Extradited Suspect Faces Court for 1977 "Easey Street" Murders

A man named Perry Kouroumblis, who is 65 years old, has been extradited from Italy to Australian authorities to face serious allegations regarding a pair of unsolved homicides from 1977. Kouroumblis, holding dual citizenship in Australia and Greece, was apprehended at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport following an Interpol red notice and has since been in custody.

He is expected to appear in court on Wednesday afternoon, where police have indicated he will face formal charges for two counts of murder along with one count of rape. The murders involved Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett, whose bodies were discovered in their Easey Street residence in Melbourne on January 13, 1977, showing multiple stab wounds. Prior to their deaths, the women were last seen alive on January 10, 1977, and Armstrong had also been raped, while her 16-month-old son was found unharmed in his crib.

Victoria police characterized the crime scene as extremely brutal and chaotic, highlighting the nature of the attack with multiple stab wounds. In 2017, investigators began utilizing DNA testing on numerous suspects involved in the initial inquiry, which later pointed to Kouroumblis. After being approached for a DNA sample, he relocated to Greece, and police have offered a substantial reward for information regarding this notorious cold case over the years. The ongoing investigation has spanned over four decades, with dedicated efforts from the Homicide Squad.