Graphic: Matt Pike Source: News Limited 
Collar bomb hoax victim Madeleine Pulver with her parents Bill and Belinda outside their home in Clifton Gardens. Picture: Ross Schultz Source: The Daily Telegraph 
Paul Douglas Peters is escorted from the Federal Courthouse in Louisville. Source: AP Maddie Pulver had fake bomb attached to neck last year Peters charged with detaining girl for own advantage Pleads guilty and expresses remorse for his actions FAKE collar-bomb extortionist Paul Peters threatened Mosman schoolgirl Madeleine Pulver with "powerful new technology plastic explosives" during a bungled bid to extract money from her wealthy family.
The 51-year-old father-of-three this morning pleaded guilty to breaking into the Pulver family’s luxurious mansion and holding the terrified 18-year-old hostage last year, reported The Daily Telegraph.
Peters entered the home through the unlocked front door early in the afternoon of August 3 and bailed up Ms Pulver with a black baseball bat, telling her: "I’m not going to hurt you", according to court documents.
"Sit down and no-one gets hurt," he told the frightened young woman, who had been studying for her HSC exams.
Peters then produced a black box from his backpack and strapped the device to the victim’s throat using a bike chain, which he locked before fixing a lanyard with a two-page document and USB drive attached around her neck.
The court documents reveal before he left the schoolgirl’s bedroom, he told her to "count to two hundred", warning if she moved he would see her.
Ms Pulver yelled out after reading part of the ransom note that mentioned explosives, before phoning her father, Bill, and begging him to call the police.
In the note, Peters said he was a "Special Forces Green Beret munitions specialist" and warned the black box was booby trapped.
"ACT NOW, THINK LATER or YOU will inadvertently trigger a tragically avoidable explosion," the note said.
"You will be provided with detailed remittance instructions to transfer a Defined Sum once you acknowledge and confirm receipt of this message."
Peters had left a typed email address, dirkstruan1840@gmail.com, printed on the box, according to court documents.
Police arrived at the scene a short time later and began a tense, eight-hour wait while the crying young woman cradled the claimed explosive device with only one officer, Constable Karen Lowden, keeping her company.
Bomb squad experts that evening discovered the bomb was a fake and contained no explosives.
Investigators later tracked Peters, who lived at Copacabana on the Central Coast, accessing the email account from Kincumber Library and an Avoca video store only a few hours after he committed the bomb hoax.
He fled to Louisville, Kentucky, where his ex-wife lived, five days later, but he was arrested by US FBI agents on August 15 before being extradited to Australia.
The court document disclose that Peters later told police he had set up the Dirk Struan email address to back up a book he had been working on and he had taken the name from the protagonist in a James Clavell novel, Tai Pan, he had read years ago.
He claimed the collar-bomb box, made from a modified gun safe, had been stolen from his Copacabana property about two weeks before the crime.
Police learned Peters had used his credit card to buy the baseball bat, lanyard and USB drive the month before he broke into the Pulver home.
This morning, his solicitor Kathy Crittenden said the 51-year-old was "profoundly sorry" for what he had done to the Mosman family.
The victim and her parents, Bill and Belinda, were also present in Central Local Court today to hear the plea.
Outside the court, Mr Pulver said Peters' admission of guilt had brought the family closure, although the crime still remained "a mystery" and "random" to them.
He thanked police and the Director of Public Prosecutions for their work, as well as everyone who had offered support to the family since the traumatic incident.
"A poor decision by one man has prompted a truly extraordinary and inspiring response from many thousands of people and we will be forever grateful," he said.
Peters is due to appear in the District Court for sentencing on March 16.
Wright By:kevin,Tags:ed hardyed hardy clothingChristian Audigier
没有评论:
发表评论