Australian professor and sister found in shallow grave in Argentina
The bodies of an Australian professor and her sister found killed in the Argentine city of Mendoza were so badly mutilated, DNA tests are needed to confirm their identities.
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The remains of a NSW university professor and her sister have been discovered in a shallow grave in the city of Mendoza in Argentina, as the son and nephew of the women has been charged with their murders.
According to The Australian, the bodies of Lily Pereg, a professor of microbiology at the University of New England, and her sister Pyrhia Sarussi were found by police at a property in Mendoza.
The property was reportedly occupied by 63-year-old Ms Sarussi’s son, Gil Pereg.
Police prosecutors have arrested Mr Pereg, 36, and charged him with murder, according to local media reports.
Argentinian media also suggested that Mr Pereg was having financial difficulties.
Ms Pereg, 54, was appointed a full professor at UNE just days before she travelled to the US and then to Argentina.
Police have reportedly located footage of the two sisters entering a shed at Mr Pereg’s property but there is no record of them leaving, according to local media reports.
An Argentinian prosecutor says their cause of death will be released after an autopsy is conducted.
‘EXTREME CRUELTY’
Argentinian newspaper La Nacion reports sources as saying the murders were “committed with extreme cruelty”, adding that the state of their bodies was so poor that their individual identities have not yet been confirmed.
La Nacion says it has obtained an advanced copy of the autopsy report from the prosecutors office, stating one of the women had been shot three times. The second body had not been shot, but showed wounds consistent with attempts to fend off heavy blows.
The report adds that the women, once deceased, were staked ‘in different parts’ with iron spikes.
Prosecutors say DNA tests are being conducted to establish their identities, and are expected to be completed ‘in the next few hours’.
FAMILY ‘SHOCK’
Ms Pereg was born in Israel where she studied science for her bachelor’s degree, before completing a Master’s degree where she specialised in the nitrogen fixation of seagrass.
She relocated to Australia in the mid 1990s after gaining a scholarship to complete a PhD at the University of Sydney. She transferred to UNE in the early 2000s, where she was an associate professor before her recent promotion to full professor.
Family members have not heard from the pair since January 11. Mr Pereg reported the two missing on January 14. They had createed a GoFundMe page to raise money to conduct a search for the missing pair. A message on the page expressed ‘shock’ at their disappearance.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have confirmed they are providing consular assistance to Ms Pereg’s family but would not comment further.
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