Man arrested in New Zealand over the murder of Robert Sabeckis on Maslin Beach in 2000
THE New Zealand man charged with committing one of South Australia’s most baffling murders was blindsided by his arrest in Auckland — as SA Police prepare to extradite him.
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THE New Zealand man charged with committing one of South Australia’s most baffling murders was blindsided by his arrest in Auckland — as SA Police prepare to extradite him.
Robert Sabeckis, 42, was shot twice with a shotgun in the Gull Rock car park at Maslin Beach, south of Adelaide, early on the morning of January 13, 2000.
The killer is believed to have driven Mr Sabeckis’ silver Ford Falcon east along Tuitt Rd before crashing into a fence and abandoning the car.
The suspect then fled across paddocks towards Port Willunga, according to a witness.
On Friday, New Zealand Police announced they had arrested a 43-year-old man on a warrant issued in the South Australia Magistrates Court in January.
South Australia Police will seek the man’s extradition to face the murder charge.
The man appeared on Friday in Waitakere District Court in Auckland, where his identity was suppressed by Judge Kevin Glubb after lengthy argument by his defence lawyer.
The arrest follows a DNA match after legislation was changed in 2017 to allow access to information on the New Zealand DNA database — this is the first search that returned a hit against a profile held on the database.
SA Police’s Head of Major Crime Des Bray said the suspect was blindsided by his arrest near Auckland on Thursday afternoon.
He said once charged with murder, he was “indifferent” and showed “no reaction at all”.
“There (have been) no suspects at all for the last 18 years,” he said.
“Once we had identified (the suspect) we conducted no inquiries (in SA) for fear of warning him until we had a number of priorities in place.
“He would have had nothing to indicate this was coming.”
At the time of his arrest, the man was single and living alone at a boarding house in Auckland’s western outskirts.
Det Supt Bray said news of the arrest brought “enormous satisfaction” for detectives and the family.
“(The family are) really excited, they’re really satisfied that somebody has been identified. That somebody will be held accountable and it won’t just be another unsolved homicide,” he said.
“When you get a breakthrough like this, especially so long after, there’s enormous satisfaction that you can actually deliver a result that’s going to at least deliver some comfort to the families.
“(Robert) was a single fellow and living with his mum. He was an accountant, a singer, a good, decent person who was a victim of a terrible homicide.”
From an early age Mr Sabeckis showed a strong interest in performing arts and was a naturally gifted singer.
As a loyal member of the Lithuanian Community Club, he dedicated himself to its choir, theatre and folk dancing groups.
He studied at Adelaide High School and in 1988 performed at the University of Adelaide’s Scott Theatre in the play Mindaugas. Years later he reluctantly stepped away from theatre to focus on marketing consultant work.
Those who performed closely with Mr Sabeckis said he was a gentle man said had exceptional gifts on stage.
Up until his death Mr Sabeckis socialised at the Lithuanian Club most Saturdays and lived with his mother at St Peters.
Det Supt Bray said police still weren’t able to establish a motive for the brutal killing.
In 2000, when police searched the area surrounding Mr Sabeckis’ crashed car, they found a sawn-off shotgun and a jacket.
Both items helped police construct a DNA profile of the killer.
Two weeks earlier, on New Year’s Eve, the shotgun and a pistol were stolen during a break-in at Aldinga Beach.
The Dover St house was burned down after the theft, destroying any potential forensic evidence.
Police recovered a bag containing rocks, clothing, ammunition, and the sawn off butt of the shotgun off Aldinga Beach on 13 January.
SA Police are asking the community if anyone recalls a 25-year-old man of Maori or Pacific Islander appearance living in Aldam St, Aldinga Beach in 2000.
He drove a brown or gold coloured Holden Gemini and attended Adult Learning at the Christies Beach High School in 2000.
In 2009, the State Government offered $200,000 to help solve the cold-case murder. In 2016, police offered immunity from prosecution for any person involved in the break-in but not the murder.
In October, The Advertiser exclusively revealed Forensic Science SA had requested more funding to help clear DNA testing backlogs.
The request, which was rejected at the time, meant investigations into some of the state’s most notorious cold case murders stalled because key exhibits that could yield vital new DNA evidence could not be analysed quickly enough.
However, as a direct result of the The Advertiser’s revelation, the State Government provided additional funding and two more specialist forensic scientists were hired this year to help overcome delays.
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