Man arrested 47 years after Melbourne’s brutal Easey Street murders rocked Australia
In 1977, two women were brutally murdered in their home. An arrest was never made – until now. WARNING: Distressing
Warning: Distressing
In January 1977, two young Melbourne women were brutally slaughtered in what has been described as “one of the most barbaric and sadistic sex murders” in Victoria’s history.
For almost five decades, the sickening crime has shocked Australia and the monster responsible for it has never been found.
Now, 47 years later, an arrest has been made.
Perry Kouroumblis, an Australian-Greek dual citizen, has agreed to be extradited from Rome, Italy to Australia to face legal proceedings over the murders.
The alleged double murderer vehemently maintains his innocence and intends to fight to clear his name, his lawyer stated.
The 65-year-old faced a hearing via video link from a jail cell in Rome’s cramped Regina Coeli prison on Monday as part of an extradition process initiated by Victoria Police.
He was dramatically arrested last week at Rome’s Fieumicino Airport on an Interpol red notice over the gruesome double murder of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Barlett at their home on Collingwood’s Easey Street back in 1977.
No charges have been laid and news.com.au is not accusing Kouroumblis of any wrongdoing.
At the time of his arrest, he had just arrived in Rome from Athens, where he had been living since 2017.
He was not extradited sooner due to Greece’s unique law that states charges must be laid within 20 years of an offence.
Attempts through diplomatic channels to have him returned to Australia all failed and he was put on an international watch list that eventually led to his arrest in Rome.
Police had just been waiting for him to leave Greece in order to pull the trigger.
“He said he wants to come back to Australia and explain everything,” his public defender, Serena Tucci, told The Age.
“He was certainly surprised that he had been arrested. He told me he came to Italy for professional reasons, work-related reasons.
“That’s what he told me. Only for a few days and then to return to Greece, and he did not expect this arrest, that’s for sure.
“He had no idea. He had no idea that there was a different law in Italy.”
Tucci said Kouroumblis was co-operating with the extradition and had exercised his right to remain silent, other than to say he was innocent and give his consent to come back to Australia.
It is now up to the Italian Minister of Justice to work with Victorian authorities to handle the extradition application within 45 days.
Tucci added that she believes the case “should be closed” before Christmas.
“Before Christmas, the case should be closed, unless there are obstructive reasons, which the office of the Italian Minister of Justice must now examine,” she said.
“Giving consent greatly facilitates the extradition process.”
Unthinkable crime
Single mother Suzanne Armstrong, 28, and schoolteacher Susan Barlett, 27, were old high school friends from Benalla in regional Victoria.
The pair had moved to Melbourne and rented a terrace house at 147 Easey Street in October 1976, just ten weeks prior to the horror killings.
On the night of the murders, Barlett’s brother and his girlfriend had visited for dinner before they all watched television, with the pair leaving around 9pm.
Their neighbours first noted there could be a problem when they spotted the women’s German Shepherd puppy wandering around the area the next day. They also heard Armstrong’s 16-month-old son, Gregory, crying in the days after the attack.
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Three days after the murders, neighbours finally entered via the back door. The baby was found unharmed, but very distressed and dehydrated in his cot.
They then made a gruesome discovery. The women’s bodies were found inside the home and both had been stabbed multiple times.
There were no signs of forced entry however the women routinely left the backdoor and side gate open.
According to reports, Armstrong had 29 stab wounds and Bartlett had 55. It appeared Barlett may have tried to help her friend before she was also attacked.
Armstrong’s body was found on her bed and it was clear she had been raped. Barlett was found in the hallway near the front door, which was next to Armstrong’s bedroom.
Detective Inspector Noel Jubb, who was head of the homicide squad at the time, described it as “one of the most barbaric and sadistic sex murders in Victorian history”.
In the weeks following the crime, police allegedly found a knife sheath that contained traces of blood in Kouroumblis’ possession, according to The Age.
Aged just 17 at the time, he told detectives that the knife was not his but instead he had found it on some nearby train tracks.
While he was considered a person of interest, he was never charged.
At the time of the murders, Kouroumblis lived just a few hundred metres away from the women’s home in Easey street.
When police reopened the cold case in January 2017, they announced they would be testing 90 living and 41 dead people connected to the case.
In this process, Kouroumblis was contacted and agreed to undergo a DNA test. However, he never showed up for the meeting.
Instead, he left Melbourne for Greece and refused to return, despite stating he was only going for a short holiday.
The smoking gun came after a DNA sample from one of Kouroumblis’ close relatives linked his DNA to semen found underneath Armstrong’s body.
‘Important breakthrough’
After the arrest, Victoria Police highlighted the “significant and tireless investigation” that had gone into trying to solve the murders over the past almost five decades.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the arrest was an “important breakthrough” and hopes that the families of the two women will soon have answers.
“For over 47 years, detectives from the Homicide Squad have worked tirelessly to determine who was responsible for the deaths of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett,” he said.
“The Easey Street murders, as they came to be known, have always been a priority for Victoria Police and an enormous amount of work has been done by many, many people to bring us to the position we are in today.
“As well as the Homicide Squad, this includes a large number of police and staff from a range of specialist areas across the organisation.
“All have been wholly committed to finding answers and holding those responsible for these deaths to account.
“This was a crime that struck at the heart of our community – two women in their own home, where they should have felt their safest.
“While we still have some way to go, this arrest is an important breakthrough.
“I also want to recognise the enduring resilience of both the Armstrong and Bartlett families, who have grieved for over four decades and no doubt this will be a very emotional time for them.
“I hope this arrest brings you closer to the answers you so richly deserve and have waited so long for.”
The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a confidential report online.
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