Marion Barter’s daughter Sally Leydon has every reason to be upset, angry and frustrated over the light touch shown by Australian authorities to Ric Blum, a serial fraudster who has left behind a trail of misery.
Mr Blum should never have been able to become an Australian citizen after a four-year prison stint in France for serious fraud offences.
Then, more than four decades ago when immigration officials and police were briefed on his long and growing criminal record abroad, he should have been stripped of his citizenship and kept out of the country for good for everyone’s protection.
If that had happened, he wouldn’t have been around to become entwined with Barter, a loved and respected Gold Coast teacher who mysteriously vanished in 1997 after the pair apparently became intimately involved.
Blum denies any knowledge of what happened to Barter after their affair, and it will be up to NSW State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan at an ongoing inquest to sift through his web of deceit and obfuscation to try to get to the truth.
But Leydon’s supporters have reason to believe there may be more about Blum to be exposed, and are now working closely with The Australian and international media to find out if their hunch is correct.
They simply don’t know if there are others out there who have been taken on Blum’s magical carpet ride of lies, like reprehensible tales of being captured in Vietnam, and of his entire family being exterminated in Auschwitz.
Marion Barter disappearance
How deep and dark does Ric Blum’s backstory go?
He’s the shadowy figure looming over Queensland mum Marion Barter’s disappearance. Fresh claims continue to emerge painting Blum as a master manipulator.
Accused Casanova conman denies dabbling in poisons
A man who has become the focus of inquiries into a schoolteacher’s mystery disappearance has denied having an interest in poisons.
Conman dad ‘gave lessons on poisons’
A convicted conman questioned over the disappearance of a Queensland teacher spoke in horrifying detail about how to kill people with homemade poison, his daughter says.
Conman ‘gave false evidence’ about daughter
The alleged serial fraudster who denied killing Queensland teacher Marion Barter gave false evidence when he said under oath that he’d never been in contact with his daughter, witnesses say.
Curious case of alleged conman and missing coins
It’s the conman’s collection – a combination of unusual artefacts and rare coins traced back to alleged serial fraudster Ric Blum.
New claim in missing mother mystery
A convicted conman questioned over the possible murder of his missing lover – the former wife of a Socceroos legend – is facing new claims he ripped off a widow.
Deceit and duplicity: the toxic trail of Ric Blum
The stone cold mystery of missing mum Marion Barter and her secret ties to conman Ric Blum has sent sleuths into overdrive. Here’s everything we know about the case.
Blum claimed entire family ‘exterminated’
Neighbours of the convicted conman — linked to missing mum Marion Barter — tried to raise the alarm when his bizarre stories began to unravel. Other lies were more disturbing.
A 40-year con, yet citizen swindler still here
Ric Blum, a central figure in the mystery of a missing teacher, became a citizen and claimed welfare for decades despite a serious criminal history abroad.
Border alerts failed to apprehend fraudster
A convicted conman who had an affair with a Queensland teacher just before she vanished was previously on a border watch list as authorities considered charging him with citizenship fraud.
‘If authorities acted … he’d have never met mum’
Missing teacher Marion Barter’s daughter says officials should have taken action against a convicted conman when they first concluded he’d obtained his citizenship fraudulently.
Conman should never have been able to become an Australian citizen
Marion Barter’s daughter Sally Leydon has every reason to be upset, angry and frustrated over the light touch shown by authorities to Ric Blum.
Bumbling case of serial fraudster
For Immigration, Mr Blum’s presence remains unfinished business.
Blum’s victim speaks out: ‘My God, I hope he suffers’
After conman Ric Blum connived is way into her home, Andree Flamme went right to the top but was never contacted by police. She tells her story for the first time.
Conman made quick buck on coins, were they stolen from widow?
He’s a prominent figure at a missing teacher’s NSW inquest, and now serial fraudster Ric Blum has been found selling the exact same type of coins he’s accused of stealing.
Fraudster’s wife warned ‘he has a gun’
Serial conman Ric Blum’s estranged wife warned her new partner he had a gun in the car when he turned up at a Belgian ferry terminal, a new witness says.
Conman Blum ‘got me at a low point’
A woman says serial fraudster Ric Blum got her at her lowest before threatening to send intimate images of her to her family, friends and church.
Missing mum inquest extended amid new evidence
An inquest into the presumed death of Queensland mother of two Marion Barter will hold extra hearings to examine new evidence.
Conman’s $80,000 mystery ‘mugging’
Serial fraudster Ric Blum was ‘calm and relaxed’ when he told officers he had just been squeezed unconscious and robbed of €50,000 in a Gold Coast car park, police reports reveal.
Fraudster’s unguarded moment caught on camera
Momentarily left alone in a police interview room, with a camera still recording, convicted conman Ric Blum dropped his head and appeared to utter a single audible word.
Premonition of burial site sparked search for missing teacher
Police searched a rural area of NSW for the grave of missing teacher Marion Barter after a man reported a vision of where she was buried.
Leydon lost her brother Owen to suicide as a result of the tragic events that have become linked to Blum.
She and her supporters want people to come forward. People who, because of Blum’s plethora of identities, may have come across him under a different guise and are yet to join the dots.
Leydon and her support group have gathered a mountain of valuable information and should receive the thanks of the coroner and police.
In their own time and at their own expense, they’ve been performing a service in the public’s interest, in a case where officialdom has badly and repeatedly dropped the ball.
Ten takeaways from the Trump-Zelensky Oval Office spat
Great television but poor diplomacy. Here’s a top ten list after the remarkable televised meeting in the Oval Office, and a prediction for JD Vance’s future.
Putin wins Trump-Zelensky Oval Office spectacle
US Vice President JD Vance starts a public fight that only helps Russia’s dictator.