Madeleine Pulver and Paul Douglas Peters. Source: Herald Sun
The collar bomb allegedly used in the attack on Maddie Pulver / Pic: Sam Ruttyn Source: The Daily Telegraph
PAUL Douglas Peters slips a rainbow-coloured balaclava over his head and, holding his hoax collarbomb device, walks up the steps of Madeleine Pulver's home.
This, the first chapter of a crime that captured global attention, is all he can remember.
The moment he strapped the black-box fake collarbomb to the neck of the terrified schoolgirl with a lock and a USB stick - a chilling two-page typed ransom note fixed to its side - is not in the memory of the failed extortionist, according to a psychiatrist who told a court yesterday Peters was "having difficulty coming to terms with what he did".
"He recalls walking up the steps of the victim's home, and his next memory occurred about 2½ hours later at his home," forensic psychiatrist Bruce Westmore told the District Court as Peters' sentencing hearing began.
Peters, who before holding Madeleine to ransom at her Mosman home on August 3 last year became increasingly obsessed with completing his treasured historical novel, was yesterday confronted by the horror of her 10-hour ordeal.
His teenage victim was not in court to hear her captor's mind laid bare, as Dr Westmore revealed Peters was likely suffering from a bipolar disorder and was plagued by "self-centredness and self-importance".For a man so captivated by storytelling, it was little wonder Peters, 52, struggled to contain his emotion as a new character was introduced to the court - his ex-wife Debra Peters, who flew to Sydney from the US to give evidence on his behalf.
The ransom note, Peters' ex-wife Debra, the collar bomb, Paul Peters and Maddie Pulver's house. Source: The Daily Telegraph
Mrs Peters, a well-dressed American woman who still sees the failed extortionist as "her life partner", revealed a marriage built on love but destroyed by his "heavy drinking" and "mood swings".
Peters, who pleaded guilty to aggravated break and enter and detaining for advantage in March, wiped away tears as the mother of his three children - one the same age as Madeleine - said he became "disconnected" from the world.
"His moods were manic. One minute he'd be happy, the next he would be upset," Mrs Peters told the court. The couple divorced in 2007 but have remained in almost constant contact. Mrs Peters says she will move to Australia to support him.
"Paul's extremely remorseful about what has happened," she said.
But under cross-examination from senior prosecutor Margaret Cunneen SC, Mrs Peters said she doesn't have the answer to the question so desired by police, the Pulver family and the rest of the country: why? "I don't even think Paul knows why he did it," she said.
The court heard Peters talked about "becoming one of the characters" in his novel, a book his wife described as "dark".
"If he could have benefited from the crime and not been detected, then this isn't just the work of a person ... becoming a character in a book ... but a means for him to come up with a very creative story to avoid having to admit he was trying to extort money," Ms Cunneen asked.
"It's possible, yes," Dr Westmore said.
The court will hear further submissions on October 31.
Below: The Pulver family leaves court. Brother on left with mum Belinda and dad Bill on right / Pic: Sam Ruttyn
The Pulver family leaved court. Brother on left with mum Belinda and dad Bill on right / Pic: Sam Ruttyn Source: The Daily Telegraph
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