Marion Barter coronial inquest in Byron Bay delves into Lennox Head lover
The secret North Coast lover of missing woman Marion Barter allegedly scammed a Sydney woman and harassed her to sell her house a year after the schoolteacher went missing, a coronial inquest has heard.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Bombshell developments surrounding a missing schoolteacher’s secret Lennox Head lover continue to be revealed in her coronial inquest.
The inquest into the disappearance and suspected death of Marion Barter, who vanished 25 years ago, resumed its third day of hearing on Thursday in Byron Bay Local Court.
The Gold Coast woman and ex-wife of Australian soccer great Johnny Warren, was last seen by her family in June 1997, days before she flew overseas for what was meant to be a year-long holiday in the UK and Europe.
She wrote from overseas but correspondence with her family soon dried up.
Then in August 1997, known as Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel, she flew back into Australia but Ms Barter’s family never heard from their relative again.
Investigations later revealed Marion Barter changed her name to Florabella Natalia Marion Remakel in May 1997, resigned from her job as a schoolteacher and sold her house before she went overseas.
Police previously concluded Ms Barter purposefully went missing and wanted to start a new life.
The inquest heard on Tuesday police had spoken with a secret lover of Ms Barter’s who resided in Northern NSW.
The man Ric Blum allegedly had multiple aliases including Richard Lloyd Westbury, Frederick de Hedervary, Willie Wouters and Fernand Remakel.
Mr Blum denies having any contact with Ms Barter on her return to Australia.
Algerian-born witness Ginette Gaffney-Bowan took to the stand on Thursday where she revealed she knew a Belgium national by the name of Frederick de Hedervary- a man who allegedly tried to “get hold of her money” and Greenwich property around 1998.
She said Mr de Hedervary had responded to her newspaper advertisement seeking companionship and soon after moved into her garden studio.
Ms Gaffney-Bowan said Mr de Hedervary had told her he lived in Lennox Head and regularly visited Sydney for business but never disclosed his employment details.
Police would later reveal he actually lived in Ballina.
Weeks into this arrangement, Mr de Hedervary asked Ms Gaffney-Bowan to become a partner in a valuable coin business.
“He said it was an easy business and very rewarding financially,” she told the court.
The mother-of-two agreed and said she gave Mr de Hedervary about $30,00 via a debit card to start up the business but other than a fax machine, which she allegedly never received a receipt for, Ms Gaffney-Bowan said she couldn’t say how the money was spent.
About three weeks into their relationship, Mr de Hedervary allegedly started harassing Ms-Gaffney-Bowan to sell her Sydney house and buy a Paris apartment, Counsel Assisting Adam Casselden SC said.
“You say in your statement ‘Mr de Hedervary did his utmost to persuade me to sell my house and to trust him with the proceeds to buy a beautiful and spacious apartment in Paris’,” he said.
Ms Gaffney-Bowan said there had been no talks of her looking at Parisian apartments with him.
Mr Casselden told the court Ms Gaffney-Bowan detailed in an apprehended domestic violence order against Mr de Hedervary that the two were to be married but Ms Gaffney-Bowan denied this and said she believed he was already married.
She further alleged Mr de Hedervary took naked photos of her which he used to blackmail her.
“His general conduct, particularly wanting me to sell my house, really frightened me,” she told the court.
Mr Casselden read from Ms Gaffney-Bowan’s statement which said she believed Mr de Hedervary could “easily emotionally destabilise as well as financially ruin a person without any care”.
When told Mr de Hedervary, or Mr Blum, had no recollection of any such events and did not know her, Ms Gaffney-Bowan told the court he was a “liar”.
Mr Casselden had also told the court he believed Ms Barter had a relationship with a Muslim man, possibly Algerian or Moroccan.
Mr Casselden asked Ms Barter’s daughter Sally Leydon whether this information would correspond with the “dark-skin, European looking” man she told a September 2010 magazine article she saw her mother drive away with.
Ms Leydon agreed the man had been tan.
The inquest continues on Friday before Magistrate Teresa O’Sullivan.
Stoush after home owners wake to find burglars: court
Two young Queensland men have been arrested after allegedly breaking into two homes, including an incident which resulted in a physical altercation when the occupants woke up to find intruders going through their belongings.
Strict conditions slapped on painter after child sex ring plans
A Northern NSW artist, set to be sentenced after planning to operate a child sex ring, has been banned from doing any paid or volunteer work that could bring him into contact with children as he remains free on bail.