Easey Street murder suspect Perry Kouroumblis departs Italy for ...
Updated December 3, 2024 — 7.19am
Perry Kouroumblis, the man arrested in Rome in connection with the infamous Easey Street murders, is on a flight to Melbourne flanked by police detectives and is expected to be formally charged with the brutal 1977 crime on his arrival.
Kouroumblis, who left Australia for Athens in 2017, was driven onto the tarmac in a black van on Monday alongside three officers where he was escorted onto a Qatar Airways flight before other passengers.
The 65-year-old has been held in Rome’s Regina Coeli jail since September 19 after being detained at Leonardo da Vinci Airport under an Interpol red notice. He had flown from Athens to Rome and family members have speculated he was lured to the Italian capital for a potential business deal.
Dressed in a black jumper with a collared shirt, wearing reading glasses and sporting a white beard, he sat quietly in economy class seat 35E without handcuffs, eating a meal and drinking water while watching the in-flight entertainment system. At one stage he was handed a book by one of the officers.
The Airbus A350, which left Rome about 1am AEST, landed in Doha about 6am. The travelling party remained in transit for several hours before departing on the second 13-hour leg to Melbourne after 10am. They are expected to land late on Tuesday night, when Kouroumblis will be charged by police. He is expected to front court on Wednesday.
Kouroumblis, who was 17 at the time of the pair’s deaths, maintains he is innocent of the murders of Suzanne Armstrong, 27, and Susan Bartlett, 28, in their Collingwood home almost 50 years ago. The women were found stabbed to death, though Armstrong’s 16-month-old son was unharmed.
Perry Kouroumblis, second from right with white beard, in Rome preparing to depart Italy for Australia.Credit: Nine News
The extradition follows years of investigation into the long-unsolved case, which remains one of Victoria Police’s highest priorities.
Fernando Speziali, chief commissioner of the Italian State Police’s Fiumicino Airport Judiciary Division, said the journey back to Australia brought an end to a long and complex extradition process.
He told reporters in Rome his office was originally alerted by the Australian police through Interpol that Kouroumblis was likely aboard a flight coming from Greece.
“Since Greece is part of the Schengen Area, there are no border or police checks,” he said.
Perry Kouroumblis on a flight from Rome as he returns to Australia.Credit: Nine News
“Therefore, we set up a specific operation with a team of officers to monitor all passengers arriving from Greece. Among them, we identified an individual whose physical characteristics, and partially their name, matched the person sought by the Australian authorities.”
Kouroumblis first came to light in the murder investigation shortly after the crime, when police allegedly found a knife and sheath in his possession that contained traces of blood. He told detectives at the time he had found the knife on train tracks in Collingwood.
In a relaunched 2017 investigation, police identified Kouroumblis as a person who should be re-interviewed and DNA tested. Then aged 57, he agreed to provide a sample – but allegedly left Australia and moved to Greece. It has been reported that a DNA sample from a relative established a match.
Kouroumblis says he wants to return to Australia to clear his name.
His Italian lawyer Serena Tucci said she met with Kouroumblis before his extradition, and that he was “worried” about returning to Victoria.
Kouroumblis could not be extradited from Greece, as under Greek law charges must be laid within 20 years of the alleged offence. Attempts through diplomatic channels to have him returned to Melbourne failed, and he was put on an international watch list that led to his arrest in Rome.
He did not contest his extradition following his arrest and only requested to be able to speak with his brothers while he was detained.
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Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has described the murders as “an absolutely gruesome, horrific, frenzied homicide”. Police offered a $1 million reward in 2017 to catch those responsible.
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