A man wanted in Australia’s most infamous cold murder cases, described as Melbourne's 1977 Easey Street murders, has been extradited from Rome, Italy.
According to ABC, the 65-year-old suspect is expected to touch down in Melbourne late on Tuesday evening, December 2, 2024.
Australian-Greek national Perry Kouroumblis is a suspect in the murder of two women, Suzanne Armstrong, 27, and Susan Bartlett, 28, who were stabbed to death in their Collingwood share house almost half a century ago.
He was detained at an airport in Rome on an Interpol Red Notice in September 2024 and was put on a Qatar Airways flight on Monday afternoon, December 1, 2024.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton at the time of arrest described the Easey Street murder as the state's "most serious cold case," adding, “It was an absolutely gruesome, horrific, frenzied homicide.”
Moreover, two high school friends were found dead in their home on Easey Street on January 13, 1977, three days after they were last seen alive.
As per the police, both of the women were stabbed more than a dozen times, and Ms. Armstrong had been sexually assaulted while his 16-month-old son was left unharmed in the cot.
Kouroumblis first came under the radar a week after a 17-year-old was found bloodied near the scene and became the focus of police investigation in recent years after DNA testing.
Police were unable to arrest Kouroumblis, who had been working as a welder in Athens since 2016, as under Greek law charges must be filed within 20 years of a crime.
However, when he traveled to Italy, the police arrested him because there were no such rules there.
After Kouroumblis's arrest, the families of the victims issued a statement that read, “For two quiet families from country Victoria, it has always been impossible to comprehend the needless and violent manner in which Suzanne and Susan died.”
They also thanked the police for always giving hope and never giving up.
