Rick

Rick is one of the most enigmatic minor characters in the whole Port Arthur saga – perhaps more so than Jim Pollard and the Salzmann couple. He is first introduced by ‘Jamie’ inside Seascape, when talking on the phone to police negotiator Terry McCarthy:

McCarthy: Now we only had a brief conversation before an and um I just want to clarify that everything that I got down before is right, alright

Jamie: Yes everything yep.
McCarthy: Okay, now there are three people in in the cottages with you or the cottage with you is that correct?
Jamie: That’s correct at the present yep.
McCarthy: At the present. Okay.
Jamie: Yep.
McCarthy: What do you mean by that?
Jamie: Oh except I should say uh meself aren’t you going to class me as a …… …..inaudible
McCarthy: Well, yeah I’m sorry I meant three persons other than yourself.
Jamie: Yeah
McCarthy: Arh and that’s Rick,
Jamie: Inaudible
McCarthy: Sally and David Martin who actually own the cottage. Is that correct?
Jamie: Yeah that’s correct.
McCarthy: Now you were talking just a little bit about the um Rick having come from Fortescue Bay. Can you just enlighten me as to what happened there?
Jamie: Yeah yeah, I got him and managed to get him his wife she he wanted to participate um in the kidnapping in instead of his wife, I thought alright quick
McCarthy: Cough (gunshot)
Jamie: get in get into the car and I’ve got him as a hostage.
McCarthy: Okay, okay now you were in you’re your car there were you?
Jamie: Yes.
McCarthy: Right. You’re in your car and you wha what pulled them up? They were driving along in a car is that correct?
Jamie: That’s correct.

This is completely different to eyewitness accounts of another kidnapping witnessed by Jim Laycock and others. The location is Fortescue Bay turnoff (about 1 km north of Seascape),

Next time Rick is mentioned is with the negotiation about who will be in the helicopter:

Jamie: If you can get this helicopter I’ll I’ll want a ride in a helicopter do you understand?

McCarthy: Well I can assure y
Jamie: I’ll be happy I’ll I’ll just want I’ll leave Sally I’ll I’ll want Sally to go with me and
McCarthy: Right.
Jamie: and let I’ll free the rest of the host
McCarthy: Wha what about Rick an um David?
Jamie: Um
McCarthy: What about Rick and David?
Jamie: Do you want me to take them instead?
McCarthy: Well, no, no you you’re going to leave those Rick and David behind are you?
Jamie: Yeah.
McCarthy: Right.
McCarthy: what if we can’t get you to Adelaide?
Jamie: Well the chap that I’ve got here um Rick he’s got um he’s from Melbourne so ah um I mean you could drop Rick off but
McCarthy: Uh hang on I thought you were going to leave Rick behind?
Jamie: What’s that?
McCarthy: I thought you were going to leave Rick behind?
Jamie: Ah.
McCarthy: So you’re only going to fly in the helicopter with Sally aren’t you?
Jamie: yeah but Rick wants to he Rick had twenty past oh 7 o’clock flight home you see tonight
McCarthy: Oh I see.
Jamie: with his wife and um I mean Rick has to get back to Melbourne.
McCarthy: Right well we’ll
Jamie: But er um he’s understand that I’m gonna phone his parents up
McCarthy: Right.
Jamie: In Lauderdale
McCarthy: How old how old is Rick?
Jamie: Lauderdale. Um Ricks 34.
McCarthy: Ricks 34. Did you say his parents are in Lauderdale?
Jamie: Yeah
McCarthy: So he’s not he’s from Melbourne but he’s got parents here?
Jamie: Uh that’s right.

They go off on another tangent:

Jamie: I don’t want to worry my mum. What I’m going to do is is it twenty to seven now?

McCarthy: No, it’s um I’ve got it at twenty eight minutes past six.
Jamie: Yeah.. What was your name, Rick was it or
McCarthy: Terry.
Jamie:1 Terry that’s right. Terry I’ll write that down now.
McCarthy: While your writing that down have a think about um you know we were talking a bit earlier on about um why you took Rick hostage or why you kidnapped him and we never got round to you telling me why that happened.
Jamie: Oh his. I’ll actually phone you for a change at twenty past seven.
McCarthy: Well that’s a long time.
Jamie: That’s a long
McCarthy: That’s a long time and in the mean
Jamie: that’s a long time you
McCarthy: in the meantime what
Jamie: I mean your you don’t often get these calls so I’ll actually phone ya at twenty past
McCarthy: Are you there?

-

McCarthy: Now. Jamie we were talking earlier on about ar Rick and the fact that you kidnapped him from Fortescue Bay.

Jamie: That’s correct. Yeah.
McCarthy: Do you want to tell me about that?
Jamie: Not really no
McCarthy: Well you talked about you talked about ah his wife and er his child and um we’re having difficulties locating his wife and child.
Jamie: Yes, she’s only 12 months old the little child I found out from him.
McCarthy: Right. What from him?
Jamie: Umm.
McCarthy: Right. What about his wife. Do you know anything about his wife?
Jamie: Um sh yeah I do.
McCarthy: Right.
Jamie: I know
McCarthy: Can you tell me something about it?
Jamie: I know how high up in things she is. Yeah.
McCarthy: I’m sorry.
Jamie: I know how high up she is in the different areas.
McCarthy: How how high up. What do you mean by that Jamie?
Jamie: In work, higher than what you are
McCarthy: the
Jamie: the intelligence and everything university and everything.
McCarthy: Oh right, is she, shes only she er a university er
Jamie: Oh she’s passed that she’s got full time work but I’m not going to let you know. I’m I’m more interested in this helicopter ride.
McCarthy: Cough (gunshot)
Jamie: and
McCarthy: Well
Jamie: unless ………..Inaudible………

-

Jamie: I I’ll phone you in an hour right

McCarthy: just before you go though
Jamie: Yeah yeah yeah yes
McCarthy: just before you go you’re talking about you’re talking about okay I can find out who you are. What about Rick? We’re having real problems finding out about Rick. You prepared to tell me Rick’s surname.
Jamie: Well he’s a lawyer if you want the truth. I’ll phone you back in a hour right.
McCarthy: Well how about you phone me back in say fifteen minutes with Rick’s surname. That’s all I’m after. Okay.
Jamie: Inaudible
McCarthy: Everythings w everybodys well?
Jamie: Everythinks fin, yes.
McCarthy: Every is is Sally still with you?
Jamie: Yes she’s still with me.
McCarthy: Are you prepared to let me talk to Sally or
Jamie: Ah unfortunately um she’s down stairs with David now I’ve got um another chap up with me.
McCarthy: Okay Rick. Now did you say to me when we er last chatted that you were going to tell me Rick’s surname.
Jamie: Ah yeah Rick oh but oh but na na don’t worry about that.
McCarthy: Well you you did tell me that
Jamie: What’s that got to do with the helicopter?
McCarthy: Well as I said before we need to ah we ne need to know exactly who’s going to be on board the aircraft and um we’ve got to we’ve got to allow for every possibility you may change plans ah later on and decide not to take Sally
Jamie: Oh yeah
McCarthy: and take Rick instead and also w we’re having problems locating Rick’s wife.
Jamie: Where is she?
McCarthy: Well we don’t know because we’re not real sure who Rick is.
Jamie: Oh I don’t know she went round to um to Fortescue Bay.
McCarthy: How do you know that er Jamie?
Jamie: She headed round that way.
McCarthy: She headed around that way?
Jamie: Yeah. Couldn’t get
McCarthy: Right. Well cough (gunshot)
Jamie: away quick enough
McCarthy: well cough if if um if Rick’s there would you mind asking
Jamie: Well
McCarthy: him what his surname is if you don’t know.
Jamie: apparently um she’s had a pretty hard life until she met um thing a ma bob
McCarthy: She
Jamie: here.
McCarthy: Yeah.
Jamie: Rick and um he’s great she’s a great lady they’re both professional people.
McCarthy: Right wha do what does ah what does she do?
Jamie: Um well I can’t tell you that.
McCarthy: Why not?
Jamie: Cause I don’t know.
McCarthy: Oh right I see fair enough. Um cough well okay lets talk about this helicopter and I and I keep harping on it but you’ve got to understand that there are various things that have to be done in relation to organising the helicopter in relation to flait flight plans and what ‘ave you. Now you told me that the helicopters got to land so at the front of the cottage is that right?
Jamie: Anywhere it doesn I’ll see it I’ll actually hear it probably a
McCarthy: cough (gunshot)
Jamie: a few miles away so
McCarthy: Well
Jamie: don’t worry about that ah as long as it’s on the property somewhere
McCarthy: Yeah
-
Jamie: Yeah. While I’m on the phone um Ricks wondering how did the ABC actually
lay get in touch with me.
McCarthy: Rick was Rick wondering that?
Jamie: Yeah
McCarthy: Well we’re still trying to find that out ourselves. Um
Jamie: ……..Inaudible…….it’s strange
McCarthy: we’re still trying to find that out I I thought you might be able to to help me out with that did she ah mention to you how she’d come about
Jamie: No I didn’t actually ask her
McCarthy: You didn’t? Ah what did you talk about?
Jamie: She asked who I was and where I came from and
McCarthy: Cough did you tell her?
Jamie: A no I didn’t. I said…….Inaudible…….
McCarthy: Did you tell her?
Jamie: Inaudible
McCarthy: that you didn’t want to speak to her
Jamie: Yeah that’s right and I said please don’t phone again.
McCarthy: And what did she say say there?
Jamie: I actually forget now that was a few hours ago.
McCarthy: Right, right okay fair enough. Well ah ah you you’ve got Rick there
Jamie: with me
McCarthy: do you know his surname? Has he told you what his surname is or?
Jamie: No not yet.
McCarthy: Well would you ask him for me please?
Jamie: Ah what’s that that’s not important.
McCarthy: Well it is for us because ya know we gotta find we gotta try to find his family. Okay we’re trying to establish where his wife and child have gone
Jamie: Inaudible
McCarthy: and ah it’s gonna greatly assist us it’s only going to take two seconds of your time to ask him and just tell me what it is.
Jamie: I’ll phone you b back
-
Rick isn’t mentioned again, the phone battery goes flat and in the morning, the cottage burns down. Martin Bryant crawls out of the fire and is arrested. In the ashes are the bodies of David & Sally Martin and Glenn Pears.

So let’s add up what we have learned from this evidence:

Rick is not Glenn Pears.
Rick has a wife and child, who were left at the Fortescue Bay turnoff with Martin’s Volvo.
Rick is a lawyer from Melbourne, 34 years old.
Rick’s parents are alive, they live in Lauderdale, near Hobart, Tasmania.
Rick’s wife never contacted the police about her ordeal, or the theft of her husband’s car.
Rick’s wife finished university and possibly has a connection to Intelligence, depending on how you interpret Jamie’s words. “High up in intelligence” could mean she is smart, it could also mean she is a high ranking operative in the intelligence community.
Rick’s wife wanted to participate in the kidnapping.
Neither Jamie nor Rick wanted the police to know Rick’s surname. Rick’s identity seems a mystery to Terry McCarthy, and Rick was not worried about his family’s whereabouts or safety.

There are several differences between the kidnappings of Rick and Glenn Pears:

Rick was taken at the Fortescue Bay turnoff. Glenn at the Petrol Station outside Port Arthur, which are 4km apart, on opposite sides of Seascape.
Zoe Hall was shot and killed when Glenn Pears was kidnapped, Rick’s wife and child were left unharmed.
Rick was driving a gold BMW, Glenn Pears was driving a white Toyota Corolla.
Timing from Martin’s testimony indicated Rick was kidnapped about 12.30pm. Glenn Pears about 2.10pm.

When Martin was put into the ambulance, Constable Malcolm Scott went with him as security. Here’s part of his witness statement:

During the course of escorting BRYANT to the Royal Hobart Hospital conversation occurred with him in the rear of the ambulance. I recorded this conversation in my note book as it occurred.

The ambulance officer said, What’s your name?
BRYANT said, Martin BRYANT and asked
What’s the point of all this?
The ambulance officer said, I preserve life, Martin. Have you been drinking alcohol? BRYANT said, A bit, it hurts. I want to get out of here.
BRYANT said, Where is she?
I said, Who?
BRYANT said, Petra, Petra did she get out of the fire? Petra’s my girlfriend. We always stick together.
I said, Was Petra in the fire?
BRYANT said, Yes, she was in the house.
BRYANT made further comments but his speech was incoherent.
The ambulance officer asked questions in relation to BRYANT’S medical situation.

So in his agonised and disoriented state, Martin says that Petra was in the house with him, but makes no mention of Rick, Glenn, David or Sally. When interviewed by the police, he relates a similar story to Jamie’s description of the Rick kidnapping. In the snippet videos posted on YouTube, few people realise that when Martin is talking about kidnapping, he is talking about Fortescue Bay (Rick), NOT Glenn Pears.

Q. And after you left Roaring Beach, where'd you go then?

A. Umm, dunno, I stopped ahh, at umm, Nubeena and got a coffee and I think I got a toasted sandwich too.
Q. Do you remember where that was?
A. I was at the shop there, it's a little shop near the school.
Q. A little shop near the school you got a toasted sandwich and a cup of coffee?
A. Yeah.
Q. What'd you do then?
A. Then I left and drove around past Port Arthur and went and, went in to see the Martins. Mmm.
Q. Was there anyone else there when you ahh, called in?
A. No, I umm, unfortunately I held up a car, I took ahh, I saw this car I liked and got umm, held up the person in the car and kidnapped him.
Warren:
Q. Kidnapped him?
A. Mmm.
Paine:
Q. When you say held up.
A. That was actually past the Martins. Ohh actually, that was on the corner of Palmers Lookout. No I didn't really, didn't know whether I'd let you know you're not gonna let anyone else know. You're not gonna let anyone else know. Yeah, no, I stopped the car, I was in the Volvo, I stopped the car on the corner, there was a nice looking BMW and I asked them to get out of the car but the...
Q. How many people were in it?
A. There was a child in there, in the back and a lady and the man. The man, I got him out the car, I had my gun with me and I said I want to take your car, so I took his car. I got, then his wife or girlfriend got into the Volvo with the child and I left, I drove off.
Q. So you drove away in the BMW?
A. Yes.
Q. With another male person?
A. Yeah, he was in the boot. I put him in the boot of the car.
-
Q. Martin, just back to the BMW. How did this guy get to get in the boot?
A. I put him in the boot because I had a gun.
Q. Which gun did you have?
A. I had the umm.
Q. Can Mr Warren hold it up?
A. That AR15. You see if people didn't do these unfortunate things, you guys wouldn't have a job.
Q. Well there's a lot of truth in that Martin, let me tell you.
Warren:
Q. That one there?
A. Yes.
Q. Yeah.
A. That was the one.
Q. This is the one.
A. It's a sweet little gun. Because it's so light. How light is it?
Q. Can you remember what you said ahh, this fellow?
A. Hey mate, can you get out of your car please, I'm gonna take your car.
Q. Did, and you had this pointed at him did you?
A. Yeah I had it pointed at him.
Q. Right.
A. And moving it backwards and forwards with his wife and child too.
Paine:
Q. Was the gun loaded?
A. Yeah the gun was loaded, yeah had about eight, nine rounds in it. Mmm.
Q. And where did this take place Martin sorry?
A. At the Fortesque Bay turnoff, just, ohh about three or four minutes away from the Martin's farm.
Q. To which side of ...
A. That was.
Q. ... The Seascape is Fortesque Bay turnoff?
A. Ahh, before you go to Seascape on the way to, on the way to Hobart.
Q. So it's on the Hobart side of Seascape?
A. Mmm.
Q. Right. And where did you drive then?
A. I drove full speed, it was about, I was going about 140 Ks up the road and went into Seascape. Just drove down there in the BMW.
Warren:
Q. Where, can you remember where you drove when you went into Seascape?
A. I remember skidding on some grass and, I had a heap of petrol, had some petrol with me, I put some petrol in the BMW.
Paine:
Q. And what happened then?
A. Well what happened then, I knocked on the door to see the Martins but there was no answer. And what happened is I remember the explosion.
Q. Where was ...
A. I think, I don't know whether I put the car on, lit the car up or not.
Q. Sorry?
A. I don't know whether I lit the car up or not but there was an explosion.
Q. Where was the man that was?
A. He must've been trapped in the boot, the hostage.

Look how far away from the house the BMW is - if Martin was knocking on the door, there's no way he would have been burnt. And we know his burns came from the house fire, not the BMW fire.

So Martin remembers kidnapping Rick, leaving his wife and child beside the Volvo, driving back to Seascape and his next memory is the explosion of fire at 7.30am the next morning. His memories of the entire afternoon and night have been wiped. Or he was asleep, drugged with something like Rohypnol. Remember in the ambulance, he said Petra was in the house?

Was she there just after the kidnapping, give him a Mickey Finn and then leave before the shooting began at 1.30pm?

Did Martin tell Jamie the story of his actions under the influence of Rohypnol or Scopolamine?

Was Rick the one shooting out the upstairs windows while Jamie was on the phone? The noise is transcribed as a cough but acoustic analysis shows it is a SKK rifle (probably the one owned by David & Sally’s son, Glen.

Either way, Rick and Petra weren’t in the house when it burned down. There was ample time at night for them to leave on foot, leaving David, Sally and Glenn dead inside, and Martin drugged on a bed downstairs. They could easily have slipped down the coast and into the caravan park, posing as tourists. The road was blocked off but the area around Seascape is heavily forested, it wouldn’t be difficult to sneak through slowly and quietly.

Even if it was Martin Bryant on the phone, pretending to be Jamie, it still raises the question of who was firing the SKK rifle from the nearby rooms.

It also doesn’t explain where the FN FAL #G3434 came from.

Or who decoyed the police away with a fake drug stash tipoff.

A royal commission is required to investigate the entire matter. Hospital blood tests on Martin Bryant would reveal traces of any drugs in his system. DNA from the Solo can and utensils the shooter left in the café would prove either way if Martin was there or not. He said that he never went into Port Arthur that day, because he couldn’t afford the entry fee. Instead, he slowed down, drove past and went to see if the Martins were home at Seascape.

The victims and their families deserve the truth.

The 2nd Empty Chair is a fiction novel, based on the witness statements and court documents. Using poetic licence, it links the facts that we know into a plausible, possible narrative that 'pokes more holes in the official story than a Pastafarian's colander.'

Read the witness statements, this book and compare what you learn to the official story.

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