Robert Sabeckis cold case murder accused Paul Brevridge Maroroa faces court in SA for the first time
THE man arrested over the January 2000 cold case murder of Robert Sabeckis has appeared in an Adelaide court for the first time — and tried to hide his face behind his T-shirt.
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THE man arrested over the January 2000 cold case murder of Robert Sabeckis has appeared in an Adelaide court for the first time — and tried to hide his face behind his T-shirt.
Paul Beveridge Maroroa, 43, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday, following his extradition from New Zealand late last week.
As he was led into the dock from the cells, Maroroa — who was handcuffed — pulled the collar of his black T-shirt up over his face, until his guard told him not to.
Mr 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.
Maroroa’s arrest, in Auckland last week, prompted an alleged match between his genetic profile and a DNA sample on the case file.
Prior to 2017, SA Police were not permitted to cross-reference DNA samples with overseas jurisdictions — legislative change made the arrest possible.
Last week, SA Police’s Head of Major Crime Des Bray said there “were no suspects” in the case “for 18 years”, until the DNA match.
He said Maroroa was blindsided by his arrest, but then became “indifferent” and “showed no reaction at all”.
On Monday, Stephen Ey, for Maroroa, said his client would not be applying for bail.
Magistrate Sue O’Connor remanded him in custody until June.
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