The accused Easy Street killer, Perry Kouroumblis, is being extradited to Melbourne after being detained by Italian authorities last week.
Kouroumblis’s court-appointed lawyer, Serena Tucci, said her client is innocent and is cooperating with authorities.
“Perry exercised his right to remain silent, said he was innocent and gave his consent for extradition,” Ms Tucci said.
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Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett, were found dead in their Easey Street home on 13 January, 1977. Both women had been stabbed a number of times.
Police claimed that the Australian-Greek national fled when they requested a DNA sample from him as part of the 1977 double homicide investigation.
Kouroumblis moved to Greece in 2017, telling his friends he left to care for his sick mother.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton described the murders as the state’s longest cold case to reach an arrest.
“For over 47 years, detectives from the Homicide Squad have worked tirelessly to determine who was responsible for the deaths,” Patton said.
“While we still have some way to go, this arrest is an important breakthrough.”
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