Current Easey St Murders Collingwood * ARREST MADE

[Satan]

Police have arrested a man in Italy over the 1977 murders of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett in their Easey Street home. He fled Australia in 2017 after he became aware he was a suspect.

The man fled to Greece and couldn’t be arrested because local laws meant charges must be laid within seven years of the offence.

Police have waited those 15 years for him to leave Greece so he could be arrested. They will now seek to extradite him to Melbourne to face the charges.

A police spokesperson confirmed a 65-year-old dual citizen of Australia and Greece was arrested at an airport in Rome in the early hours on Friday.


For you russian bots , long unsolved double murder in Melbourne

 

[Kurve]

Chief Commissioner Paton says it will be one month before police here will fly to Italy to give evidence for extradition but that it may be a lengthy process.

Rajwinder Singh was arrested end November 2022 in Delhi facing charges for the murder of Toyah Cordingley in Cairns, extradited back to Australia and landed 1st March 2023. It didn't take that long.

Man arrested in Italy nearly 50 years after two Melbourne women found dead in their home

Victoria police seeking an extradition order for the 65-year-old over the 1977 deaths known as the Easey Street murders

www.theguardian.com

 

[Worm4]

If there was ever a case that I was near positive it was never going to be solved it was this one.

Investigation has been totally botched up by all concerned. There is no jury in the country that could convict on grounds of beyond reasonable doubt.

 

[CD Xbow]

I’m amazed the DNA was preserved and still available in good enough condition to be tested. You often hear how police evidence from a long time ago gets lost or thrown out. Or isn’t even collected.

Palaeontologists have pushed back DNA recovery over 1 million years. As long as they have kept the specimen in reasonable condition 1977 is not such a big ask.

Investigation has been totally botched up by all concerned. There is no jury in the country that could convict on grounds of beyond reasonable doubt.

Given we don't know exactly the nature of the evidence that is a very strong opinion.

 

[Anja_Nees]

Almost unbelievable.

This in January, 1978.

View attachment 2118204


How much closer can it get?

View attachment 2118230

Helps that he didn’t change his fashion in 45 years.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Given we don't know exactly the nature of the evidence that is a very strong opinion.

The 24 hour news cycle has changed everything, like probably the two most high profile murder cases in Victoria over the past five years have probably been Carol Clay & Russell Hill and Samantha Murphy and neither was an immediate apprehension. And as the daily updates dried up, impatient people start thinking "The cops have got no idea, someone's gotten away with murder here." When in reality, they had someone in their sights from very early in the piece and it would not have helped the investigation to publicly reveal where the investigation was leading.

It's a similar case here: the police playing a seemingly futile game of cat and mouse with a suspect who's safely tucked away overseas must be tempted to snap and say "Look, we're pretty sure we know who did it, this is his name. We can't get him back, but feel free to jump on his Facebook and call him a campaigner."

In this case they've had to listen to people say what a useless bunch of plodders they are for decades and they've just had to wait quietly for this guy to make a mistake. They connected him due to someone on the investigation having quite a bit of foresight to preserve evidence that only became crucial decades later, as science caught up, even though other parts of the investigation and specifically the preservation of the crime scene could comfortably be described as 'sloppy'.

All up, I don't think anyone would say it's been a perfect investigation. But to get an arrest from where the case seemed to be 20/30/45 years ago is pretty remarkable and those involved deserve to be commended.

 

[Dogs_R_Us]

Palaeontologists have pushed back DNA recovery over 1 million years. As long as they have kept the specimen in reasonable condition 1977 is not such a big ask.


Given we don't know exactly the nature of the evidence that is a very strong opinion.

I’m sure it would last, it’s just that our authorities have history in mislaying or discarding items of interest. It’s excellent that they still have it.

 

[Worm4]

Palaeontologists have pushed back DNA recovery over 1 million years. As long as they have kept the specimen in reasonable condition 1977 is not such a big ask.


Given we don't know exactly the nature of the evidence that is a very strong opinion.

There seems to be too many factors to consider when trying to get a conviction.
You've got the Peter Brock situation , the tobacco salesman and the boyfriend who entered the premises without alarmingly having not seen a body in the hallway, the now deceased neighbour who recalled seeing a man in the kitchen, the neighbours who heard a car with 2 doors closing and racing off, and then a 17 year old who lived 100 metres away who stole cars and happened to go to the school as a student where the girls worked.
I mean, any defence lawyer would argue all of these in court surely. I don't particularly like their chances.

 

[Hojuman]

Quite amazing when you think one of the top homicide investigators in the country pulled him up as a young constable.

 

[CD Xbow]

There seems to be too many factors to consider when trying to get a conviction.
You've got the Peter Brock situation , the tobacco salesman and the boyfriend who entered the premises without alarmingly having not seen a body in the hallway, the now deceased neighbour who recalled seeing a man in the kitchen, the neighbours who heard a car with 2 doors closing and racing off, and then a 17 year old who lived 100 metres away who stole cars and happened to go to the school as a student where the girls worked.
I mean, and defence lawyer would argue all of these in court surely. I don't particularly like their chances.

Froth.
If they have a DNA match from his semen or blood that's directly related to the poor girls bodies then he's a goner.

 

[Worm4]

Froth.
If they have a DNA match from his semen or blood that's directly related to the poor girls bodies then he's a goner.

Haven't they already said that the knife he had allegedly found at Vic Park station had same blood type on it as 1 of the victims ? Consider this - did both victims have the same blood type ? If not , why wasn't there 2 blood types found on the knife ? Just throwing it out there ....
Or....how about this scenario - he was having sexual relations with his teacher and the boyfriend enters the room and finds them in bed having fun, the boyfriend goes nuts, and the 17 year old flees ?
There are many possibilities....

 

[CD Xbow]

Haven't they already said that the knife he had allegedly found at Vic Park station had same blood type on it as 1 of the victims ? Consider this - did both victims have the same blood type ? If not , why wasn't there 2 blood types found on the knife ? Just throwing it out there ....
Or....how about this scenario - he was having sexual relations with his teacher and the boyfriend enters the room and finds them in bed having fun, the boyfriend goes nuts, and the 17 year old flees ?
There are many possibilities....

I'm not privy to the evidence, but I do know they excluded 100+ men on the basis of DNA testing. It suggests to me they have a pretty good specimen from a very damning place. The Age has an article talking about the red herrings' you referred to earlier.

Misinformation falsely linked motor racing legend to Easey Street murder probe

Unfounded tip-offs wasted police time, wrongly pointing the finger at dozens of men in the case, including late motor racing legend Peter Brock.

www.theage.com.au

 

[GrayRanga]

They lost the evidence for a few years though, this was discussed in the recent Easey Street podcast. Highly recommend BTW.

If they can locate lost evidence years later, there's still hope someone will stumble over Mr. Cruel's lost box of evidence.

Evidence requires a chain of custody to be established and kept at all times.

Failure to do this means that the evidence may become "tainted" and subject to challenge in the Courts (both in Victoria and Italy)

Does the podcast mention the time period that the evidence was "lost"

If the podcast states it was post 2017, I'd suggest the Police were telling porkies to lull the suspect (via the podcaster) into a sense of comfort

 

[Sqotty from office works]

Froth.
If they have a DNA match from his semen or blood that's directly related to the poor girls bodies then he's a goner.

Not if he claims he had sex with them and left them alive and well

 

[Kurve]

Evidence requires a chain of custody to be established and kept at all times.

Failure to do this means that the evidence may become "tainted" and subject to challenge in the Courts (both in Victoria and Italy)

Does the podcast mention the time period that the evidence was "lost"

If the podcast states it was post 2017, I'd suggest the Police were telling porkies to lull the suspect (via the podcaster) into a sense of comfort

No mention of the exact time period it was lost and when Helen Thomas reacted suggesting it was pretty scary that had happened the cop (I think it was a cop) said Thomas would need to get that confirmed.

Sly says in this radio interview, that he'd known for around six years the police had Perry in the frame so I've got a suspicion that Helen Thomas also knew it and the podcast was made with that knowledge?

Sly sheds light on the arrest made over the Easey Street murders

Veteran crime writer John Silvester (aka Sly of the Underworld) has shed light on the arrest made over the Easey Street murders from back in 1977. Perry Kouroumblis was arrested at an airport in Rome as part of an investigation into the deaths of two women who were stabbed to death, and Sly said...

www.3aw.com.au

 

[takethepowerback]

Not if he claims he had sex with them and left them alive and well

And then undoes his whole alibi? In which he lied, and got multiple people to lie for him.

Also, don't they believe the SA took place post-murder? and the DNA evidence is semen.. Seems like strong pretty evidence..plus the knife.

 

[Kurve]

Still, the window guy’s story never added up.

View attachment 2118969

He claimed in went in through Susan’s window (the rearmost bedroom), into the hallway, checked the phone, then left by retracing the same route.

That’s all ok, apart from the fact that he saw (and even smelled) nothing. He was in hallway, facing both ways as he came and went.

Anyway, apparently the police thought it believable and, with this arrest now made (not this guy), they were very possibly right.

Here's the hallway, one image has been lightened. You can see how long it probably is with Bartlett's bedroom door which we can't see, at the far end from the front door. Given the bedrooms are pretty big in those houses, that hallway could be up to 40' long.

I've put the front room at minimum 14 x 14' but it may be 16' x 16' and the other two at a minimum 12 x 12'.

 

[Visions]

Not if he claims he had sex with them and left them alive and well

The rape of Armstrong was post death.

So unless he found them dead and decided to commit necrophilia, which raises plenty of other questions, that claim is dead in the water.

 

[Worm4]

I'm still trying to work out how Peter Brock was allegedly a suspect .....