Suspect In Australia’s Infamous Easey Street Murders Extradited From Italy

A man linked to one of Australia’s most infamous cold cases, the Easey Street murders, is being extradited from Italy to face questioning.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Suzanne Armstrong, 27, and Susan Bartlett, 28, were brutally stabbed to death in their Melbourne home in 1977, a crime that has gripped the nation for decades. The case saw renewed focus after DNA breakthroughs identified Perry Kouroumblis, 65, as a key suspect in recent years.

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Kouroumblis, who denies any involvement and has not been charged, was detained in Italy in September following an Interpol red notice. He is expected to arrive in Australia late Tuesday.

The murders were uncovered three days after the women were last seen alive, with Ms. Armstrong’s one-year-old son found unharmed in his cot. Both women had suffered multiple stab wounds, and Ms. Armstrong had been sexually assaulted, police said.

The case has long captivated public interest, inspiring books, podcasts, and large-scale police appeals, including a 2017 Victoria Police offer of a A$1 million reward for information.

Kouroumblis first came to police attention shortly after the murders when, as a 17-year-old, he reported finding a bloodied knife near the scene in Collingwood, Melbourne. Decades later, advancements in DNA analysis turned investigators’ focus back to him.

Victoria Police Commissioner Shane Patton described the murders as “an absolutely gruesome, horrific, frenzied homicide” during the announcement of Kouroumblis’s arrest in Rome. He emphasized the profound impact of the crime, calling it “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.”

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Legal complications delayed action against Kouroumblis. After leaving Australia seven years ago, he lived in Greece, where local laws prevented prosecution for murders committed more than 20 years prior.

The families of Armstrong and Bartlett expressed their deep gratitude to police for their persistence. In a statement released after Kouroumblis’s arrest, they described their heartbreak, saying, “For two quiet families from country Victoria, it has always been impossible to comprehend the needless and violent manner in which Suzanne and Susan died.” Addressing the police, they added, “For always giving us hope and never giving up, we simply say, thank you.

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