Suspect in “Easey Street” cold case murders extradited to Australia after arrest in Italy
A man accused of two “horrendous” unsolved murders in 1977 has been extradited from Italy and will appear in an Australian court on Wednesday, police said.
Perry CoulublisThe 65-year-old is accused of killing two women in a nearly 50-year-old cold case known as the “Easey Street” murders.
The dual Australian-Greek citizen was arrested at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport in September following an Interpol red notice and has been held in prison ever since.
Victoria Police said He was flown back to Australia on Tuesday night and was interviewed by detectives before appearing in court on Wednesday afternoon.
“During his court appearance, the man will be formally charged with two counts of murder and one count of rape,” they said in a statement.
Fairfax Media (via Getty Images)/Fairfax Media (via Getty Images)
On January 13, 1977, the bodies of Suzanne Armstrong, 27, and Susan Bartlett, 28, were found in their home on Easey Street, Melbourne, with multiple stab wounds. The pair were last seen alive on the night of January 10, 1977.
Armstrong was raped. Her then-16-month-old son was “uninjured and unattended in his crib” when police discovered their bodies, police said in a statement. statement.
“This was an absolutely gruesome, horrific, frenzied homicide – multiple stabbings,” Victoria Police Commissioner Shane Patton said after the arrest in September.
In 2017, detectives began conducting DNA tests on dozens of suspects interviewed in the initial investigation.
Kourubulis allegedly moved to Greece shortly after he was asked to provide samples.
Police are offering a A$1 million (US$680,000) reward for information that helps solve one of the state’s most notorious cold cases.
“For the past four decades, homicide detectives have conducted a significant and tireless investigation into the murder,” police said on Wednesday.
