A 65-year-old man has been arrested in Rome in connection with the brutal 1977 murders of two women in Melbourne, Australia, police said on Saturday.
Suzanne Armstrong, 27, and Susan Bartlett, 28, were found dead in their home on Easey Street, Melbourne, on January 13, 1977. Both women had been stabbed multiple times in what police described as a “frenzied” attack. Armstrong had been sexually assaulted, but her 16-month-old son was found unharmed in his cot. The women were last seen alive three days before their bodies were discovered.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton called the murders one of the state’s longest-running and most severe cold cases. He described the crime as “absolutely gruesome” during a press conference.
The suspect, a dual Greek-Australian citizen, had been living in Greece, where he was protected by the country’s statute of limitations.
Police waited for him to leave Greece, and he was arrested on Thursday at Rome’s Fiumicino airport under an Interpol red notice. Australian authorities plan to begin extradition proceedings.
Over the years, technological advancements have aided the investigation, Patton said. In 2017, a reward of AU$1 million (US$680,000) was offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction, following the discovery of new evidence.
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Patton declined to provide specific details but said the investigation had made significant progress.
According to The Age, a Melbourne newspaper, police had re-examined the DNA of 131 individuals originally named in the investigation. The suspect, who had been a teenager at the time of the murders, was on that list and agreed to a DNA test.
However, in 2017, he fled to Greece before the test could be completed. He was eventually linked to the crime through the DNA of a close relative.
The report also revealed that the suspect had been stopped and searched by local police on the night of the murders, carrying a large knife, just three days before the victims were found. At the time, police focused on other suspects and did not question him further about the killings.
Detective Senior Sergeant, who has been leading the investigation since 2015, informed the victims’ families about the arrest on Saturday. Commissioner Patton said the families were “emotional, speechless, and overwhelmed” but grateful that they had not been forgotten.
“There is no expiry date on crimes as brutal as this,” Patton concluded. “Today’s arrest proves that justice can still be served, even after many years.”
