‘High stakes’: How Geelong cops, homicide squad made swift arrest of Paul Grapsas alleged killer
Geelong police and homicide detectives are being praised for making a swift arrest following the grisly alleged killing of a loving husband and father on a sleepy suburban street.
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Geelong and homicide detectives are being praised for making a swift arrest following the grisly killing of a loving husband and father on a sleepy suburban street.
Investigators used good old fashioned police work to zero in on the alleged murderer of Paul Grapsas, 40, before making a stunning arrest in Ocean Grove on Tuesday night.
It came just five days after his body was found near his Western Beach Rd home.
The alleged killer, identified as 18-year-old Belmont man Bailey Clifford, was known to police.
It’s understood the alleged attack was completely random and the pair were not known to each other.
Police spent days canvassing the surrounding streets speaking to residents and witnesses, dusting several cars for fingerprints and taking more than 500 hours of CCTV from across the city.
It’s believed the footage will be central to the prosecution’s case against the teenager.
Highly respected retired Geelong detective, Gary Bruce, said the pressure on investigators to solve the case “would have ramped up” in line with community fear.
“In any of these really serious crimes there is a community expectation that they be solved quickly, and certainly the community leaders would have been wanting that,” he said.
“I would assume from the very start it seemed to be a senseless crime, so certainly in that area, there would have been a fair bit of shock and angst to get this done.
“This would have been the result they wanted.”
Stunned residents living in the neighbourhood said there had been an “eerie feeling” permeating the bayside location until police swooped on their suspect.
Nearby resident John Manserra, 35, speaking on Malone Street where the body was found, called it “sensational police work”.
He said the death had hit a nerve.
“It would be high stakes, everyone just wanted to know who could do that,” he said.
“It’s bloody awful to think someone died right here on this street.
“Hopefully the bloke who did it will get locked up for a long time.”
Mercer Street resident Poobalen Rangisetti, 40, said “my wife can breathe a little easier” following the arrest.
“She was very worried,” he said.
“The police have been really efficient, really fast.
“You could tell how thorough they were.”
Investigators are now expected to sift through between 20-50 exhibits before Mr Clifford fronts court again, which could be delayed until early 2024 given the mountain of potential evidence.
Mr Grapsas was found dead by his wife on Malone Street about 4am on Friday, September 15.
The street is less than 500m from the Geelong Police headquarters and close to the city’s picturesque waterfront.
The father of two, who was expecting his third child, was last seen alive leaving to walk his dog about 10pm the previous night.
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Originally published as ‘High stakes’: How Geelong cops, homicide squad made swift arrest of Paul Grapsas alleged killer
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