Russell Manser’s girlfriend breaks her silence about notorious bank robber-turned-TikTok star’s sudden death – as new details emerge

The girlfriend of reformed criminal turned TikTok star Russell Manser has paid a heartfelt tribute to her loved one after he died unexpectedly at the age of 56 this weekend.

Manser was a serial bank robber who spent 23 years in prisons in Australia until he turned his life around and founded the charity ‘Voice of a Survivor’ to help victims of abuse.

His cause of death has not yet been made public, but sources told Daily Mail Australia he was found ‘unresponsive’ by a loved one at a residential address in Sydney.

Manser had about 134,000 followers on TikTok and had only recently shared a video discussing Asian gangs in prisons and days earlier the disappearance of missing Ballarat mother Samantha Murphy.

Fans and loved ones flooded social media to pay tribute to Manser, praising his work as an advocate for those victims of physical, psychological and sexual abuse.

On Sunday evening, his partner Liliana Gagic posted a series of photos of them together on Instagram.

In the caption, she wrote, “Goodbye my love, until we meet again.”

Former inmate Max Beer posted a video with Manser on TikTok with the caption: “RIP my brother, my best friend.”

In the video, the pair talked about the importance of staying motivated and not comparing yourself to others. “Just be happy with you,” Manser said.

The women’s rights campaign group Equality Light Gratitude thanked him for his speech against domestic violence.

“He stood up for women and DV issues in general, saying it is never okay to use control, restraint, or violence,” the TikTok post said.

‘Such a great example of reform – why did we have to lose one of the good men so early? Prayers are with his loved ones.”

Another friend wrote a lengthy Facebook tribute to Manser early Monday morning.

In the post, she said Manser encouraged her with calls and texts, which “saved” her from relapsing and returning to prison.

“Russ has saved me so many times that it’s not funny that he saved me from a relapse. He saved me from going back to prison with his words of encouragement and his calls and messages,” she wrote.

“Most importantly, he gave hope and strength not only to myself, but to many others when the system tried to break us.”

“He taught me that no matter what your past looks like, your future can still be as bright as you want it to be, you just have to work for it and always believe in yourself.”

Adam Washbourne, from an organization called Fighters Against Child Abuse, posted a video tribute on Facebook.

“Russell is much more than the ultimate redemption arc, he is much more than the child abuse survivor who went from boys’ homes to prison and had a media empire and a book deal,” he said.

‘He’s also probably the best friend you can have – he’s the absolute definition of cheer when your friends win, even when you’re not involved.

“I absolutely love you, Russell, and you will be greatly missed.”

Manser was the youngest of six children and grew up in Mount Druitt, in Sydney’s west.

His parents were British migrants who supported their large family by working in factories.

He previously said there was no domestic violence or alcoholism in his family, but he noticed convicted criminals returning to Mount Druitt from prison were almost rewarded by the community.

They had new cars, nice clothes and attractive girlfriends, while everyone else looked exhausted and miserable – waking up at 5am in the middle of winter to work a 10-hour shift in a factory.

The year he turned 17, he stole a Porsche from the wealthy suburb of Whale Beach on Sydney’s northern beaches and was given an adult prison sentence of 12 months at Long Bay Correctional Centre.

He recalled a prison guard throwing his mattress on the floor of a cell he shared with two men in a protection wing of the prison, which was used to house convicted pedophiles.

“Have fun, guys,” the guard had said.

He was abused that night, and again a few nights later by a third inmate who offered him his first shot of heroin in exchange for his silence.

At the time, Manser had been in juvenile detention at the Daruk Boys Home in Windsor, northwest of Sydney.

Within days of his six-month prison sentence, he was sexually assaulted by guards.

“The first night I saw staff taking children out of bed and taking them to the toilet block,” he told ABC’s Australian Story.

“The second or third night I smelled one of the staff members breathing on me, and he was breathing like a sewer.

‘He marched me into the toilet block and sexually assaulted me.’

Authorities have since called on any man who attended the school between 1965 and 1985 to come forward. In 2018, it was reported that at least 80 alleged victims had spoken out about cases of sexual and physical abuse in the home.

Manser left prison a shell of his former self, harboring an addiction to heroin.

He then robbed five banks in the early 1990s, on one occasion stealing $90,000 from the Commonwealth Bank in Lane Cove in Sydney’s north.

Manser committed five robberies within a few months and, at the age of 23, was sentenced to fifteen years behind bars, with a non-parole period of seven and a half years.

He set up a charity, but it folded last July as victims hesitated to come forward due to the NSW Supreme Court’s decision not to pursue cases in which the alleged perpetrator had died.

“It’s been really tough lately,” Manser told Daily Mail Australia at the time.

Manser had a podcast called The Stick Up, which included businessman Mark Bouris, Australian rapper Ay Huncho, NRL star Liam Knight and ex-criminal turned porn star Dale Egan.

He also became known for lifting the lid on what life was like in some of Australia’s toughest prisons and what their most notorious residents were really like.

Manser is survived by his two sons.

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