Suspect in ‘Easey Street’ murder extradited to Australia after arrest in Italy

A man accused of two “grisly” unsolved murders in 1977 has been extradited from Italy and will appear in an Australian court on Wednesday, police said.

Perry KouroumblisThe 65-year-old was charged with murdering two women in a nearly 50-year-old unsolved case known as the “Easey Street” murders.

The Australian-Greek dual citizen was arrested at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport in September after being named in an Interpol red notice and has been in prison ever since.

Victoria Police said he was returned to Australia late Tuesday evening and will be questioned by investigators before appearing in court on Wednesday afternoon.

“The man will be formally charged with two counts of murder and one count of rape during this court date,” a statement said.

The bodies of Suzanne Armstrong, 27, and Susan Bartlett, 28, were discovered at their home on Easey Street, Melbourne, on January 13, 1977, showing multiple stab wounds. The couple was last seen alive on the evening of January 10, 1977.

Armstrong had been raped. Her then 16-month-old son “was uninjured and was lying unattended in his crib when police found their bodies,” police said in a statement.

“It was an absolutely cruel, horrific, insane murder – multiple stabbings,” Victoria Police Chief Shane Patton said after the arrest in September.

In 2017, investigators began conducting DNA tests on dozens of suspects interviewed as part of the initial investigation.

Kouroumblis is said to have moved to Greece shortly after being asked to provide a sample.

Police offered a reward of 1 million Australian dollars (US$680,000) for information that helps solve one of the state’s most notorious cold cases.

“Over the past four decades, homicide detectives have conducted an extensive and tireless investigation into the murders,” police said Wednesday.