Missing mum Marion Barter linked to Church of Scientology, court hears

A mother who vanished in baffling circumstances 22 years ago may have been involved with The Church of Scientology, a NSW inquest has heard.

A mother who vanished in strange circumstances may have been involved with The Church of Scientology, an inquest has heard.

The inquest continued on Wednesday probing the baffling disappearance of mother-of-three, Marion Barter – who changed her name, quit her job and was never seen again.

Marion was an award-winning schoolteacher, who married and divorced three men, including soccer star Johnny Warren.

Marion Barter was 51 when she went missing.

She would be 73 today

Sally Leydon became concerned for her mother- who left for a year-long working holiday in the UK – after she abruptly stopped contacting friends and family.

She learned Marion had changed her name and returned on a passport just three weeks later in August 1997.

Senior Constable Steven McAlister, formerly part of the NSW Police Missing Persons Unit, was contacted by an Australian Federal Police officer 10 years after Marion went missing.

The NSW Coroners Court heard on Wednesday the AFP was going to use Marion as the face of a Missing Person campaign in 2007, before learning she was never listed as ‘missing’.

After speaking with Ms Leydon and conducting government checks, Mr McAlister added her to the register.

Mr McAlister told the inquest he remembered Ms Leydon mentioning her mother was linked to the Church of Scientology.

“Do you remember learning she may have been linked to the Scientology Church?” Counsel assisting the Coroner, Adam Casselden SC asked.

“That was spoken to me by Sally actually,” Mr McAlister told the court.

He said no concerns were raised by Ms Leydon about Marion‘s involvement with the organisation.

Marion Barter, with her two children Sally and Owen.

Ms Leydon travelled from the Gold Coast to Byron Bay Police Station in October 1997, and made her first police report to Senior Constable Graham Childs.

Mr Childs, who retired from the force in 2002, could not remember taking the report 24 years ago.

But his written log book notes and computer entries from October 22, 1997, read to the court, presented a reason for Marion’s disappearance.

He wrote: “The next of kin is concerned that the person of interest has travelled to England and has returned on August, 2, 1997.”

Marion then made an $80,000 transfer and multiple withdrawals in Byron Bay, the notes say.

“One possible scenario for her behaviour is she has returned to Australia with a companion and has transferred sums there with an intention to buy a property in England,” he wrote.

Marion Barter and former husband, Australian soccer legend Johnny Warren.

A warning message 15 minutes after he spoke with Ms Leydon read: “Victim has returned to the country and not contacted family upon return. There are fears for their welfare as $80,000 has been transferred from her account for no apparent reason”.

Police were required to enter a ‘warning’ into the system if there was concern for a person’s welfare.

Another note read: “At this stage she is not reported as missing as it is believed she is capable of behaviour of this nature … it was not unusual for her to not contact members of the family.”

Mr Childs told the court he would have received these narratives from her family.

And he did not remember whether he or another officer put the ‘warning’ into the system.

He entered Ms Leydon’s report as an “occurrence only”, which required no further investigation and not as a “missing person”.

Retired NSW Police Senior Constable Graham Childs was the officer who took the initial report from her family and did not report Marion as "missing". Photo: LinkedIn

As a result, Marion‘s case went cold for 10 years, before it was reopened.

He said his actions two decades ago were right, when asked by Mr Casselden if in hindsight he should have recorded Marion as missing.

“At the time, I must have felt it was an occurrence only. If a concern for safety had been mentioned to me, I would have had no hesitation in recording her as a missing person,“ he told the court.

“Even when the whereabouts of Marion at that time remained unknown?” Mr Casselden asked.

“Yes,” Mr Childs replied.

Mr Casselden told Mr Childs the current Head of the Missing Person’s Registry, Detective Inspector Glenn Brown, said Marion should have been recorded as a missing person.

“I am a little astounded how someone can form an opinion in hindsight, as to how they can make an opinion when they weren‘t there at the time, and had the information I had at hand at the time,” Mr Childs told the court.

Marion was the first and last missing person Mr Childs ever dealt with as a police officer, he told the court.

Sally Leydon’s partner Chris Leydon is due to give evidence later today.