Man arrested in Italy over Easey St murders of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has said a suspect in the 47-year-old Easey Street murders has been a person of interest for a “number of years” as the man was arrested in Italy.
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The sister of a victim of the Easey Street murders says she has spent every day “hoping” for a breakthrough as a man is arrested over the crime.
The man, a 65-year-old Australian-Greek national, was detained in Rome on Thursday over the killings of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett, 28, on Easey St in Collingwood.
They were stabbed to death with Ms Armstrong’s 16-month-old son in the house.
The double murder has been the subject of active investigation for decades as one of Victoria’s Police’s highest priority murder inquiries.
On Saturday, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said police had arrested the man at 9pm on Thursday evening.
An interpol red notice was issued with two charges of murder and one charge of rape.
“It has been and continues to be a significant investigation that we’ve sought to solve,” he said.
He said the families were “emotional, speechless and overwhelmed.
“We don’t forget these matters.”
He said there was “no expiry” to crimes such as this.
“I think it’s an amazing outcome,” he added.
The man was arrested at the Leonardo da Vinci Airport.
He said the suspect had been a person of interest for a “number of years”.
“I think this is Victoria’s most serious cold case and longest cold case that we’ve ever solved,” he added.
He said it was a painstaking process to wait for the suspect to have left Greece for Italy.
The accused was 17 at the time of the murders.
Any charges cannot be laid until he lands back in Australia.
Mr Patton said the extradition process could take months as authorities in Europe would have to agree to such terms.
“We need to go through the federal Attorney-General’s department, we need to provide materials so we can then present that to an Italian court, it needs to be translated into Italian, we’ll need to provide some evidence and there will be detectives from Victoria go over and give that evidence to justify the extradition,” he said.
“The timelines for the extradition will be set by the Italian authorities, I wouldn’t expect we would be going over (to Italy) anywhere before ... it would be at least a month before detectives would be going over but I can’t be certain of those timelines.
“That will be determined by the authorities over there.”
Mr Patton said the accused wasn’t legally allowed to be arrested in Greece.
“He wasn’t able to be arrested in Greece. There is a 20-year, as I understand, statute bar on initiation of murder charges. Our warrant wasn’t issued within that 20-year period and so it was a matter of waiting, if you like, until he was outside of Greece,” he added.
“I don’t know the reason why the suspect was in Italy, or was transitioning through or to Rome. All I know is that through having the warrants in place, through working with interpol, the red notice has worked.”
The two women were last seen alive on the evening of January 10, 1977.
Suzanne’s son, who was left unattended in his cot when police arrived, was not physically harmed.
The homicide squad in 2017 offered a $1m reward for any information leading to an arrest and subsequent conviction over the murders.
Police in 2017 said they were sifting through 131 people of interest and 41 of those were already deceased.
The former Benalla High School mates both had a large friendship group and were murdered in their nightwear.
Two notes were left at the Collingwood home before the bodies were discovered.
One note was pinned to the front door by neighbours who had found their dog had escaped.
Ms Armstong’s boyfriend left another note in the kitchen.
He and his brother entered through the home’s back door a day after the killings but did not see the two deceased bodies near the front of the home.
Neighbours found the pair on January 13, more than two days after they were killed.
Among the vast array of men who came under scrutiny over the years were a high-profile sportsman, a gangland figure, a journalist and multiple violent sex offenders.
Many were ruled out via thousands of hours of painstaking alibi checking and other processes.
DNA later took more of the men out of the inquiry, enabling police to narrow their focus.
Victim’s sister thanks police
Ms Armstrong’s sister, Gayle, told the Sunday Herald Sun she spent every day since the unthinkable tragedy “hoping” for a breakthrough.
“Thank you to the police, thank you to the detectives,” she said.
She revealed a homicide squad detective, who tirelessly worked on the case over the years, promised her that if police ever laid an arrest he would knock on her door.
He arrived on her doorstep this morning.
But Ms Armstrong said he called her to break the news when he realised she was not home.
“I’m sure (the arrest) would never have happened without him.”
She added that she always “believed in the police” as the decades slowly passed.
“It has been more than 50 years and (the investigation) went so quiet for so long.
“I just lived every day and just hoped.”
But over the past couple of hours, she has been lost for words.
“I don’t think there is a word,” she said, when asked to describe how she was feeling.
“I’ve cried and shaked. My words don’t come out.”
She said she hopes the man stays in custody “where he belongs”, adding that she was “absolutely disgusted” that for years he has been free to live his life.
“The police have got the bastard,” she said.
“It’s most important that people know that the police, eventually, will get the person.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
In a statement, the Armstrong and Bartlett families said: “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.
“The gravity of the circumstances surrounding their deaths changed our lives irrevocably.
“We will be forever grateful for the support and understanding shown to us by our friends and family over the past 47 years.
“It is difficult to sufficiently express our appreciation to Victoria Police and the many investigators who have tirelessly pursued answers and justice for us over such a long period of time. The perseverance and dedication required to achieve the result today is something to truly behold. For always giving us hope and never giving up, we simply say, thank you.”
Neighbours’ relief over arrest
The young couple occupying the Easey St home in Collingwood were not home on the day of the arrest but their german shepherd barked loudly.
The home’s exterior has had a fresh lick of paint but the structure remains largely untouched since the ’70s.
A vacant car yard still sits next to the home just metres from Hoddle St and a cobblestone laneway runs parallel.
Neighbours on Saturday said they were absolutely shocked to hear of the decades-long breakthrough.
“Wow, there are still quite a lot of people I talk to and I tell them I live on Easey St, and they ask if that’s the one with the murders,” neighbour Cory-Dean West said.
“It’s just a relief knowing that someone who could’ve potentially got away with a heinous crime is not out there.
“It’s going to bring comfort to the community, wow, it’s amazing, it’s huge.”
Ollie Parry-Jones, who grew up a few doors down, said it was huge for the city of Melbourne.
“Honestly, growing up in the area, it was a relief to hear. You think after 50 years the person has gotten away with it so it’s a massive relief,” he said on Easey St.
“I’m just really, really happy for the family that there can finally be a bit of closure.
“Everyone talks about it, everyone knows, so it’s something I’ve been brought up with.
“To hear it’s actually been solved, it really is a momentous day for the suburb and the city.”
Fellow neighbour Zoe Cortizo, who rents an apartment across the street, said it was “wild” to know investigators picked up the suspect in Rome.
“I was gobsmacked because it’s such an old story,” she said.
One resident, how moved into one of the neighbouring homes in 1987, recalled his conversations with key witness Gladys Coventry at the time.
Ms Coventry, who at the time was well into her 70s, is believed to have told investigators that she saw a man leaving the home that night.
“She was an old lady at the time in 1977 and she sat up at night, and she says she saw the guy,” neighbour Hugh recalled.
“She says she saw them talking and having a nice night then much later he was washing his hands and disappeared.
“She (saw) all of that through her window.
“She told me the story and it was shocking.”
Hugh said he hoped for a positive result in the coming weeks.
“Fingers crossed. I know it’s a long way from complete resolution, it would be a tremendous outcome after 47 years,” he added .
“It’s given the street a notorious name but it ought not to, because who wouldn’t want to live in Easey St.”
Collingwood locals swung by the home on Saturday afternoon to check out the house at the centre of the crime.
Some took photos of the home while others told stories of their memory of the case.
Timeline: From killings to arrest
January 10, 1977: Friends Suzanne Armstrong, 28, and Susan Bartlett, 27, from Benalla are stabbed to death inside their Easey St home in Collingwood.
January 12, 1977: Ms Armstrong’s sister’s boyfriend visits the home via the back door, leaving a note for the pair on the kitchen table. He does not discover their bodies, with Ms Armstrong’s body found on her bed and Bartlett found in the hallway near the front door.
January 13, 1977: The bodies are found by neighbours, who raise the alarm. Ms Armstrong’s 16-month-old son, Gregory, was found unharmed – but distressed and dehydrated – in his cot.
1990: DNA experts develop a profile from items found at the crime scene.
1999: DNA technology eliminates all eight prime suspects.
2010: A ninth suspect is eliminated by DNA technology.
January 2017: Victoria Police announces it will test the DNA of another 90 living and 41 dead people connected to the case. It also offers a $1m reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the deaths.
2017: One of the suspects, an Australian-Greek national, 57, agrees to undertake a DNA test, but never provides a sample. He leaves the country for Athens, where he would be protected against extradition. A sample taken from his close relative matches DNA found at the scene.
2017-2024: Authorities monitor the man in case he leaves Greece and visits another country from which he could be extradited.
September 19, 2024: The man, now aged 65, is arrested in Rome after arriving at Leonardo da Vinci international airport about 9pm (AEST). An Interpol red notice had been issued seeking his arrest. He will remain in custody as Victoria Police seeks his extradition.
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