Brother of man arrested over 1977 Easey Street cold case says he is ‘100% sure’ of his innocence

The brother of a man accused of the 1977 Easey Street killings in Melbourne says he is "100% sure" that there has been a mistake and his brother is innocent of the double murder.

Perry Kouroumblis, 65, was arrested at Rome airport on Thursday Australian time and held for the murders of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett. Police plan to apply to Italy for extradition for the man to face charges in Australia.

The pair were found dead in their home on Easey Street, Collingwood in January 1977, and their killing has long been one of Victoria's most well-known unsolved cases.

Kouroumblis's brother, Tony Kouroumblis, told Guardian Australia that he had yet to receive official confirmation from police or his brother that the force would seek to extradite him for the double murder.

But he said there was no question his brother, whom he said he spoke with regularly, was innocent.

"I've just been numb, you know what I mean," Tony Kouroumblis said.

"I'm 100% sure it's all a big mistake. 100% sure.

"That's my feeling ... I know my brother. I don't think he's capable of doing anything like that."

The Kouroumblis family lived on Bendigo Street, Collingwood, less than 300 metres away from the house where the two women were killed. Perry was 17 when the killings occurred, and Tony was a year younger.

"Every now and then you hear about it on the TV and you'd say 'I hope they catch somebody'," Tony said.

"So it always stayed on my mind."

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In the weeks after the 1977 killings, Perry was allegedly stopped by Ron Iddles, who was then a junior police officer but went on to be one of the most respected homicide squad detectives in Victoria police history.

Perry was said to have an alibi for the murders. Iddles, who later examined the murders as part of a cold case investigation, could not be reached for comment.

Tony Kouroumblis said his brother had been in trouble as a youth, but had not done anything as serious as police were alleging.

Perry left Melbourne in 2017 for Greece. He is a dual Greek-Australian citizen.

Nine Newspapers reported that he left Australia after police asked him for a DNA sample in relation to the case, a process it underwent for several persons of interest. Police also announced a $1m reward in the case in 2017.

Tony said Perry, who was known by the nickname Dingo, was a metalworker. Company records show that he operated a business, AAA Victorian Wrought Iron, from the eastern suburb of Bulleen, and then from Dandenong, since 2003.

Tony said it made no sense to him that Perry would stay in Melbourne for 40 years after the murders if he had been involved.

"If he did something as bad as that he would have moved," he said.

"If I did that, I would have moved ... six days, six hours, I would have got a ticket and been out of there."

Tony said his brother did not have a partner or children.

He also did not appear to be particularly concerned about his privacy, even after leaving Australia; Perry's Facebook profile featured photos taken outside his former business address in Dandenong, and he shared his mobile number as recently as 2021.

On Saturday, the Victoria police chief commissioner, Shane Patton, described the case as "an absolutely gruesome, horrific, frenzied homicide".

Police had been looking for years for the arrested man, having identified him as a person of interest, Patton said.

Due to Greece's 20-year statute bar on initiation of murder charges and the time that had elapsed before there was sufficient evidence to bring them, Kouroumblis could not be charged while he was in Greece.

An Interpol red notice was issued for him instead, and Italian authorities acted on that when taking him into custody at Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino airport in Rome.

While the investigation is ongoing, Patton said that the arrest of the man was "an important breakthrough".

"For over 47 years, detectives from the homicide squad have worked tirelessly to determine who was responsible for the deaths of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett," Patton said.

"An enormous amount of work has been done by many, many people to bring us to the position we are in today ... This was a crime that struck at the heart of our community – two women in their own home, where they should have felt their safest."

Patton also recognised "the enduring resilience of both the Armstrong and Bartlett families, who have grieved for over four decades and no doubt this will be a very emotional time for them".

Patton said the timeline for extradition would depend on the Italian authorities, but that he expected it would be at least a month before police would travel to Italy to give evidence to justify the extradition.

The families of Armstrong and Bartlett requested privacy in a joint statement on Saturday afternoon.

"For two quiet families from country Victoria it has always been impossible to comprehend the needless and violent manner in which Suzanne and Susan died. The gravity of the circumstances surrounding their deaths changed our lives irrevocably," the statement said.

"We will be forever grateful for the support and understanding shown to us by our friends and family over the past 47 years. It is difficult to sufficiently express our appreciation to Victoria police and the many investigators who have tirelessly pursued answers and justice for us over such a long period of time.

"The perseverance and dedication required to achieve the result today is something to truly behold. For always giving us hope and never giving up, we simply say, thank you."