A man wanted over Australian cold case murders has been extradited from Rome almost 47 years after the brutal killings.
Greek national Perry Kouroumblis is set to arrive in Melbourne on Tuesday evening after being arrested in Italy last month over the 1977 murders of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett.
Kouroumblis, 65, is an Australian-Greek dual citizen who had been living in Greece before being arrested by Interpol at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport.
Though Australia and Greece have an extradition treaty, Mr Kouroumblis was unable to be arrested due to a Greek law that charges need to be laid within 20 years of an offence being committed.
His public defender, Serena Tucci, told The Age that “he had no idea that there was a different law in Italy” and he was travelling for work reasons.
“He said he wants to come back to Australia and explain everything,” she said.
Police in Rome placed Mr Kouroumblis on a Qatar Airways flight to Doha, where he landed on Tuesday morning about 6am (AEST) ahead of his flight to Melbourne.
When he arrives in Melbourne, Mr Kouroumblis will be taken to police headquarters for questioning over the cold case.
Both murder victims, 28 and 27, were stabbed in their home in what police describe as a “gruesome, horrific, frenzied homicide”.
Ms Armstrong was also raped, with police collecting DNA evidence at the time.
Ms Armstrong’s 16-month-old baby was left unharmed in a cot nearby, with neighbours only finding the young women days later after hearing his cries.
Mr Kouroumblis had lived nearby to the victims and was a 17-year-old student at the school where Ms Bartlett taught arts and crafts. He maintains his innocence.
https://thewest.com.au/news/murder-suspect-perry-kouroumblis-extradited-over-cold-case-killings-c-16955818
