‘Perry was a problem boy’: Accused Easey Street killer had appetite for trouble, cousin says

Accused Easey Street double murderer Perry Kouroumblis was “a problem boy” who spent his teenage years breaking into homes, stealing jewellery and drifting in and out of youth detention.

Speaking from his home in Greece, Kouroumblis’ estranged cousin Periklis Kouroumblis described the 65-year-old as a “jerk” with a difficult character.

Accused Easey Street double killer Perry Kouroumblis.

He said his cousin kept to himself and had an appetite for trouble from a young age.

“Perry was a problem boy,” Periklis told Nine News. “He’s a difficult guy. Difficult character.”

Perry Kouroumblis, a dual Greek and Australian citizen, has been living in Athens since 2017. That’s when he left Australia after being asked by cold-case homicide detectives to submit a DNA sample as part of the investigation into the rape and murder of Suzanne Armstrong and the murder of Susan Bartlett in January 1977. No charges have been laid over their deaths.

The 65-year-old had been working as a welder and living with his brother, Andreas, in a family home in Athens – until his arrest under an Interpol red notice at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport last week.

Images obtained by Nine News show a heavily secured property with a metal gate and bars in the windows. A concrete path flanked by palm trees and other vegetation leads down to a modest home guarded by a large dog. A sign hanging from the front gate warns passers-by to beware of the canine.

“Can you please respect my privacy?” Andreas told Nine News when approached in Athens on Tuesday. “I hope the truth comes out.”

Periklis Kouroumblis said his cousin had also lived in Greece as a teenager – just a few years before the Collingwood murders.

“[Perry] was alone here when he was 14 years old. The parents lived in Australia,” he told Nine News.

Periklis Kouroumblis, a cousin of accused Easey Street double killer Perry Kouroumblis.

“Police said he went in the houses, unlocked the door with an instrument, to go inside and steal. My father was a policeman and he tried to make it better.” But, Periklis said, that effort had achieved “nothing”.

Perry Kouroumblis first came to light in the Easey Street murder investigation shortly after the crime, when police allegedly found a knife and sheath in his possession that contained traces of blood. Then 17, he told detectives he had found the knife on train tracks in Collingwood.

Court records show only minor brushes with the law in Australia. Records are not available before 1993.

Kouroumblis is in custody at the crammed Regina Coeli prison in Rome, where he is awaiting an extradition hearing that could lead to his return to Australia. However, it could be months before he faces court in Victoria.

The home in Athens where Perry Kouroumblis was living before his arrest.Credit: Nine News

Extraditions are a complex and drawn-out affair. Even after police obtain a warrant for someone’s arrest, they need to prepare a draft extradition request, which needs to be signed off by the federal attorney-general’s office before being sent overseas for consideration.

Australian authorities have 45 days from the date of Kouroumblis’ arrest in Rome to formally request his extradition.

“The obligation then flows on from Australia in terms of making its case before the Italian courts,” said Donald Rothwell, a professor of international law at the Australian National University.

Rothwell said the Italian courts would then examine the evidence put forward by Victoria Police and consider whether the case was solid enough to grant Kouroumblis’ extradition.

The suburban street in Athens where Kouroumblis had been living until his arrest. Credit: Nine News

On Tuesday, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton confirmed the government was yet to send a formal letter to Italian authorities and said it would be at least a month before cold-case homicide detectives travelled to Rome to give evidence.

“These aren’t quick processes,” Patton told ABC Radio Melbourne.

“The reality is that we have to get documents translated, we then will probably need to have detectives get over there and give some evidence as well to justify the extradition.”

Canada and the US have had recent successes requesting the extradition of serious offenders from Italy, including convicted sexual offender Bassam Al-Rawi this month and alleged drug trafficker Milos Radonjic – known as the Pirate of the Unknown – in July.

Argentina also successfully applied for the extradition of accused murderer priest Franco Reverberi, but the bid was blocked by Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, who cited Reverberi’s advanced age and health condition as the reasons for opposing the move.

Rothwell said the extradition agreement in place between Australia and Italy provided a firm ground to get Kouroumblis back to Australia.

“The only wild card is that because Italy is part of the European legal system, there’s some prospect, albeit remote at the moment, that there could be appeals within the European human rights system,” he said.

“But that’s very much down the track.”

A spokesperson for the Attorney-General’s Department said the case was being treated as high priority but could not provide an estimate on when it might be resolved.

Kouroumblis has not sought assistance from Australian consular officials, but a diplomatic source – speaking anonymously because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly – said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was ready to offer it if requested.

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