In a stunning development nearly half a century in the making, the prime suspect in one of Australia’s most notorious unsolved double homicides is finally on his way back to Melbourne to face questioning. 65-year-old Perry Kouroumblis, who has been living in Europe since 2017, was arrested at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport in September on an international warrant and has now been extradited to Australia.
Kouroumblis is the key person of interest in the gruesome 1977 killings of best friends Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett, who were found brutally murdered in their Easey Street home in Collingwood. Armstrong’s 16-month-old son was discovered unharmed in his cot at the bloody crime scene. The case, which has haunted Melbourne detectives for 47 years, has been dubbed the “Easey Street murders.”
Teen Neighbor Was Early Person of Interest
According to sources close to the investigation, Kouroumblis, who was just 17 at the time of the slayings, lived with his family less than 300 meters from the house where Armstrong and Bartlett were killed. Insiders say the teen was stopped and questioned by a junior police officer, Ron Iddles, who went on to become one of Victoria’s most celebrated homicide detectives, in the weeks following the murders.
Kouroumblis allegedly provided an alibi at the time and the investigation eventually went cold. But the case heated up again in recent years after breakthroughs in forensic technology allowed detectives to take a fresh look at old evidence using advanced DNA analysis techniques. Police have not revealed what specific new evidence led them to identify Kouroumblis as the prime suspect.
International Manhunt Leads to Arrest
Authorities say Kouroumblis, a dual Greek-Australian citizen, agreed to provide a DNA sample during a re-investigation of the cold case before abruptly leaving Melbourne for Greece in 2017. Greek law enforcement was unable to arrest him on suspicion of murder due to the country’s 20-year statute of limitations.
Victorian detectives were forced to launch an international manhunt, placing Kouroumblis on a global watch list. Their efforts paid off in September 2022 when sharp-eyed authorities at Rome’s airport recognized the wanted man and took him into custody.
The arrest of this man was an absolutely important breakthrough, and I know that it will be incredibly emotional for the families involved to know that the person we suspect is responsible may finally be called to account.
– Victorian Police Commissioner Shane Patton
Families Seek Closure as Questioning Looms
After a protracted extradition process, Kouroumblis was finally put on a plane in Rome flanked by Victoria Police homicide detectives this week. Upon arrival in Melbourne, he is expected to face intense questioning about the heinous 1977 killings.
While no charges have been filed yet and Kouroumblis maintains his innocence, the families of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett are hoping his return to Australia will finally yield some answers after more than four decades of grief and uncertainty.
The resilience and determination of the Armstrong and Bartlett families has been remarkable. They have never given up hope through all these painful years of waiting for justice. I know this will be an incredibly difficult and emotional time for them.
– Victorian Police Commissioner Shane Patton
Homicide detectives are expected to grill Kouroumblis extensively about his movements and actions around the time of the January 1977 murders. They will likely press him on inconsistencies in his original police statements and alibi.
Will New Forensic Evidence Crack the Case?
Much may hinge on what new forensic evidence police have gathered in recent years to focus their suspicions squarely on Kouroumblis. DNA technology barely existed in the 1970s and evidence collection techniques were far less sophisticated compared to the precise, computer-aided forensic science of today.
Experts say even trace amounts of genetic material collected from the crime scene 47 years ago could now potentially be analyzed using modern methods to definitively place a suspect at the scene. Detectives will also likely lean heavily on any fresh witness statements or leads unearthed during the cold case review.
As Melbournians watch and wait for the next chapter in this tragic saga that has haunted the city for nearly five decades, all eyes will be on the Victoria Police homicide squad to see if they can finally crack the infamous cold case and bring some measure of peace to the Armstrong and Bartlett families. But for now, with no charges filed and the suspect maintaining his innocence, the Easey Street murders remain an open wound from Melbourne’s dark past.
