Matthew Norman’s life looks starkly different from the time he spent behind bars in Indonesia.
Now, the 38-year-old is living a quiet life in the coastal town of Torquay in Victoria, in a $5 million beachfront home.
This Wednesday (September 17) marks his 39th birthday – his first as a free man, after spending almost 20 years in prison.
Norman was the youngest member of the Bali Nine syndicate, and after his 2005 arrest, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006.
He and the other Bali Nine members, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, and Scott Rush, were released in December 2024, and returned to Australia.
He calls Victoria home with his wife Anita and her daughter, Stella.
What happened to Matthew Norman?
The home was offered to him by Torquay Christian Fellowship CEO Alan Wilkins and his wife, Ann, who visited him while he was in prison.
In Victoria, he is currently learning to drive and is on his P-Plates.
Anita told the Daily Mail that her husband’s release was a “miracle of God”.
The couple met in 2010, when Anita regularly brought him food to maintain his health. In 2016, they got married while he was still behind bars.
Fast forward to this February, and the couple celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary.
“Happy wedding anniversary, knowing you 15 years, married to you for 9 years, now having you for real, it’s by God’s miracle, and my waiting hasn’t been for nothing…” she wrote on Facebook.
In the post, she also thanked their friends and loved ones for their support and prayers.
Who are the members of the Bali Nine?
Before Norman’s release in 2024, Bali Nine member Renae Lawrence was released in 2018, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died from stomach cancer, and Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed in 2015.
In January, Norman was re-arrested at Waverly Police Station and was charged with being a passenger in a stolen car in March 2005 – a month before his arrest in Bali.
Police alleged that he knew that the Ford had been stolen. He was granted bail and was set to reappear in court in February.
While the couple has settled into their new family life, Anita said they were still negotiating future employment opportunities in Australia.
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