Russell Manser’s life was a journey from trauma to transformation-a former bank robber who survived institutional abuse, spent 23 years in prison & later became a powerful advocate for survivors through his organisation Voice of a Survivor. Despite his redemption & influence as a TikTok figure, his story ended tragically with his sudden death in 2024 & posthumous controversy linked to a compensation fraud investigation.
Early Life & Family
Born in 1967 in Mount Druitt, Western Sydney, Russell Manser grew up in a law-abiding, working-class family. His parents, whose names have not been publicly recorded, believed strongly in discipline & reputation. He had no known siblings.
Friends remember him as a cheerful child who began mixing with the wrong crowd in his early teens. “He was just a happy kid, but he started hanging out with a different crowd,” said childhood friend Sarah Johnson. Manser later recalled watching workers wait at the bus stop each morning while flashy ex-offenders cruised past in new cars. “That’s what I wanted to be like,” he said.
Daruk Boys Home-The First Trauma (1981–82)
At fifteen, after stealing a ute & crashing during a police chase, Manser was sent to Daruk Boys Home in Windsor. Within days he witnessed staff dragging boys from beds to the ablutions block. He soon became a victim himself – sexually abused by a male officer & punished when he tried to report it.
He once ran away to tell his parents, but his father was seriously ill with emphysema. Ashamed and terrified, he returned & was thrown into a freezing isolation cell, naked and alone. “There you just jogged on the spot to keep warm,” he recalled. From that ordeal he learned two things – distrust of authority & how to steal luxury cars.
Long Bay Prison-Aged Seventeen
In 1984, after stealing a Porsche from Whale Beach, Manser was sentenced to twelve months in Long Bay Jail-a sentence the judge hoped would deter “kids from Mount Druitt stealing Porsches from affluent areas.” Instead, it exposed him to greater harm.
Placed in a protection wing with sex offenders, a guard remarked “have fun boys” as he shut the door. That night, the teenager was raped. A few days later another inmate offered him heroin-his first dose-in exchange for silence. “An emotional void was created within me,” he later said. He would call the experience “government-sanctioned sexual abuse.”
The Criminal Spiral (1985 – 2000s)
Released with rage & a heroin addiction, Manser robbed banks to fund his habit. Between the late 1980s and mid-1990s he committed five armed robberies, once taking $90,000 from a Lane Cove bank. He described the rush as “like parachuting out of a plane.”
Fellow inmates nicknamed him a “gentleman bank robber” for his politeness towards tellers, but he later rejected the title: “There’s no such thing as a gentleman robber. I traumatised people.”
In his twenties he was handed a 15-year sentence for armed robbery. Detective Terry Dwyer eventually caught him on CCTV pretending to brandish a gun with his finger under his jacket. Across two decades he spent about 23 years in prisons across NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Rehabilitation & Relapse (2000–2014)
While serving time in Queensland in the early 2000s, Manser joined a Special Care Unit for rehabilitation and completed every course offered. After his release around 2005 he opened a gym & became a fitness instructor, married & had two sons. For several years he stayed clean.
By 2013 the pressures of unresolved trauma & addiction returned. He began drinking & using amphetamines. “If I have a shot of ice or speed, I’ll end up in a psych ward two hours later,” he admitted. He was arrested again in 2014-his final time behind bars.
The Royal Commission & Revelation (2017 – 2018)
From his cell in 2017 Manser wrote a one-page letter to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Three weeks later investigators visited him-a moment he called life-changing.
Diagnosed with chronic PTSD, he received compensation and a formal NSW Government apology. “The letter meant ten times more than the money,” he said. There were no criminal charges against his abusers-they had since died-but the validation started his healing.
When other prisoners learned he was talking to the Commission, he gathered them in the yard to explain. “I’m not talking to police. I’m talking about what happened to me.” Dozens then shared their own stories-the seed of his future advocacy.
The Voice of a Survivor (2018 – 2023)
Upon release, he founded The Voice of a Survivor in Coffs Harbour with lawyer Peter O’Brien. The organisation helped former inmates & abuse victims navigate redress & civil claims, charging administrative fees to fund case support staff.
“They’re more comfortable talking to someone like me than to any authority figure,” he said. Deputy Commissioner Luke Grant later invited him into NSW prisons to mentor inmates on rehabilitation & accountability.
By 2020 his organisation had grown nationally, assisting hundreds of survivors. While critics accused the group of “claim farming,” Manser insisted it was a legitimate support service. Administrative errors led to its voluntary liquidation in 2023.
Redemption & Recognition (2020 – 2023)
Manser’s turnaround earned public attention. He appeared on true-crime podcasts & co-authored his autobiography The Voice of a Survivor – The Russell Manser Story with ex-bank robber & writer John Killick.
In May 2022 his life was featured on a national television documentary that aired at 8 p.m. across Australia, hailed as “one of the great turnarounds.” He later appeared on Gary Jubelin’s podcast I Catch Killers in 2023.
He built a social media following of more than 134 000 people on TikTok, using videos with his eldest son Ky to encourage men to discuss mental health. “I’m not asking for forgiveness,” he told followers. “I just want to make amends.”
Love & Relationships
After leaving prison for the final time, Manser met barrister Mary Keaney, a self-described “not your average barrister” & social-justice advocate admitted to the bar in 2017. She had previously worked for the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Legal Services in Alice Springs & Brisbane.
The pair bought a farm at Stokers Siding in 2020 for $1.24 million and lived there with horses & dogs. He called her his “soulmate” & posted that they were “the bank robber & the barrister – a great team.” They eventually separated but remained on cordial terms.
He later dated Liliana Gagic, a Serbian-born woman with whom he lived on the Gold Coast. Even after they split, she described him as “a warrior & one in a million man.” Throughout everything he remained devoted to his sons, especially Ky.
Death & Tributes (March 2024)
On Saturday 23 March 2024, Russell Manser was found unresponsive by a loved one in his apartment at King Street Wharf, Sydney. He was 56. Police found no suspicious circumstances. He had posted a video hours earlier discussing Asian gangs in prison. Friends said he had been grieving the recent death of a close friend.
Tributes poured in. His son Ky wrote, “RIP Dad. I’ve just lost my best friend.” Advocate Harrison James called him “a beacon of hope for survivors.” Razor Legal praised his inspiring turnaround, while Fighters Against Child Abuse Australia dubbed him “the ultimate redemption story.”
His partner Liliana posted, “Goodbye my lover, until we meet again.”
Strike Force Veritas & Posthumous Controversy (2025)
In February 2025, police charged seven people in an alleged fraudulent child-abuse compensation ring worth over $1 billion. Investigators said so-called “claims farmers” coached ex-offenders & former students to lodge false abuse claims for profit.
Among those arrested was Manser’s 23-year-old son Ky Manser, accused of publishing misleading material to obtain advantage. The alleged ringleader was Fotis Antonios, 55, from Girraween, charged with 21 fraud-related offences.
Police allege Antonios referred more than 100 people in four months & coached them using fabricated scripts to maximise payouts. The scheme targeted civil claims against the Departments of Education & Communities and Justice, with proceeds nicknamed “bum money.”
Detective Superintendent Gordon Arbinja said one-third of inmates at Cooma Correctional Centre had lodged claims under review. Police intervention stopped around $30 million in pending payouts, but officers believe the total fraudulent exposure could reach $1.3 billion.
Although Manser had died a year earlier, investigators suggested he may have had early links to individuals in the network. He was never charged. The Voice of a Survivor had already been liquidated in 2023, before the probe began.
Legacy & Lessons
Russell Manser’s story is one of pain, resilience and moral complexity. He was a career criminal turned healer, a victim who became a voice for others but whose work was later shadowed by allegations.
He spent 23 years in prison, yet his final decade outside inspired thousands to speak about trauma, addiction & mental health. His talks remain part of corrective-services training modules on rehabilitation & trauma-informed practice in several Australian states.
Even amid controversy, his message endures:
“It’s never too late to change your life-I’m proof of that.”
FAQs
Who was Russell Manser?
A Sydney bank robber who spent 23 years in jail before becoming an advocate for victims of institutional child abuse.
What was The Voice of a Survivor?
An advocacy service he co-founded to assist survivors of institutional abuse with redress and rehabilitation support.
How did he die?
He was found unresponsive at his Sydney apartment in March 2024. The cause of death was not publicly disclosed.
What was the fraud case after his death?
In 2025 police charged seven people over a $1 billion compensation fraud scheme. Manser himself was not charged but was under investigation.
What is his legacy?
A symbol of transformation and proof that confronting trauma can lead to healing — even after a lifetime of mistakes.
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