Madeleine Pulver, the girl at the heart of the Australian bomb scare
Teenager Madeleine Pulver’s ordeal took place over 10 tense hours in Mosman, a salubrious suburb of Sydney – and now, with the super-fast creation of a website dedicated to the “bomb scare victim”, the world can relive those tense hours.
The 18-year-old girl, a member of one of Australia’s richest families, was attacked in the kitchen of her house by a balaclava-wearing intruder who chained an object to her neck, claiming it was a bomb. He left demands, and a specific threat claiming that the device would blow up if Madeleine contacted the police. Ten hours later, bomb disposal experts removed the collar bomb from the terrified girl, only to discover that it was an elaborate fake. They found a USB device in it which allegedly contained the same demands as those pinned to Madeleine’s front. The motives behind the crime have left Australians immensely puzzled, with many referring to it as akin to a plot from a film, while the police are treating the affair as a serious extortion attempt. Madeleine Pulver is said to be “in good spirits”, whilst the family have asked for their privacy to be respected – Madeleine has her exams coming up, you know.
So are the Australians desperately looking into their inner souls? Not yet, it seems. But someone has already decided to make a website dedicated to the girl. Weird or not?
“When I looked at it this morning, the first thing I said was ‘it’s like a Hollywood script – the kind of thing you would see at the cinema or on TV,’” Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister said. “You would never expect it to happen in real life in Australia.”
- References to a James Clavell novel? “Police have refused to comment on speculation the demand letter contained references to the James Clavell novel Tai Pan and that the extortionist signed his name as one of the main characters in the book, Dirk Struan,” reported The Herald Sun. Perth Now stated that reports that “the man was waiting inside when Madeleine arrived home and instructed her to draw the blinds before attaching the device to her in the kitchen also remain unconfirmed,” whilst suggestions that Madeleine was involved in the hoax have been strenuously denied.
- The hunt is on for the faux bomber. The hunt is on, reported News Nine, for the perpetrator of the crime. A former soldier, Justin Bowden, told the site that the extortionist might have been “looking for attention rather than money,” continuing, “Are they are simply motivated by the result and therefore the coverage that this event may actually receive?” The site also quoted Brynley Hill, who works for a private investigation company dealing with extortion: “There’s always a danger of this type of thing. I don’t think Australians are insulated from this.”
