- The accused of murder is on a plane returning from Greece
- Melbourne cold case baffled police for 50 years
The man accused of the horrific murder of two Melbourne women in 1977 is on a flight back to Australia from Rome to face charges.
For nearly 50 years, the infamous Easey Street murders baffled detectives, but in September they finally arrested Perry Kouroumblis in Rome for the January 1977 murders of Suzanne Armstrong, 28, and Susan Bartlett, 27.
The women, both in their 20s, were found dead with multiple stab wounds, while Bartlett’s 16-month-old son Gregory was found unharmed in his crib.
The murders were dubbed the ‘Easey Street Murders’ and became one of Australia’s long-running cold cases.
Kouroumblis was 17 at the time and denies any involvement in their deaths.
He left Australia for Athens in 2017, but it was at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport where he was detained as a result of an Interpol red flag on September 19.
Since then he has been held in the Regina Coeli prison in Rome awaiting extradition.
The man, now 65, was seen boarding a Qatar Airways flight to Melbourne on Tuesday, escorted by police.
Mr Kouroumblis’s flight landed in Doha at 6am AEST and then began a 13-hour leg to Melbourne, where it will land on Tuesday night.
Reports described him as docile on the plane, taking advantage of meal service and watching movies.
Mr Kouroumblis was photographed being escorted to the waiting flight, wearing a black jumper and glasses, with gray hair and a beard.
Reports described him as docile on the plane, taking advantage of meal service and watching movies.
The flight landed in Doha at 6am AEST and began a 13-hour journey to Melbourne, landing on Tuesday night.
In 2017, detectives relaunched their investigation and offered a $1 million reward. As part of the new effort, they asked Mr. Kouroumblis for a DNA sample.
He supposedly agreed, but then left Australia for Athens. Instead, police reportedly took a sample from a family member and they said it was a match.
Greek law did not allow his extradition from Greece due to the historical nature of the alleged crime, so an Interpol alert was placed in his name and he was arrested in Rome.
Mr Kouroumblis allegedly agreed to provide a DNA sample, but then left Australia for Greece.
Australia shares an extradition treaty with Italy.
Italian police had reportedly been warned by their Australian counterparts that Kouroumblis would fly to Rome.
They established a special operation to control passengers arriving from Greece.
Kouroumblis’s family has suggested that he was lured to Rome from Athens by the prospect of a trade deal.
It would have been “almost impossible” to extradite the dual Australian-Greek national from Greece, a source said.
The extradition comes after years of investigation into one of Australia’s oldest cold cases.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said in September the alleged Easey Street murders had always been a priority for Victoria Police.
“This struck at the heart of our community: two women in their own home, where they should have felt safer,” Mr Patton said.
“While we still have a way to go, this arrest is an important step forward.”