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Speaker 1: Apodge production.

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Speaker 2: Sally Leyden had the support of dozens of loved ones

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Speaker 2: as a coroner. Today confirmed what she's known all along.

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Speaker 3: Today I'll be delivering my findings in the inquest into

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Speaker 3: the disappearance and suspected death of Floribella Natalia Marion Ramical

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Speaker 3: known as Marion Barter, and who I'll be referring to

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Speaker 3: as Marian.

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Speaker 4: That was New South Wales State Coroner Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan

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Speaker 4: in a story that has more twists, turns and intrigue

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Speaker 4: than a thrillery to.

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Speaker 5: A decision tonight, a lot of Australia's highest profile mysteries

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Speaker 5: that stretches from Queensland to Newself.

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Speaker 2: More than half her life without her mum, and a

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Speaker 2: lengthy inquest.

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Speaker 1: But tonight Sally Leyden has no answers. I can't comment

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Speaker 1: it time.

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Speaker 2: I'm sorry, unable to say where and unable to say

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Speaker 2: how about confirming the mother last seen at a Southport

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Speaker 2: best song.

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Speaker 1: It was a middle of winter.

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Speaker 2: Mother Marion Barton disappeared in nineteen ninety six. She'd been

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Speaker 2: dating mad Rick flu Live. She also found New South

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Speaker 2: Wales police bungled the missing person's investigation.

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Speaker 5: Coron has just told me officially my mum's deceased. So

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Speaker 5: that's the first time I've heard that in twenty seven years. Okay, well,

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Speaker 5: I'm a bit nervous to be honest. Welcome and thanks

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Speaker 5: everybody for jumping on and taking time to listen, because

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Speaker 5: people listening is actually what helps make a difference in

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Speaker 5: the case of a missing person, and the support of

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Speaker 5: the people is actually why I'm here today. And I've

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Speaker 5: got my trustee right hand woman sitting next to me,

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Speaker 5: Joony Condos.

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Speaker 1: Hello, Hello, Hello everybody.

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Speaker 5: You've flown up from Melbourne to come and have a

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Speaker 5: chat with me and discuss what we've been doing.

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Speaker 1: We've been pretty busy, haven't we.

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Speaker 5: Sure have the findings into my mum's inquest ended on

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Speaker 5: the twenty ninth of February last year, twenty twenty four.

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Speaker 5: I remember when they announced the date, I do and

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Speaker 5: I went, oh my god, it's a leap year.

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Speaker 1: Oh yes, you know.

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Speaker 5: I was like that date's come around once every four years.

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Speaker 5: And it was a difficult time for me and for

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Speaker 5: you because well, yours time had sort of ended because

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Speaker 5: we'd both been gagged.

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Speaker 1: Right, I can't comment at this time. I'm sorry. We

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Speaker 1: use the word gagged.

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Speaker 5: But you know, we'd signed documents with the coroner's court

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Speaker 5: to say that we would not talk about any of

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Speaker 5: the information discuss it with anybody, And at that point

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Speaker 5: I actually had to ask permission for Jonie to be

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Speaker 5: allowed to join me because I was struggling. Like we'd

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Speaker 5: gone from talking multiple times a day about the case

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Speaker 5: and about all the information and about what Joonie was

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Speaker 5: still finding and what I was finding and I was hearing,

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Speaker 5: and all of a sudden they told me I couldn't

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Speaker 5: talk to anybody. So the only person I was allowed

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Speaker 5: to talk to was my husband, Chris, and my kids.

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Speaker 5: Actually just Ella, Ella, that's a lot for her. This

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Speaker 5: is her grandmother and she's seeing her mum go through

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Speaker 5: huge stress, and she was very worried about me. And

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Speaker 5: the fact that we were both not able to talk

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Speaker 5: to anybody did cause a few problems because previously we

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Speaker 5: were very open and telling everybody everything, and then all

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Speaker 5: of a sudden, you and I were encapsulated into this

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Speaker 5: little hole by ourselves where we could not talk to

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Speaker 5: anybody that was to media, to the people that were

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Speaker 5: helping us, the super sluice, and people did get upset

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Speaker 5: with us because we weren't being as open as we

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Speaker 5: liked to be. I was in a contract with Channel

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Speaker 5: seven and that extended right up until a year after

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Speaker 5: the findings. So you know, it's only just been in

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Speaker 5: February this year that I've been openly allowed to talk

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Speaker 5: and tell everybody what we've been doing and what's been

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Speaker 5: happening behind the scenes.

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Speaker 6: I mean, we sort of used the word gagged. We

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Speaker 6: did sign legal documents. It was because we were privy

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Speaker 6: to the brief of evidence that came from New South

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Speaker 6: Wales Police into the coroner. So therefore all of that

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Speaker 6: information and was in a very very difficult position because

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Speaker 6: you had a whole lot of information. You were working

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Speaker 6: with a media outlet who wanted that information for the podcast,

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Speaker 6: and it was very very tricky to be stuck in

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Speaker 6: the middle of the two pressures coming one from the left,

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Speaker 6: one from the right to try and ingest and digest

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Speaker 6: all that information that was in the brief of evidence,

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Speaker 6: and a lot of that stuff you hadn't even heard

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Speaker 6: before about your own mother.

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Speaker 4: Leading up to her trip an unbeknown to friends and family,

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Speaker 4: she had officially changed her name to the elaborate Flora

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Speaker 4: Bella Natalia Marion Ramakel returning to Australia later in the

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Speaker 4: year without contacting her loved ones. She made a series

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Speaker 4: of large cash withdrawals from her bank account before she

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Speaker 4: completely disappeared.

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Speaker 5: In the weeks leading up to her disappearance, Marian was

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Speaker 5: seen with a tall male who was unknown to us

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Speaker 5: and to a family amateurs.

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Speaker 4: Sleuths were unleashed on the investigation trying to piece together

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Speaker 4: the Marion Barter mystery, and one of those sleuths made

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Speaker 4: a critical breakthrough linking Marion to a Belgian born convicted

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Speaker 4: con man by the name of Rick Blum. Blum confirmed

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Speaker 4: that he had been in a relationship with Barter in

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Speaker 4: the months before she disappeared.

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Speaker 3: This evidence, along with his lies and deception throughout the inquest,

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Speaker 3: has convinced me that he does indeed no more than

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Speaker 3: he's saying.

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Speaker 6: When Sally first initially applied for all the documents from

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Speaker 6: New South Wales Police, basically when it was printed out

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Speaker 6: it was just all black paper, so the redactions were

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Speaker 6: so massive that it was almost not even worthwhile even

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Speaker 6: going through the stress of trying to get the information.

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Speaker 6: So then to see those documents and see all the

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Speaker 6: redactions lifted off and to see that the reality was

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Speaker 6: underneath there. There really wasn't much so to come at

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Speaker 6: that point and to be able to have some kind

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Speaker 6: of outlet, I was outside of the family system. I

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Speaker 6: was sort of outside of Channel seven and the media

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Speaker 6: as well in a lot of ways. So to be

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Speaker 6: able to have that person, I think that was outside

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Speaker 6: of everything, that was interested across everything, and we could

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Speaker 6: banter backwards and forwards, I think was very good.

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Speaker 5: Well, I think it was a lifeline for me. Really,

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Speaker 5: you were a lifeline for me because I couldn't talk

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Speaker 5: to anybody. I started to have trust issues. I was

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Speaker 5: getting fed a lot of things. People were telling me things.

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Speaker 5: They were pretty crazy mentally, mind boggling things. And you

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Speaker 5: were a support person and a savior for me a

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Speaker 5: lot of things. And I think because you've got a

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Speaker 5: background in social work too, you were very understanding about

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Speaker 5: the facts that people coming to me with theories that

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Speaker 5: weren't proven or weren't factual, but just an idea based

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Speaker 5: on one.

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Speaker 1: Or two elements.

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Speaker 5: And how hard that is for a family member to process,

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Speaker 5: because I process everything like you know, you tell me

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Speaker 5: something and I'm going to sit there and think about it.

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Speaker 5: You tell me my mum was burnt and put in

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Speaker 5: the back of a car, I'm going to start thinking

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Speaker 5: about that, and so I'm going to start processing that.

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Speaker 5: So you protected me in a lot of that realm

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Speaker 5: because people would comment, and you know, I think you've

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Speaker 5: always been very kind and polite to those people, because

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Speaker 5: everyone means well by their ideas and thoughts, but you know,

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Speaker 5: there is a back end to that of the person

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Speaker 5: who's receiving it. And the podcast grew phenomenally overnight, and

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Speaker 5: you know, launched us into this world of millions of

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Speaker 5: people who just want to help find my mum, which

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Speaker 5: was absolutely amazing.

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Speaker 6: And I think, look, a lot of people were so

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Speaker 6: well intentioned and had amazing awesome skills as well, So

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Speaker 6: there was a lot of people there that were absolutely

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Speaker 6: excellent as web sleuths or researchers or people interested in

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Speaker 6: finding open source information. Was absolutely fantastic. But I think

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Speaker 6: this sort of tension was was because we had oversight

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Speaker 6: of all the documents that others couldn't see. From the

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Speaker 6: brief of evidence, we could immediately knock out some of

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Speaker 6: the possibilities that had come to us too from the

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Speaker 6: open source.

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Speaker 1: Knowing what we know what we couldn't share.

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Speaker 6: That that was and you couldn't share it was difficult

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Speaker 6: because then the person would go away and do another

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Speaker 6: three four five days work on an aspect, and you're

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Speaker 6: sitting there thinking, if only I could let you know

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Speaker 6: this piece of information so you didn't kind of waste

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Speaker 6: your time in a way.

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Speaker 5: So I'd be on the phone to you and I

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Speaker 5: would go actually going into territory I can't talk about okay,

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Speaker 5: and you'd go.

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Speaker 1: Okay, let's just cut it.

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Speaker 5: Stand by now because we're not going to discuss it.

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Speaker 5: Because I was really paranoid about that. I was like,

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Speaker 5: I am going to do the right thing. I am

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Speaker 5: not talking to anybody about it. If I find myself

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Speaker 5: in that situation, I'm literally walking away. So we get

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Speaker 5: to the findings, and that week like, oh my god,

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Speaker 5: Chris's dad passed away on the Sunday, you know, and

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Speaker 5: this is hard for my kids. You know, my kids

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Speaker 5: had no grandmother, so both Chris's mom had passed away

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Speaker 5: and my mom was missing.

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Speaker 1: And then one of.

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Speaker 5: Their grandfathers passes away, and then we had to leave

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Speaker 5: them to come to Sydney, to come down for the

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Speaker 5: findings because I refused to bring them again.

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Speaker 1: I brought them down.

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Speaker 5: As most people would know, the coroners had set a

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Speaker 5: date in twenty twenty two for the findings, and I

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Speaker 5: flew my entire family and Ella's partner, so there were

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Speaker 5: six of us. We got two rooms at the hotel.

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Speaker 5: We had to have a bigger car so we could

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Speaker 5: get us all around. We literally landed. I went to

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Speaker 5: visit my auntie on the way up to see my

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Speaker 5: dad quickly before the findings was happening the following day

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Speaker 5: and I got a phone call from my lawyer as

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Speaker 5: I'm walking around Coles and he said, oh, I'm just

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Speaker 5: letting you know that they've vacated. I said what does

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Speaker 5: that mean. He said, they've canceled it. And I said, well,

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Speaker 5: we're here. He goes, what You're in Sydney already, and

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Speaker 5: I like, yes, we've come down a couple like a

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Speaker 5: couple of days earlier to go and see my.

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Speaker 1: Dad and see honey Rob.

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Speaker 5: And you know, he goes, oh my god, well, yeah,

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Speaker 5: they've just told me that they vacated. I said, well,

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Speaker 5: have they got a new date and he says no.

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Speaker 5: So I'm walking around Coles I've just looked at Chris

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Speaker 5: and went, oh my god, it's three weeks before Christmas.

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Speaker 5: We've just spent six thousand dollars to fly our family down,

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Speaker 5: get a car, a couple of nights accommodation in the city,

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Speaker 5: and no one told us that they canceled. Chris rings

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Speaker 5: Detective Inspector Nigel Warren and said, Nigel, we've just had

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Speaker 5: a phone call from the lawyers saying that it's been vacated.

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Speaker 1: We're in Sydney. We've just flown down and dragged the.

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Speaker 5: Kids down to come to this and he said, did

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Speaker 5: no one tell you? We had a meeting last Thursday

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Speaker 5: and it was decided then that we were going to

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Speaker 5: do more investigation.

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Speaker 1: The coroner wanted to vacate.

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Speaker 5: And I said, so you knew on Thursday and that's Monday,

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Speaker 5: and no one told me that it was being paused, canceled, rescheduled.

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Speaker 5: I said, do we have a new date and he said, no,

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Speaker 5: we don't, and I remember.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure you do too. I do.

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Speaker 5: We went into the city that night for dinner and

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Speaker 5: I was absolutely I was so mad.

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Speaker 1: I was upset. I was crying. I was like, I've

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Speaker 1: just prepared.

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Speaker 5: Myself that the corain is going to tell me my

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Speaker 5: mum is deceased, and trying to process that with my children.

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Speaker 1: And then I arrive in Sydney, we go through the rigmarole,

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Speaker 1: we go through the.

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Speaker 5: Cost and expense of it all, and we don't even

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Speaker 5: get told that they've canceled.

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Speaker 1: Mind you, they didn't.

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Speaker 5: Even to this date still they've never had an apology

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Speaker 5: to say we're really sorry that we failed to bring

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Speaker 5: you to advise you of that, would even ring my

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Speaker 5: lawyers and tell them they'd set aside that time for

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Speaker 5: the week as well. And you know, so there's just

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Speaker 5: really a lack of care when it comes to that

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Speaker 5: sort of thing. And I remember ringing you, and I'm

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Speaker 5: standing on the tram platform in the middle of near

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Speaker 5: Wynyard station and all the family are sitting there waiting

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Speaker 5: to get dinner.

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Speaker 1: And you and I were pow wowing, and I was

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Speaker 1: beside myself.

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Speaker 6: I was just so angry. I think I even saw

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Speaker 6: like red spots in front of my eyes because I

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Speaker 6: just I just thought to myself, you've got to be

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Speaker 6: kidding me. To me, it was the disrespect of not

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Speaker 6: only yourself, who can you know you're quite mabile, you

250
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Speaker 6: can go up and down, but your whole family and

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Speaker 6: your children having to process. And I put myself in

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Speaker 6: your position and thought if that was me with my husband,

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Speaker 6: with my son and having to tell my son, you know,

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Speaker 6: and get him ready, and you were trying to prepare

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Speaker 6: three of your.

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Speaker 1: Children for this.

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Speaker 6: I looked at that and I thought, that is bureaucracy

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Speaker 6: gone mad, like that is a situation that just should

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Speaker 6: never have happened, because the coerennial process is actually meant

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Speaker 6: to be about the family and about providing answers to

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Speaker 6: the family.

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Speaker 1: That's ultimately what.

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Speaker 6: It's therefore, so the fact that you were not even informed,

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Speaker 6: I just shook my head like that was someone's job.

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Speaker 5: I guess I'm a person who has to process everything.

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Speaker 1: I need to know what's happening.

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Speaker 5: I need to know how it's going to go so

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Speaker 5: that I can prepare myself and I can actually be solid.

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Speaker 5: That's just who I'm programmed to be. And I had

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Speaker 5: organized and booked a table at Doyle's as a celebration

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Speaker 5: of life, and we kept that booking because we couldn't

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Speaker 5: change our flights.

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Speaker 1: There were six of us we still had to stay.

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Speaker 5: We still had to roll through the punches while we

275
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Speaker 5: were in Sydney even though it didn't happen, and going

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Speaker 5: to Doyle, so it just felt empty. I just felt like,

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Speaker 5: you know, we're here, Chris got COVID. It was just

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Speaker 5: a big fat mess, a big fat mess. And then

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Speaker 5: you know, then we had the flip side of them.

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Speaker 5: Vacating was quite good at the end of the day,

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Speaker 5: which I came to recognize because we ended up bringing

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Speaker 5: all of these witnesses to the table and that was

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00:14:26,481 --> 00:14:29,681
Speaker 5: important and I was happy that that actually had started

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Speaker 5: to transpire because prior to that, they were like, nothing

285
00:14:32,241 --> 00:14:34,601
Speaker 5: to see here, move on. You know, these are the

286
00:14:34,601 --> 00:14:37,081
Speaker 5: two reasons while we're having the inquest. But I think

287
00:14:37,121 --> 00:14:40,201
Speaker 5: the coroner then saw that there was a purpose to

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Speaker 5: bringing these women who had also had dealings with reck

289
00:14:44,201 --> 00:14:47,481
Speaker 5: Blum in their life under multiple different names and aliases

290
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Speaker 5: and multiple different ways that he interacted with them. It

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00:14:51,881 --> 00:14:54,121
Speaker 5: was important to hear their side of the story as well.

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Speaker 1: It could talk in a way that every woman would

293
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Speaker 1: have lots of stories. Until I found out that well.

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Speaker 5: You half fifths, we come to that week when it

295
00:15:19,121 --> 00:15:22,801
Speaker 5: actually did happen. Fast forward another eighteen months or however,

296
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Speaker 5: long it was. I can't remember now, it was quite

297
00:15:25,081 --> 00:15:27,201
Speaker 5: a long time. But the police obviously had to do

298
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Speaker 5: their investigation. They need to talk to international police, and

299
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Speaker 5: it was quite a convoluted kind of situation. But Brian

300
00:15:34,721 --> 00:15:38,081
Speaker 5: Chris's dad passes away on the Sunday. He was not

301
00:15:38,161 --> 00:15:40,961
Speaker 5: well Friday night and we were with friends for dinner,

302
00:15:41,001 --> 00:15:43,521
Speaker 5: and she's actually a theaterter, so Chris was sort of

303
00:15:43,521 --> 00:15:45,241
Speaker 5: talking to her and she's jumping on the phone to

304
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Speaker 5: Chris's brothers while we're at dinner, and very stressful, not

305
00:15:49,241 --> 00:15:51,921
Speaker 5: as very fun and full well knowing that the following Thursday,

306
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Speaker 5: we were going to the Fine Digs for my mum's inquest.

307
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Speaker 5: So we flew down and I was very touched by

308
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Speaker 5: the sentiment that Jackson, who is Ella's partner, they've been

309
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Speaker 5: together for five years, that his grandparents had actually gone

310
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Speaker 5: to a wedding down in Melbourne and they were on

311
00:16:07,241 --> 00:16:10,001
Speaker 5: their way back to Brisbane and they made the choice

312
00:16:10,041 --> 00:16:13,601
Speaker 5: to actually stop in Sydney and came with us to

313
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Speaker 5: the findings. And I felt like I had family with

314
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Speaker 5: me with them doing that, and you know, such beautiful

315
00:16:20,401 --> 00:16:24,361
Speaker 5: humans like I'm forever grateful to them. They're just amazing people,

316
00:16:24,841 --> 00:16:27,001
Speaker 5: and you know you got to meet them journey the.

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Speaker 1: Night before, right, Yeah, that's right. And we had a

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00:16:30,601 --> 00:16:31,761
Speaker 1: couple of others join us.

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Speaker 6: Yes, So there was myself, sal her family, and then

320
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Speaker 6: the wonderful Sherry and the two twins from Byron Bay

321
00:16:41,401 --> 00:16:44,481
Speaker 6: who were involved in the the Hayes case. So they

322
00:16:44,521 --> 00:16:47,321
Speaker 6: actually came all the way down for the findings. And

323
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Speaker 6: there was also a very special person there who we

324
00:16:49,841 --> 00:16:53,121
Speaker 6: didn't realize at the time would possibly be the last

325
00:16:53,161 --> 00:16:56,001
Speaker 6: time that you saw your friend who also visited.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

327
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Speaker 5: So one of my really good friend's longest friend. You know,

328
00:17:00,081 --> 00:17:02,881
Speaker 5: we've been in his life and he's been in ours,

329
00:17:02,961 --> 00:17:05,801
Speaker 5: and he text me, I sit on, I'm in Sydney.

330
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Speaker 5: Can we catch up anyway, around eight point thirty he

331
00:17:08,961 --> 00:17:10,840
Speaker 5: sort of poked his head around the bar and looked

332
00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:11,720
Speaker 5: at me and then came.

333
00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:13,201
Speaker 1: Running over and gave me a big hug.

334
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Speaker 5: That was my friend Rick, And it broke my heart

335
00:17:17,241 --> 00:17:19,441
Speaker 5: because the following Wednesday I got a phone call from

336
00:17:19,481 --> 00:17:22,760
Speaker 5: his ex partner telling me that he had died. So

337
00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:25,321
Speaker 5: I literally came home from the findings, had to fly

338
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Speaker 5: back down the following week to go to his funeral.

339
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Speaker 1: So that was chaos, absolute chaos.

340
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Speaker 5: Today, more than two decades since she vanished a coronial

341
00:17:35,801 --> 00:17:38,120
Speaker 5: inquest into Marion's disappearing.

342
00:17:37,681 --> 00:17:41,880
Speaker 4: Coroner O'Sullivan's somber conclusions in a court room in Lidcombe

343
00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:45,280
Speaker 4: in Sydney's West yesterday tied off some chapters in this

344
00:17:45,441 --> 00:17:49,281
Speaker 4: painful saga, but left the door ajar for the hunt

345
00:17:49,321 --> 00:17:50,480
Speaker 4: for Marion's killer.

346
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Speaker 1: Let's talk about the findings.

347
00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:55,120
Speaker 5: Let's talk about what happened at the findings, because that

348
00:17:55,241 --> 00:17:56,080
Speaker 5: was a pretty big day.

349
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Speaker 6: As we're driving in, all I could see was green everywhere,

350
00:18:00,521 --> 00:18:04,281
Speaker 6: basically just to sea of green. People walking in, people

351
00:18:04,321 --> 00:18:07,080
Speaker 6: sitting down having coffee, all in green.

352
00:18:08,001 --> 00:18:10,481
Speaker 5: And that's mum's favorite color, right, So yeah, I asked,

353
00:18:10,561 --> 00:18:13,761
Speaker 5: I asked everybody, everybody to wanted to come. I was

354
00:18:13,801 --> 00:18:17,561
Speaker 5: amazed how many people came just to see. It was

355
00:18:17,721 --> 00:18:20,321
Speaker 5: a sea of green, and it made me feel instantly comforted.

356
00:18:20,961 --> 00:18:22,161
Speaker 1: There's lots of media there.

357
00:18:22,801 --> 00:18:25,281
Speaker 2: Sally laid it and had the support of dozens of

358
00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:29,001
Speaker 2: loved ones as a coroner. Today confirmed what she's known

359
00:18:29,281 --> 00:18:29,880
Speaker 2: all along.

360
00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:32,400
Speaker 6: Yes, there was a lot of media there and I

361
00:18:32,441 --> 00:18:36,801
Speaker 6: think possibly my observation or opinion was that I think

362
00:18:36,801 --> 00:18:39,720
Speaker 6: it did catch the court a little bit unawares as well.

363
00:18:40,201 --> 00:18:43,521
Speaker 6: So when they all showed up and there was basically

364
00:18:43,721 --> 00:18:44,840
Speaker 6: like a sea.

365
00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:48,281
Speaker 5: Of green walked down and he goes, what is going

366
00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:50,721
Speaker 5: on because the whole corridor was just full of us

367
00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:52,600
Speaker 5: and they were like, how are we going to fit

368
00:18:52,681 --> 00:18:54,360
Speaker 5: you all in? And then others actually had to go

369
00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:56,080
Speaker 5: into the overflow overflow.

370
00:18:56,321 --> 00:19:00,041
Speaker 6: Yeah, that was just an absolutely awesome sight.

371
00:19:00,721 --> 00:19:04,840
Speaker 1: Power to the people. Marion matters, right, Marion matters, And

372
00:19:05,241 --> 00:19:07,961
Speaker 1: you better just know that people care about her.

373
00:19:08,281 --> 00:19:11,281
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, not just me, now that millions of

374
00:19:11,321 --> 00:19:12,880
Speaker 5: people care about my mum and they want to know

375
00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:13,601
Speaker 5: what's happened to her.

376
00:19:13,761 --> 00:19:16,840
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, And that was incredibly powerful.

377
00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:20,281
Speaker 5: I had an interaction with Chris with Nigel Warren again,

378
00:19:20,721 --> 00:19:22,761
Speaker 5: who now is the o I c the officer in

379
00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,840
Speaker 5: charge of mum's case, and we were chatting and I

380
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:27,960
Speaker 5: said to him, so where are we at, you know,

381
00:19:28,001 --> 00:19:31,801
Speaker 5: what's happening and he pretty much said to me, well, Sally,

382
00:19:32,201 --> 00:19:34,640
Speaker 5: we've got eight hundred cases and we need to prioritize.

383
00:19:34,921 --> 00:19:37,600
Speaker 5: And then we got in there and the coroner actually

384
00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:41,321
Speaker 5: said that you know, she was not very happy with

385
00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:43,801
Speaker 5: New South Police and how they handled the case.

386
00:19:44,321 --> 00:19:47,761
Speaker 2: She also found New South Wales police bungled the missing

387
00:19:47,801 --> 00:19:53,880
Speaker 2: person's investigation, recommending it now be referred to homicide detective and.

388
00:19:53,961 --> 00:19:56,201
Speaker 5: Pretty much said that, you know, due to your inaction

389
00:19:56,521 --> 00:20:02,160
Speaker 5: and not following procedure and the Commissioner's handbook properly because

390
00:20:02,201 --> 00:20:05,400
Speaker 5: remembering you know. For those that don't know, they actually

391
00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,241
Speaker 5: listed my mum as an occurrence only back in October

392
00:20:08,321 --> 00:20:10,961
Speaker 5: nineteen ninety seven. When I went into the police and said,

393
00:20:10,961 --> 00:20:14,440
Speaker 5: something's wrong. My mom's overseas and money's coming out of

394
00:20:14,441 --> 00:20:17,561
Speaker 5: her bank account in Byron Bay. She's missed my brother's

395
00:20:17,561 --> 00:20:19,680
Speaker 5: birthday and that's out of character. They marked her as

396
00:20:19,721 --> 00:20:23,241
Speaker 5: an occurrence only. And an occurrence only is if your

397
00:20:23,241 --> 00:20:26,600
Speaker 5: house gets broken into and someone steals your TV. That

398
00:20:26,761 --> 00:20:29,440
Speaker 5: is what an occurrence is, and they market as such

399
00:20:29,561 --> 00:20:33,041
Speaker 5: in the file and it said no action required. So

400
00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:36,680
Speaker 5: they had marked my mum as no action required until

401
00:20:36,721 --> 00:20:39,801
Speaker 5: the person is listed as missing and it was in

402
00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:42,961
Speaker 5: action due to other work priorities. That was the language

403
00:20:42,961 --> 00:20:44,920
Speaker 5: we saw a lot, wasn't it in all the documentation

404
00:20:45,041 --> 00:20:46,881
Speaker 5: that we had, And I was like, this is where

405
00:20:46,921 --> 00:20:49,041
Speaker 5: it really was grinding my gears because I was like,

406
00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,600
Speaker 5: my mom does matter, and she counts she's not a

407
00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:54,240
Speaker 5: lost puppy, she's a human being and she's missing, and

408
00:20:54,281 --> 00:20:57,360
Speaker 5: all her money's been taken, and all her jewelry, all

409
00:20:57,360 --> 00:20:59,720
Speaker 5: her belongings that were in that shipping container that have

410
00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:03,720
Speaker 5: never been located, artwork, you know, like why is this

411
00:21:03,801 --> 00:21:06,441
Speaker 5: not important? And I mean I had the problem where

412
00:21:06,441 --> 00:21:08,360
Speaker 5: I did the podcast and then they kept saying to me,

413
00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:10,441
Speaker 5: we hate the podcast, we hate the podcast.

414
00:21:10,441 --> 00:21:11,721
Speaker 1: The podcast is a big problem for.

415
00:21:11,761 --> 00:21:16,001
Speaker 5: Us, and that caused problems as well going forward. But

416
00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:18,321
Speaker 5: I mean, you know, we came out of the court

417
00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:23,120
Speaker 5: and people were hugging me.

418
00:21:23,761 --> 00:21:24,921
Speaker 1: It wasn't celebratory.

419
00:21:24,921 --> 00:21:27,321
Speaker 6: I wouldn't say that, but it was sort of like, okay,

420
00:21:27,481 --> 00:21:30,120
Speaker 6: it's almost like a line in the sand, like we've

421
00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:34,120
Speaker 6: gotten to this point. Their findings were quite solid, like

422
00:21:34,241 --> 00:21:36,920
Speaker 6: it was a lot to digest. It was nearly sixty pages,

423
00:21:36,961 --> 00:21:39,801
Speaker 6: I think, and we actually walked past another like a

424
00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,640
Speaker 6: one of the investigators that was part of the initial team.

425
00:21:43,041 --> 00:21:44,920
Speaker 6: She had found out that we were planning to go

426
00:21:44,961 --> 00:21:50,641
Speaker 6: overseas so she just said, I really hope you find something.

427
00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:55,521
Speaker 6: So that to me did take me aback from the

428
00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:59,680
Speaker 6: point of view that she was talking to a daughter

429
00:21:59,721 --> 00:22:03,641
Speaker 6: of a missing person, and another community member that had

430
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:08,121
Speaker 6: been helping you, you know, for so many years. And

431
00:22:08,561 --> 00:22:13,080
Speaker 6: I actually suddenly thought to myself, Okay, we are literally

432
00:22:13,281 --> 00:22:17,281
Speaker 6: alone in this mission. And I thought to myself, too, Okay,

433
00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:22,360
Speaker 6: obviously that means that there's nothing that's actively being worked

434
00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:23,041
Speaker 6: on or else.

435
00:22:23,281 --> 00:22:25,120
Speaker 1: Why would that be said?

436
00:22:30,961 --> 00:22:33,041
Speaker 5: Well, and then we left right and we walked everyone

437
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:35,600
Speaker 5: sort of left, and I got pulled in with my

438
00:22:36,201 --> 00:22:38,801
Speaker 5: legal team for about ten minutes and had a private

439
00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:39,481
Speaker 5: chat to them.

440
00:22:39,961 --> 00:22:41,840
Speaker 1: You know, this is the sneaky thing. We opened the

441
00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:43,360
Speaker 1: door and there was a media.

442
00:22:43,521 --> 00:22:45,481
Speaker 5: The same woman that was actually in the court trying

443
00:22:45,521 --> 00:22:47,321
Speaker 5: to get me to talk to her was standing at

444
00:22:47,321 --> 00:22:49,640
Speaker 5: the door while I'm talking to the legal team, and

445
00:22:49,681 --> 00:22:52,760
Speaker 5: she's scurried down the pathway of the corridor as soon

446
00:22:52,801 --> 00:22:54,480
Speaker 5: as we opened the door, and I was like, do

447
00:22:54,721 --> 00:22:57,440
Speaker 5: not tell me. You were just standing there listening like

448
00:22:57,521 --> 00:23:00,840
Speaker 5: it was just such a bizarre day, you know. And

449
00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:04,960
Speaker 5: then to come downstairs and to see an absolute feel

450
00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:09,160
Speaker 5: of media standing there wanting to hear me talk and

451
00:23:09,201 --> 00:23:11,761
Speaker 5: I wasn't allowed to and we already had a plan

452
00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,041
Speaker 5: in place that I was just to walk past the media,

453
00:23:14,681 --> 00:23:17,080
Speaker 5: get in my car and drive around to a park

454
00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:19,001
Speaker 5: around the corner, and we told a few of the

455
00:23:19,041 --> 00:23:23,401
Speaker 5: people who had come to support me, and everyone sort

456
00:23:23,441 --> 00:23:25,600
Speaker 5: of just made their way around there. But you know,

457
00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:27,721
Speaker 5: even walking up to the car, I've got, you know,

458
00:23:28,041 --> 00:23:31,041
Speaker 5: someone throwing a microphone in my face asking me what

459
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:33,201
Speaker 5: do I feel and what do I think? And I'm

460
00:23:33,241 --> 00:23:35,081
Speaker 5: just like, I'm really sorry, I can't talk to you.

461
00:23:36,241 --> 00:23:37,721
Speaker 5: I cannot a comment at this time.

462
00:23:37,761 --> 00:23:38,321
Speaker 1: I'm sorry.

463
00:23:38,441 --> 00:23:40,161
Speaker 2: Has this brought you any closure at all?

464
00:23:40,441 --> 00:23:41,840
Speaker 1: Do you miss your mum?

465
00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:43,801
Speaker 5: What kind of question is that? Are you trying to

466
00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,281
Speaker 5: get an emotion out of me? Like I'm I'm a

467
00:23:47,321 --> 00:23:51,080
Speaker 5: person who's quite private with my emotion. I am strong,

468
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:54,801
Speaker 5: but I'm also very sensitive, and I just like to

469
00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:57,360
Speaker 5: grieve in my own personal way, and I like to

470
00:23:57,761 --> 00:23:59,961
Speaker 5: do it in my own private way. I don't even

471
00:24:00,001 --> 00:24:01,920
Speaker 5: really do it in front of kids and Chris. I

472
00:24:02,001 --> 00:24:04,840
Speaker 5: just so that was pretty rough. And we went around

473
00:24:05,241 --> 00:24:07,160
Speaker 5: and Channel seven News was set up there and we

474
00:24:07,201 --> 00:24:10,161
Speaker 5: did a news report that night for the TV that night,

475
00:24:10,241 --> 00:24:12,921
Speaker 5: and I remember just being focused on the fact that

476
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:16,280
Speaker 5: no one had apologized to me. I haven't even had

477
00:24:16,281 --> 00:24:19,241
Speaker 5: an apology. If I can put it, put it out there.

478
00:24:19,281 --> 00:24:22,161
Speaker 5: You know, I still haven't from the police had any

479
00:24:22,201 --> 00:24:26,521
Speaker 5: apology for how I've been treated. You know, I've just

480
00:24:26,561 --> 00:24:29,321
Speaker 5: been told my mum's deceased for the first time. It's

481
00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:33,160
Speaker 5: twenty six years and I've had to fight tooth and

482
00:24:33,241 --> 00:24:35,041
Speaker 5: nail to get people to listen to me. I had

483
00:24:35,041 --> 00:24:36,840
Speaker 5: to fight to it now for them to even say

484
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:41,080
Speaker 5: she was missing, let alone that she's deceased. And then

485
00:24:41,120 --> 00:24:43,601
Speaker 5: they passed it over like I mean, the recommendation from

486
00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,880
Speaker 5: the coroner was that it goes to the unsolved homicide team,

487
00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:50,360
Speaker 5: which indicates to me, if it's a homicide, it's murder.

488
00:24:51,201 --> 00:24:55,840
Speaker 5: She has died by foul play of some description. Otherwise,

489
00:24:55,921 --> 00:24:58,961
Speaker 5: as we have spoken about before, she would have put

490
00:24:58,961 --> 00:25:02,041
Speaker 5: it back with the missing persons unit. There is a

491
00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:04,681
Speaker 5: very different line in the sand for that too. You're

492
00:25:04,721 --> 00:25:08,641
Speaker 5: either murdered or you're missing. And if she thinks that,

493
00:25:08,681 --> 00:25:10,681
Speaker 5: she would have put her with the missing person's unit,

494
00:25:10,761 --> 00:25:14,761
Speaker 5: but she put her with homicide unsolved homicide, And you know,

495
00:25:14,801 --> 00:25:17,200
Speaker 5: it was pretty heartbreaking to know that they had just

496
00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:20,001
Speaker 5: pretty much blink told me that she wasn't a priority

497
00:25:20,001 --> 00:25:22,600
Speaker 5: to them. You know, I think we got to the

498
00:25:22,721 --> 00:25:25,880
Speaker 5: end of doing the interview and Alison and Brian and

499
00:25:25,961 --> 00:25:30,241
Speaker 5: the Lady Vanisher's Channel seventeen had put the podcast into

500
00:25:30,281 --> 00:25:34,321
Speaker 5: a book format and that was getting released, I think,

501
00:25:34,321 --> 00:25:36,241
Speaker 5: and they were just sort of tidying up the last

502
00:25:36,281 --> 00:25:41,961
Speaker 5: episodes for that, and I just was left. I felt

503
00:25:41,961 --> 00:25:43,601
Speaker 5: like I was at a bit of a crossroads as

504
00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:44,521
Speaker 5: to what to do now.

505
00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:05,920
Speaker 6: From my perspective, I guess we came out of the

506
00:26:05,961 --> 00:26:10,880
Speaker 6: court and for me, all I saw was pretty much

507
00:26:10,921 --> 00:26:15,041
Speaker 6: every single media outlet there in Australia, and I was

508
00:26:15,321 --> 00:26:19,160
Speaker 6: so excited and that's probably the wrong word, but to

509
00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:23,521
Speaker 6: actually have the ability to have all of those journalists

510
00:26:23,521 --> 00:26:26,640
Speaker 6: standing there that were going to be reporting on this

511
00:26:26,801 --> 00:26:32,801
Speaker 6: outcome and the potential images, photos, and I actually realized, oh,

512
00:26:33,201 --> 00:26:37,041
Speaker 6: you can't actually stand on the steps of the actual

513
00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:40,561
Speaker 6: building itself and talk to all of the media and

514
00:26:40,681 --> 00:26:43,001
Speaker 6: get your story out broader because that.

515
00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:43,880
Speaker 1: Is what we need.

516
00:26:44,241 --> 00:26:47,961
Speaker 6: Oh no, because we're literally going to be whipped around

517
00:26:47,961 --> 00:26:51,400
Speaker 6: the corner into a park to miss out on that opportunity.

518
00:26:51,681 --> 00:26:54,440
Speaker 6: And look, I understand the rationale of why, but I

519
00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:58,880
Speaker 6: just felt very very upset about that.

520
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:02,480
Speaker 1: How do I feel? I don't actually know.

521
00:27:02,961 --> 00:27:06,280
Speaker 5: Coron has just told me officially my mum deceased, So

522
00:27:06,441 --> 00:27:08,521
Speaker 5: that's the first time I've heard that in twenty seven years,

523
00:27:08,561 --> 00:27:10,521
Speaker 5: which is a long time. As you can appreciate, it's

524
00:27:10,521 --> 00:27:13,960
Speaker 5: hard enough when someone does die, but to not have

525
00:27:14,001 --> 00:27:15,480
Speaker 5: them in your world for such a long time and

526
00:27:15,521 --> 00:27:18,160
Speaker 5: not know and then get to the point where you

527
00:27:18,241 --> 00:27:21,041
Speaker 5: find out that they have died and we now need

528
00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,881
Speaker 5: to move to the next stage of what that involves

529
00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:24,080
Speaker 5: for me.

530
00:27:26,241 --> 00:27:29,080
Speaker 6: I guess people could be kind of wondering sala like

531
00:27:29,441 --> 00:27:36,761
Speaker 6: why we're doing this here now in this space, and

532
00:27:37,281 --> 00:27:40,721
Speaker 6: I guess why they're not seeing like another episode ping

533
00:27:41,561 --> 00:27:46,440
Speaker 6: on their podcast apps from The Lady Vanishers, which did

534
00:27:46,801 --> 00:27:52,880
Speaker 6: an extraordinary job, an enormous amount of interviews, fantastic work,

535
00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:57,281
Speaker 6: picked it up from basically a story that was known

536
00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:01,001
Speaker 6: to you and your family but nobody else, and turned

537
00:28:01,041 --> 00:28:04,321
Speaker 6: it into an absolute juggernaut of a podcast in the

538
00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:07,080
Speaker 6: true crime world. I feel like it's kind of brave

539
00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:11,761
Speaker 6: that we're sitting here together in another studio doing something

540
00:28:11,921 --> 00:28:16,001
Speaker 6: a bit different. But I just wondered, Yeah, I guess

541
00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:19,401
Speaker 6: a lot of people would be asking and wondering why

542
00:28:19,481 --> 00:28:23,200
Speaker 6: we're here and while we're not with the Lady Vanishers

543
00:28:23,201 --> 00:28:25,081
Speaker 6: doing yet another episode, and.

544
00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:27,321
Speaker 5: I definitely, I'm sure people are going to be asking

545
00:28:27,321 --> 00:28:31,400
Speaker 5: that question. And I was with Channel seven for six

546
00:28:31,521 --> 00:28:35,680
Speaker 5: years and gave them my everything, and they gave me

547
00:28:36,120 --> 00:28:40,921
Speaker 5: a huge amount back. It was amazing, It was stressful,

548
00:28:41,081 --> 00:28:44,041
Speaker 5: It was mind blowing some of the things that we

549
00:28:44,081 --> 00:28:46,921
Speaker 5: did together. And you know, Ran and I spent a

550
00:28:46,961 --> 00:28:49,521
Speaker 5: huge amount of time together, and I have huge respect

551
00:28:50,081 --> 00:28:52,921
Speaker 5: for him and for Allison for doing everything that they

552
00:28:52,961 --> 00:28:53,801
Speaker 5: did to help.

553
00:28:53,921 --> 00:28:54,960
Speaker 1: Project my story.

554
00:28:54,961 --> 00:28:57,881
Speaker 5: When no one else was listening to me, Allison listened

555
00:28:57,961 --> 00:29:00,321
Speaker 5: and she sat with a coffee and she knew this

556
00:29:00,441 --> 00:29:02,521
Speaker 5: was a good story to tell, and she helped me

557
00:29:02,961 --> 00:29:05,401
Speaker 5: and brought Brian into the space and helped me tell well.

558
00:29:05,681 --> 00:29:08,561
Speaker 5: And look, Lady Vanishel's had fifty seven episodes, and a

559
00:29:08,601 --> 00:29:11,001
Speaker 5: lot of the episodes at the end there were sort

560
00:29:11,001 --> 00:29:15,561
Speaker 5: of looking into Rick Blum more predominantly than about my mum.

561
00:29:15,441 --> 00:29:16,681
Speaker 1: Who was the missing person.

562
00:29:16,761 --> 00:29:20,041
Speaker 5: And I was actually finding out quite stressful that the

563
00:29:20,081 --> 00:29:22,841
Speaker 5: intro to the podcast was all about the daughter looking

564
00:29:22,841 --> 00:29:25,281
Speaker 5: for her missing mother and the daughter on a mission.

565
00:29:25,321 --> 00:29:29,241
Speaker 5: But then we're talking about Alona Reid and her children

566
00:29:29,321 --> 00:29:31,960
Speaker 5: and her ex partners and bringing them into the mix.

567
00:29:32,041 --> 00:29:35,601
Speaker 5: And I understand that that is an important side to

568
00:29:35,721 --> 00:29:39,641
Speaker 5: my mum's story. But I maybe made the suggestion of

569
00:29:40,321 --> 00:29:44,801
Speaker 5: perhaps doing a spinoff podcast that wasn't really about my mum,

570
00:29:44,841 --> 00:29:47,281
Speaker 5: Like the intro is all about Mary, but then it

571
00:29:47,361 --> 00:29:49,241
Speaker 5: was all about Reck Blum, and I was like, maybe

572
00:29:49,241 --> 00:29:51,281
Speaker 5: we should do a spinoff podcast that was sort of

573
00:29:51,321 --> 00:29:54,921
Speaker 5: more about Rick Blum and we could link them together.

574
00:29:55,161 --> 00:29:59,601
Speaker 5: And you know, that just wasn't going to work. To

575
00:29:59,641 --> 00:30:01,720
Speaker 5: be honest, I didn't know that that was going to

576
00:30:01,721 --> 00:30:04,561
Speaker 5: be the last episode. I heard it on the episode

577
00:30:04,601 --> 00:30:06,481
Speaker 5: whenever else did that that was going to be the

578
00:30:06,561 --> 00:30:07,001
Speaker 5: last one.

579
00:30:09,481 --> 00:30:15,521
Speaker 6: This is the final episode of The Lady Vanishes, to

580
00:30:15,601 --> 00:30:16,001
Speaker 6: be fair.

581
00:30:16,121 --> 00:30:18,401
Speaker 5: At that point in time, you know, Allison and Brian

582
00:30:18,401 --> 00:30:20,401
Speaker 5: had been busy doing other podcasts as well. They'd done

583
00:30:20,401 --> 00:30:22,401
Speaker 5: Shot in the Dark, which was really amazing and brought

584
00:30:22,401 --> 00:30:25,081
Speaker 5: attention to another victim. I felt like I had been

585
00:30:25,121 --> 00:30:27,801
Speaker 5: given a lot of their time and energy and effort,

586
00:30:27,881 --> 00:30:31,361
Speaker 5: and you know, potentially this was you know, we got

587
00:30:31,401 --> 00:30:33,161
Speaker 5: to an inquest, which is what I had always said

588
00:30:33,161 --> 00:30:34,960
Speaker 5: to them at the very beginning. I just wanted my

589
00:30:35,001 --> 00:30:36,960
Speaker 5: goal was to get to an inquest, and the inquest

590
00:30:36,961 --> 00:30:40,121
Speaker 5: had finished, so I understood the concept that you know,

591
00:30:40,281 --> 00:30:44,000
Speaker 5: maybe we'll wrap up the Lady Vanishers and they were

592
00:30:44,001 --> 00:30:47,480
Speaker 5: writing their book, they released the book. Yeah, you and

593
00:30:47,521 --> 00:30:49,841
Speaker 5: I just were left to go and work out what

594
00:30:49,881 --> 00:30:52,401
Speaker 5: we wanted to do. And that's how we got to

595
00:30:52,521 --> 00:30:54,801
Speaker 5: the last twelve months of what we've been doing. Like

596
00:30:54,841 --> 00:30:56,801
Speaker 5: when you and I decided that what we were going

597
00:30:56,881 --> 00:31:00,401
Speaker 5: to do this last twelve months, there was no chat about, hey,

598
00:31:00,481 --> 00:31:03,681
Speaker 5: let's go into our own podcast. We actually just I

599
00:31:03,801 --> 00:31:05,761
Speaker 5: just wanted to do it in my own quiet time,

600
00:31:06,121 --> 00:31:09,321
Speaker 5: go and find the information that we actually required. And

601
00:31:09,361 --> 00:31:12,761
Speaker 5: it was really the drive from the people following, going,

602
00:31:12,801 --> 00:31:14,161
Speaker 5: when are you going to tell us? How are you

603
00:31:14,201 --> 00:31:15,841
Speaker 5: going to tell us you should do a podcast? You

604
00:31:15,841 --> 00:31:18,561
Speaker 5: should do a podcast? And I was like, oh my goodness.

605
00:31:19,001 --> 00:31:21,440
Speaker 5: People actually still want to know what we're doing and

606
00:31:21,481 --> 00:31:25,321
Speaker 5: what's happening. So that's pretty much what's driven the concept

607
00:31:25,441 --> 00:31:28,721
Speaker 5: of us thinking and even considering doing something crazy like this.

608
00:31:29,401 --> 00:31:32,681
Speaker 6: I'm really excited about this next phase in the journey

609
00:31:32,801 --> 00:31:36,041
Speaker 6: with sal Thank you to everybody that's followed along with

610
00:31:36,121 --> 00:31:39,441
Speaker 6: us over the years and for sticking with us. We

611
00:31:39,521 --> 00:31:41,921
Speaker 6: really hope that you do stick with us through this journey.

612
00:31:42,321 --> 00:31:45,801
Speaker 1: It's been a whirl win of a year.

613
00:31:46,361 --> 00:31:49,761
Speaker 5: And you know, in the next upcoming ten episode, you're

614
00:31:49,801 --> 00:31:53,321
Speaker 5: going to hear about every place we visited on our

615
00:31:53,881 --> 00:31:56,960
Speaker 5: you know, three weeks away, we went to six different countries.

616
00:31:57,441 --> 00:31:57,961
Speaker 1: We did a.

617
00:31:57,921 --> 00:32:01,921
Speaker 5: Search, which you know was a massive thing for me

618
00:32:02,041 --> 00:32:04,921
Speaker 5: to have to do mentally, and you know, we're going

619
00:32:04,961 --> 00:32:08,361
Speaker 5: to talk about that. And we did some live shows,

620
00:32:08,961 --> 00:32:13,521
Speaker 5: which was just an amazing experience for me personally, and

621
00:32:13,641 --> 00:32:16,361
Speaker 5: it showed me that people really care and wanted to

622
00:32:16,401 --> 00:32:18,801
Speaker 5: help project us into this space so that we could

623
00:32:18,801 --> 00:32:21,561
Speaker 5: actually go and do the research that still needed to

624
00:32:21,561 --> 00:32:23,961
Speaker 5: be done. And I just I want to do a

625
00:32:23,961 --> 00:32:26,921
Speaker 5: shout out as well to oh Media because one of

626
00:32:26,961 --> 00:32:29,121
Speaker 5: the big bosses there was listening to the podcast and

627
00:32:29,161 --> 00:32:31,921
Speaker 5: actually reached out to her quite some years ago and

628
00:32:31,961 --> 00:32:34,681
Speaker 5: asked if we could do a billboard, and she came

629
00:32:34,721 --> 00:32:37,681
Speaker 5: to the party and we had a double sided, both

630
00:32:37,721 --> 00:32:40,761
Speaker 5: sides of the road billboard for Mum down in Grafton,

631
00:32:41,081 --> 00:32:44,281
Speaker 5: and we did actually have one of those electronic billboards

632
00:32:44,281 --> 00:32:47,361
Speaker 5: inside the shopping center at Lismore too. But I remember

633
00:32:47,401 --> 00:32:49,801
Speaker 5: the floods happened just shortly after that and they all

634
00:32:49,841 --> 00:32:53,480
Speaker 5: went underwater, and I was having dreams about Mum's poster

635
00:32:53,681 --> 00:32:57,200
Speaker 5: floating down in the water, like it was just horrendous.

636
00:32:57,241 --> 00:32:59,881
Speaker 5: Like I know that sounds weird for some people to think,

637
00:32:59,921 --> 00:33:01,401
Speaker 5: but I was like, oh my gosh, like I've just

638
00:33:01,561 --> 00:33:04,761
Speaker 5: finally got to this stage of having some really good

639
00:33:04,761 --> 00:33:07,001
Speaker 5: pubblicity in that space where.

640
00:33:06,801 --> 00:33:09,361
Speaker 1: I know she was in that backyard.

641
00:33:09,801 --> 00:33:11,681
Speaker 5: And you know, I just wanted to say thanks to

642
00:33:11,681 --> 00:33:14,801
Speaker 5: Omdia because the billboard is still up in Grafton. You know,

643
00:33:14,841 --> 00:33:17,161
Speaker 5: I still get people stopping and taking photos and sending

644
00:33:17,161 --> 00:33:17,961
Speaker 5: it to me, going.

645
00:33:17,761 --> 00:33:20,161
Speaker 1: Oh my god, it's still still there, and that's important.

646
00:33:20,201 --> 00:33:22,921
Speaker 5: I mean, the we've progressed now from two hundred and

647
00:33:22,961 --> 00:33:25,801
Speaker 5: fifty thousand dollars to a five hundred thousand dollar reward.

648
00:33:26,081 --> 00:33:28,321
Speaker 5: It still says two hundred and fifty thousand on the poster,

649
00:33:28,481 --> 00:33:30,641
Speaker 5: but you know, that just shows you how long it's

650
00:33:30,681 --> 00:33:32,641
Speaker 5: been there. And I think it's amazing that it's just

651
00:33:33,001 --> 00:33:36,121
Speaker 5: still there after all this time and bringing awareness to

652
00:33:36,201 --> 00:33:36,801
Speaker 5: Mum's case.

653
00:33:38,521 --> 00:33:41,121
Speaker 1: The podcast is called The Missing.

654
00:33:40,801 --> 00:33:45,361
Speaker 5: Matter because in my world that has become my song.

655
00:33:46,001 --> 00:33:48,881
Speaker 5: You know, it's not just about my mum. My Mum

656
00:33:49,041 --> 00:33:51,601
Speaker 5: is Marian and Marian matters. This is not just about

657
00:33:51,601 --> 00:33:53,681
Speaker 5: my mum. This is about all the bes thing, and

658
00:33:53,801 --> 00:33:57,641
Speaker 5: so I'm hoping that by sharing my journey and my

659
00:33:57,761 --> 00:34:01,240
Speaker 5: experiences and my understanding of what I've had to go

660
00:34:01,321 --> 00:34:04,321
Speaker 5: through over the last twenty seven years. And my mum

661
00:34:04,361 --> 00:34:06,841
Speaker 5: is still a miss person. I still don't know where

662
00:34:06,881 --> 00:34:10,321
Speaker 5: she is. I still live with that ambiguous loss every

663
00:34:10,401 --> 00:34:13,361
Speaker 5: single day. But I want those people who are in

664
00:34:13,401 --> 00:34:16,601
Speaker 5: that space to know that they can reach out to us.

665
00:34:16,921 --> 00:34:18,641
Speaker 1: They can talk to us anytime.

666
00:34:19,241 --> 00:34:21,841
Speaker 5: We're not experts, we can certainly give you empathy and

667
00:34:22,001 --> 00:34:25,761
Speaker 5: care and kindness and an ear when you need it.

668
00:34:26,081 --> 00:34:29,841
Speaker 5: And their voices matter, you know. We're hoping that by

669
00:34:29,841 --> 00:34:32,641
Speaker 5: doing this we can bring more awareness to this space,

670
00:34:33,241 --> 00:34:36,161
Speaker 5: because the missing do matter, and we need to make

671
00:34:36,201 --> 00:34:38,961
Speaker 5: sure that their voices are heard and their stories are

672
00:34:39,001 --> 00:34:41,921
Speaker 5: out there for people to understand and learn about.

673
00:34:44,681 --> 00:34:46,881
Speaker 1: In the next episode of The Missing.

674
00:34:46,561 --> 00:34:49,881
Speaker 5: Matter, you have to stop and think that the coroner

675
00:34:49,881 --> 00:34:53,960
Speaker 5: gives her findings. You actually get the findings document. There's

676
00:34:54,001 --> 00:34:57,441
Speaker 5: no instruction book, there's no care pack. You're left on

677
00:34:57,481 --> 00:35:00,441
Speaker 5: your own to work it out. I've tried to capture

678
00:35:00,481 --> 00:35:02,841
Speaker 5: these moments for you guys, so that you can actually

679
00:35:02,881 --> 00:35:06,361
Speaker 5: be with me while I'm actually going through that process.

680
00:35:06,681 --> 00:35:11,121
Speaker 5: I got to Medicare here at Green Slopes about two

681
00:35:11,161 --> 00:35:14,081
Speaker 5: hours and twenty minutes ago. I went up to the

682
00:35:14,121 --> 00:35:16,921
Speaker 5: counter and I said, look, I'm still waiting, and people

683
00:35:16,961 --> 00:35:19,001
Speaker 5: who came in after me were being say I am

684
00:35:19,041 --> 00:35:23,681
Speaker 5: just feeling extremely emotional and extremely stressed.

685
00:35:24,441 --> 00:35:26,081
Speaker 1: I swear to God, we must have knocked on the

686
00:35:26,081 --> 00:35:29,001
Speaker 1: wrong door. Oh we've gone to the wrong house. And

687
00:35:29,081 --> 00:35:30,440
Speaker 1: you know what else, what else?

688
00:35:30,841 --> 00:35:31,121
Speaker 5: What else?

689
00:35:31,921 --> 00:35:34,481
Speaker 1: Spa speA