said if to be believed. I have my doubts.
When it comes to missing persons, the New South Wales police force haven't the faintest clue what they're doing. I know this too well, from personal experience. I have a family member who went missing nearly 28 years ago and they have had the person declared dead without evidence. Their investigative techniques were incredibly amateurish.
When someone abandons their documentary ID, deliberately, trying to find them by name, with any agency is futile. Checking with Interpol to see whether they left the country without confirming with the family whether the missing person even had a passport is ridiculous. Declaring that the person was probably deceased prior to the date they went missing is at best comical and at worst, grossly incompetent. They really need to carefully review their methods. They look like idiots!
One thing I have found out about most police agencies is sadly they are incompetent and often lazy beyond belief. The good news is with the internet people can leverage online communities and get help.
One thing I found out about armchair detectives is that they have never applied to be law enforcement to do better than those police they judge from said armchairs, after all facts have come out.
All your proving is that your only experience of law enforcement is Hollywood movies and the true crime stories you choose to consume.
I think there are something like 800,000 open missing persons cases just in the US alone. Most police departments only have 1-3 detectives in their missing persons units. That means hundreds of cases per man need to be worked, and that doesn't include cold cases. So in an instance like this where the person is known to have voluntarily disappeared, is contacted by police and tells them herself she is ok and wants to not be found, it isn't surprising that they dropped the case.
I have a surprise for you, everyone is like that at their job...the more they claim to be professional...the less they are
I have read lots of true crime during my lifetime. One recurring theme is the squeaky wheel gets the grease. It takes a family member,or someone close to the victim to keep their loved ones case first and foremost with the police.
Sometimes police drop the ball or their department is simply overwhelmed with cases ,but many exhaust all avenues to bring killers to justice and they should be commended.
I have been following her daughters podcast from the very beginning. Such a heartbreaking story. Hopefully the more people hear the story someone might come forward with answers.
What a captivating story. I would love to see a picture of the man - in his 80's now, they say. I wonder what is so special about him, that he can con so many women - surely it is not his overly flowery correspondence - testicles and all. It was sad to hear that her son had taken his own life. I hope it was not because of being abandoned, that would be too tragic. And for his sister, to suffer the loss of her mother and a brother. I hope she continues to stay strong, and eventually find answers. I hope we hear what happens on November 30th.
Clutch your purses ladies.....here he is -
th-cam.com/video/QV_A1CKA4Kg/w-d-xo.html
I don't think he was special at all. More likely is the fact that he was preying on lonely women and their desire to be loved. People are often at their most vulnerable when they're alone.
Oh damn, the brother killed himself? 😥 That's terrible, and my double-condolences go out to Sally. Nothing could replace her mother and brother of course, but I hope she's surrounded by loving people nevertheless. Let's keep hoping and wishing that she gets the answers she deserves.
He was hardly abandoned, he was a grown man at the time his mother left on her 'holiday'
This short documentary is so well done.
Oh damn! I hate missing person cases 😪 its so heartbreaking not to have the answers your seeking in the end and this case is not any different. People love this lady and have been tirelessly searching for her and its all the more reason these kinds of cases are just so difficult. I hope that she is found one day and the loved ones can finally have peace from searching. God bless everyone involved 🙏 🙌
The level of manipulation and malice always "bothers" me. How can these people prey on others like that? They have no shame, morals, emotions, or standards.
it's a very specific type of person, isn't it? they are so bizarre... perhaps sociopathic? types like that seem to have no ability for empathy and simply cannot truly care about another, it's just not in their makeup. some will have favorites, like their mothers or first loves, but still, there's something missing... you'll hear they eventually show how shallow even that fondness was when shit hits the fan: if need be they will throw even those special ones under the bus. it's like a kind of solipsism, sort of.
Classic case of a psychopathic narcissistic finding his prey
Welcome to a new world where anything goes and there are no rules or convictions about anything. even criminals have statues built after them, and people wonder why others are so jaded
Obviously Marion was fleeced of her money, but murder did not seem to be a part of Rick's well rehearsed scam plans. She had no qualms about ditching her family, and he had no qualms about robbing her blind. Two selfish people colliding, but one was just more devious than the other.
Except he did it to at least four other women. I’m sure she didn’t ditch her family.
I wonder if he drugged them or etc?
And also.. why did Bali come up at all??
Marion was not only a vulnerable and lonely woman whose hopes were exploited, she was also lied to, conned, robbed and very probably murdered, but now she is also being judged as "selfish" and whatnot by people who never knew her but feel entitled to pass a judgement on a crime victim. What a wonderful world we live in.
@@gaiagreen2690 True
I had considered disappearing, not telling anyone before I went.
Then, I realized that it was the handful of toxic people in my life that caused me to consider disappearing. First, I divorced an abusive husband. Then, I left the religion that I had practiced for most of my life. Three of my 4 children had learned to treat me with no courtesy, that I was of little value, from the way they saw their father treat me. I began to only spend time, give my time & love to the one adult child who is courteous, respectful.
Ironically, the ex huzz cut off contact with her! He didn't go to her wedding or her graduation from college. Nothing. I feel sad for her because I know she loves her father.
He made things easier for me by cutting off contact with her. I can't stand to even see photos of him much less have to see him at important moments in our daughter's life.
For her sake, I hope that he starts being in contact with her, again. She might not allow it since his actions have hurt her so much.
The desire to disappear was gone soon after I eliminated the toxic people.
That's so awesome. You are so strong and wise! I wish you and your daughter all of the good things this world can offer!
@@olvo33nyp0pon Thank you for your encouraging comment. Many people become strong from life experiences. Everyone has their own unique strengthening experiences. Personally, I started out painfully shy, scared of everything & everyone.
Speaking from my own experiences, I became stronger as the only other choice was to give up, stop trying, possibly lapse into homelessness, become a recluse, maybe die by suicide. I felt like doing one of those.
My youngest daughter and I had to both work to be able to understand each other, to develop a strong bond, I feel such gratitude for her, that she was willing to work things out. I love her so much.
For anyone reading this, the one action that helped us the most was this.
She and I would sometimes say things that was hurting the other, without realizing it. Then one of us would be so hurt, so angry that one of us would blow up out of anger, emotional pain. I saw this, heavily pondered what to do.
Then, the method of using a safety word, seemed like a good idea. It was a fearful feeling to propose it to her. I was so afraid it would make her angry, that I might lose her.
It took courage on my part.
She loved the idea. (Whew!)
She and I mutually decided on a safety word. If something I was saying or doing was hurting her, instead of her becoming angry or hurt, when she said the safety word, I had to immediately stop what I was saying or doing.
The same went for her. If something she was saying or doing was hurting me or making me angry, when I said our safety word, she had to stop talking, stop doing what she was doing.
Furthermore, if we were in person, we would hug after one of us safety worded. If we were speaking by phone, we would each say, "I love you", then, tell the other one thing we love about the other. That just happened, no planning or discussion, it just happened.
If this method helps anyone reading this, then, it's a happy happenstance.
She was looking for love & found it with the wrong person who conned her duped her & finally killed her. How sad & tragic for Marion & her family, I truly hope & pray that I’m wrong & she will eventually be reunited with those she loves x
It's a fascinating case. I've been following the podcast, and truly hope they can get an answer for Sally and what I suspect may be well-needed justice for Marion. What's weird though, is the positive identifications of her - the bank manager, the woman who traced missing persons at the Salvation Army, and the police. I know the police made errors, but the Salvation Army specialise in finding missing persons, you'd think they'd be more accurate and alert to deception. Thank you for recapping the case so well (just one wee point, I think that the man whose name Marion took is actually still alive, and had his identity stolen by DeHederberry. Marion's first husband who was an international footlballer had played against Remekel when they were young, so possibly she thought she was meeting an old acquaintance). It's so confusing with all of the names, and the travelling between different countries, it was really good to get a concise recap. Here's hoping that DeHederberry gets the justice he deserves. Even if he hasn't hurt Marion he has conned so many people.
I'm confused as to what errors were done by police. She was located and told them that she no longer wanted contact with her family. Am I missing something?
@@VioletJoy When you look at the bigger picture (ie modus operandi, which the police did not know at the time), it's possible she said what she said under duress, coercion or delusion. The evil guy probably kept her on a string, believing she was living a romantic fairytale, until he had extracted all her money.
@@VanillaMacaron551 We have no idea of that's the case. In fact, I would guess that it wasn't at all. Considering all the decisions she made on her own - selling her house, changing her name, going abroad, cutting ties with her kids, withdrawing money, etc. - it's very likely that she was there on her own account. There was nothing to suggest that she had a gun to her head or anything, especially considering the chat she had with the bank teller who recognized her. If those letters Ferdinand wrote are any indication of how things went with Marion, she wouldn't have been under duress at that point. We don't know what happened after she transferred that last lump sum, but for all we know, she might have gone on another adventure and changed her name again.
@@VioletJoy You mention her not having a gun to her head however, this is how coercion works. Being forced to do something in a very tricky, slippery way. He tricked her. He's a con man. He took her on those happy travels, pretending he was all that, and yes she went along with it as he swept her off her feet with lies and manipulations, although he could have held her documents as he did with the others. He gets her to return to Australia to get her to remove the money from her account then she's never seen again. Sometime after he got a hold of her money she would have realised he was a con man and I can only imagine how devastated she felt in that moment.
@@JoliNatural Yes, no doubt he was a con man. Grrrr. But that doesn't mean she wasn't excited and willing to participate in the adventure, even if it was all a trick. It's very sad on so many levels, especially for the kids she abandoned.
Who knows what happened after she withdrew all of that money. We may never know. Whatever the case, he is definitely a very sketchy guy and should be in prison.
If any man sent me a letter like that I would run for the hills.
This is a very sad story, and one that badly needed to be told. Thank you for that, as it is a great kindness to this lady and her children. I hope very much they find answers, and what comfort can be had for them.
Hello how’re you doing?
Leydon is the daughters _surname_ not her first name. One of the photos says Sally Leydon
Why didn’t the bank stop the account after the first sign that something is wrong?!?!
Wow! Crazy story! Sad to say throughout the years that have passed, she may never be found. But I hope for Leydon's sake, she is, perhaps finally having found peace.
i can’t imagine not being able to just call someone’s phone and find out where they are. it sounds so frustrating, especially in crisis
This was just the way of life. Nobody could imagine just calling someone up without having been told where the other would be & when.. you'd just go from place to place where they would normally be or wait & hope they would call home... we live in a convenient time...
It’s another level of torture and fear. My husband went fishing once and didn’t have service for several hours and I traveled everywhere searching for him and my chest literally hurt. Truly excruciating
@@janedoe4316 agree 💯
@@katieh8186 gosh, that sounds so scary! my phone was on once but the volume was turned way down, so when my mum called me and i didn’t respond, she got in the car and drove around the town trying to find me. i have mental health issues and was recently released from a mental health facility, so my mum was in tears thinking i had hurt myself. i don’t think i’ve ever seen her so upset. my heart breaks whenever i think about it- i cannot imagine being her age and not having phones the way we do. i’m very grateful i have these resources
Always interesting to discover a story I've never heard of before, and such an odd case at that. Thank you!
I feel bless d that I realized that 1) my picker for choosing the right person is wonky, & 2) I am simply done with the stress & drama of having a partner that is in it for himself.
I have heard SO many stories about incidences such as this...& that horrid, ghastly 'love letter'...it made me wanna GAG! I pray that folks in these circumstances wake up & get out of the way of the calamity headed straight for them & any financial security they possess.
My guess is that she was murdered. He will deny everything. He can lie in this life, but NOT in the next.
Woman can be as flighty as men. This was very well produced and extremely well written. Thank you
This is very similar to what my biological father did. I am the last of his children. I know he abandoned 2 or 3 families between the 1950s and 1992 when my parents divorced. I never got a whole story, I do know that per his family I am likely the one who has put the most together about him. From the perspective of a kid I resented him for a lot of years but now I am an adult, parent and my father passed - I just pitty him because he was running from himself more than anything. This was all in pre-internet contental USA btw I think what my dad did would have been much hard to pull off.
Hmm. Have you tried a DNA kit? Like 23andme or ancestry? Perhaps your your half siblings are also curious..
my ex pulled away to "find herself" / disappearing for weeks at a time / leaving me at home with the kids, etc.
married 20 years, never hit her, never cheated on her... and the guy that she left me for? he beat her up and cheated on her.
"Men suffer from fallacy; Women suffer from fantasy".
Pretty sure he lured her, seduced her, married her, gained access to her financial conveyances, murdered her and drained all her bank accounts. My heart goes out to her family and friends.
You are so good at what you do. Truly gifted. Thank you for the effort it must be, the time and the dedication to your very best - that you clearly put into every episode I’ve watched of yours. Keep ‘em comin!
Why could a bank not track any amount!
Yes, they must have the numbers of where they sent it - maybe difficult for others to get access if was sent internationally, or maybe through Western Union or something?
@@VanillaMacaron551 That's what I was wondering.
It only says that she made a withdrawal, not that she had the money wired. She could have gotten it via cashier's/counter check or taken it all in cash. Not traceable then and as long as the bank had the specific amount in the vault, they would have given it to her.
@@cindypyles6281 my bank will only let me take 3 to 5 thousand at a time and asks why I'm taking it out!
They could at the time but didn’t because police weren’t interested, it was too late to track once they started looking for her only recently as they only have to be kept for 10 years
You mentioned a pension. Non Australians may not know that everybody below a certain asset//income level qualifies for an old age pension. Also, this is reciprocal with Britain. From what's said about Marion draining her account, she'd pass the income test and it's inexplicable that anyone would pass up the chance of free government money.
That pension also gives the right to cheap prescriptions, certain medical and dental services, aside from the normal free doctor and hospital care, and even energy rebates.
It's sad to say but at 73 if she's not claiming the pension in either England or Australia then her survival chances aren't good. The man who perhaps duped her into withdrawing all her money wouldn't let that chance go by either if she's still alive but under his control.
Also sad to say is she was originally prepared to cut contact with her children and family, before any nefarious deeds could have happened. I really feel for Sally whose devotion to her mother and anxiety for her well being certainly weren't reciprocated. Her search is immeasurably more difficult because there is no real indication of when free will and self agency by Marion ceased.
The saddest things were their mother missing Sally's wedding day and Owen's twenty first birthday. (Even though legal adult age is eighteen, the twenty-first birthday is still a big deal). To spend what should have been among the happiest days of their lives deciding their Mum must be kidnapped or deceased because "She'd never have missed..." then wondering for years if that's true? Horrible.
This. I cannot imagine a woman in her 70s swindled of her savings not claiming her pension. I doubt she's alive.
Marion has a Mona Lisa smile; enigmatic.
She has a Habserg jaw.
@@jstone247 Habsburg
@@jstone247 plain ugly
There's an awful lot of victim blaming going on here. Evil people feed on others relentlessly, but it must feel awful for the family to be abandoned like that.
Fascinating case, thank you for covering this so well. So sorry for her poor daughter.
I have been listening to the podcast from day one and it is such a crazy sad story. I am glad that there is someone who is finally covering this case
Monique wasn’t his wife, she was another woman he had another affair with while he was married to Diane. He stole Monique’s ex husbands identity
Thank you so much for this update! I listened to the original podcast, but had not learned anything else about it since then.
My aunt ran off to be with a man across the country that she met online in the early 90s. Thankfully we did hear from her some and get a couple of visits home…though she largely did just toss her family to the trash for him. I do sympathize and recognize the worry and confusion that her family faced. I am just sorry that the story did not turn out for the better.
I'M SUPRISED HER DAUGHTER IS STILL SANE AND HAS BEEN ABLE TO KEEP HERSELF TOGETHER
ALL THESE YEARS.....
Honestly I dunno if i could handle that 😑
@@iamsherlocked345 same here....
What choice does she have?
@@chaoswitch1974 lots of other choices my dear!
@@annamariehewitt3173 I'm not sure. I didn't learn much about her life in this video. What do you know?
Back in the late 90's the internet wasn't the all encompassing information dump we have today (and social media definitely wasn't a thing) Marion probably thought her bizarre, out of character, selfish behaviour was just one last chance at romance and just an exciting new chapter in her otherwise boring life.
You're an excellent story teller and your voice and accent add to your charm.
Imagine the difficulty of coping with this situation. The rejection, the unknown, the lack of help. What a sad life.
A Man tried to do the same thing to My Mom
He lived in Wales UK ,it went for 3 Months and I had to scream to my Mom to Stop…this is after she retired and her husband died for about 6yrs …..
Protect your Moms people from Scammers
It's her children she left behind that i truly feel sorry for to not even have an explanation about why was a true blow to them and they didn't deserve that.
What a sad case. She probably just wanted love, and ended up getting tangled up with the wrong person. I have a feeling she's no longer alive, since they have the guy (sort of) but not her, at all. Whether that guy did something to her, or if she was just left without money in a foreign place, and no way to contact her family, and then something happened to her... But I guess we'll never know.
Or maybe we will, one day, as her daughter expressed. Her positivity through this is astonishing, but it might just be that after all these years there is nothing left to hope for but this.
But I have to say, she looks eerily like someone I know. Now, they can't be related to each other, the years don't add up. But that adds an extra level of uneasiness to the case for me.
Today is 12-7-2022. I just googled an update on Marion, and an Aussie court has decided Marion is dead.
Honestly I think she’s not alive after all this time.
This case is mind blowing...these poor women who are so vulnerable they are preyed upon by these nasty POS and obviously in Marion's case, realize a moment too late, what is happening...how sad that she really fell thru the cracks...
Fascinating story. Please keep us updated.
She created a mess. I feel bad for her kids.
It makes me wonder how their childhood was 😢
@@iamsherlocked345 I know! ❤️
@@SonjaHamburg Yes 👌
I don't think she was right in the head in the first place ... ditching her family like that
I have to agree. She was described as not being very street smart which raised some major flags because you need a certain degree of street smarts to function in life. How in the world Marion managed to do so baffles me.
Yeah, I mean, any woman with the trait of "always needing a man" and "not street smart" does have a mental issue or two. It's why she was easily manipulated. Of course, people were less aware of red flags in 1997 than we are after 20ish years of online dating.
@@KatieBellino Agreed. I suspect Marion’s dead now.
It bothers me so much that this case is so blatantly bizarre but the police seem indifferent towards it. Even with there being court hearings this woman still does not come forward, obviously something has happened to her, I truly hope she gets justice, this is just ridiculous and I feel for her poor family, to just watch your mother slip through your fingers like that and know that you can't do anything, how awful.
Don't know who needs to hear this, but FYI: if a person tells you they are a "special agent", they are not a special agent.
I personally believe she was coerced into leaving, believing that she was starting a new life, by Ric Blum (or whatever you want to call him) but he was planning to, and did, scam her of her money. I believe that unfortunately she is no longer alive - especially considering her passport didn't leave Australia after all her money was withdrawn, even though her incoming card said she was only going to be there for 8 days. She either met with foul play or, realising she'd been scammed and, in shame and despair, ended her own life. I hope Sally and the rest of her family finally get the answers they need for closure.
So tragic for kids and family-its not fair for them what she did .
To save anyone looking for updates: the findings of the coroner were delayed in November 2022 "following further investigations" so no further information yet.
I am so obsessed with your channel. Thank you for amazing work ❤️
If u gonna take off and abandon your children than, the least u can do is leave them most of the money. Or make sure they are taken care off. Especially with the amount of money she have after selling the house. Having children is not a pick n choose on the time u want to be there for them or not. A mother responsibility is to be there for them always from birth.
Her children were adults when she left (she was 51 and her children were around 24-25), so they were able to take care of themselves. There are a lot of women who don't have maternal instincts and still have children, especially in those days, when it wasn't really a choice, so I understand why she would want to leave and explore the world once the children were big enough. What I don't understand is why she would hide her location and why she would condemn them to live their whole lives not knowing what happened to her.
@@alinam5092 I’m not trying to judge but it’s very selfish and cruel. I hope the kids can just stop wasting time finding someone who appears to not wanna be found.
I am wondering, the obvious answer is that Fernand did something to her, but could it be that after the break up she ended her life and her body has not been found?
Or maybe she broke it off with him and went on another adventure. Maybe even changed her name again.
@@VioletJoy Sadly it's unlikely. A change of name is traceable. Marion's passport wasn't used to leave the country and she'd have had no money left after this con man took it all.
@@JoliNatural Good points. Knowing how she got there though, almost anything is a possibility.
@@JoliNatural I wonder if she matches any of the European Jane Does. What about the 7 sisters lady? A bit of a resemblance there. I wonder if the timing matches up.
@@rockstarofredondo Potentially, except there's no record of her leaving Australia.
This is your best video and most interesting case so far, in my opinion ...
A correction: you called Monique the widow of the real Fernand Remakel. But that’s not true, she is his ex-wife not his widow. He is very much still alive and the Podcast actually went to Luxembourg to speak to him before they found out about the “fake” Remakel.
What I find shocking is the online dating sites for the elderly and the 70 and 80-yr. old women who frequent these sites looking for a man. You have to be bonkers to put yourself on a dating site when anyone can find out your net worth in the Internet.
This popped up on my recommended, you have a new sub! The ambience, narration and scripting in this was wonderful, as well as this being a case I’d never heard of which is uncommon for TC channels. Definitely fell foul of a scammer, and as often happens the police just decided to not do their jobs. Tragic
If she said she wanted to disappear, the Police can do nothing.
I hope you will update us when they finally figure out what happened to her. Thx.
Fascinating story, outstanding presentation. Thank you.
How unfortunate the police didn’t do some research when her family first alerted them. It’s very sad she believed the lies of someone who undoubtedly seduced her to gain her money.
In the video, she said that police had found Marion, confirmed it was her, and relayed the message that she didn't want contact with her family. I'm not sure what else they could have done.
@@VioletJoy I guess that seemed odd to me, as if it was someone the husband set up to say that. But you’re right, how far must they push?
@@TheDriftwoodlover No doubt her kids wanted to see their mother, but she wasn't interested in seeing them. 💔
They didn't investigate because she wasn't in danger. She got involved with a lying piece of s**t who hustled her out of money. No laws were broken.
@@VioletJoy The police lie
It’s easy for me and others to believe we’d never be conned like this but human beings ls are complex creatures. We’re hardwired to be social and to want to find a mate, at least most of us are and when you want something so bad your judgment is unfortunately compromised. When I was 21 I married an older woman despite all sorts of red flags that it wasn’t going to work. Heck, we had a big argument the morning of the wedding but no one was going to talk me out of it. Predictably, it lasted for about a year. Of course looking back now I can see clearly but when I was in the midst of it it almost feels like you’re drugged. As a matter fact medical science has determined that love actually does affect your brain like a drug.
Sorry, but no, I would never be conned like this because I have no desire nor do I believe in marriage any longer. I think most people can do very well living in separate homes from a partner and no way will I allow the government to lock me into a marriage. Woman who are no needy and don't care if they have a partner or not, would not be conned. It's women who are lonely and desperate that always seem to be the ones who get suckered.
@@ballerman22345 Oh my goodness. I couldn’t possibly disagree more. What you would do personally only you know but the idea that only lonely, desperate women (or men) fall prey to these scams is patently false. I’ve seen numerous, numerous cases of people who were intelligent, stable, financially independent, and in some cases had sworn off romance altogether fall prey to con artists. Heck, I just watched one last week about a Hollywood actress in her 60’s who wasn’t looking for any type of relationship fall victim to a man who eventually scammed her and she’d even checked some of his claims out before the relationship and he came back clean and it almost every case they end up saying “I never thought this would happen to me, I never thought I could fall for something like this“.
Online dating, personal ads looking for love not in a million years would I ever go that route.
I mean, certainly not by changing my identity and disappearing from my family before I even meet the guy. Quite the opposite. Multiple know where you are going and you meet them in a highly public place. None of us really know anyone, even if we meet them in person first. However, there are red flags with personal ads and online dating to really look out for.
It’s now November 2022… Could you please follow up with what happens with this case? Your narration is excellent! Thank you!!!
Thank you for covering this case! This shows us how careful and alert we need to be!