Easey Street suspect, agrees to extradition from Rome to Melbourne

Tucci said Kouroumblis was desperate to speak with his brother, who is in Greece, and had asked her for a fresh pair of socks. She said he remained in good condition inside the packed jail, despite the circumstances.

Kouroumblis’ agreement to be extradited could drastically reduce time it takes for him to face charges and court in Australia.

Contested extraditions can be complex and drawn-out affairs. Once Australian police obtain a warrant for someone’s arrest, they need to prepare a draft extradition request, which needs to be signed off by the federal attorney-general’s office before being sent overseas for consideration.

Italian courts would then examine the evidence put forward by Victoria Police and consider whether the case was solid enough to grant Kouroumblis’ extradition.

Legal experts expected the process to be months. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton this week said extraditions were not “quick processes”.

Kouroumblis first came to light in the Easey Street murder investigation shortly after the crime, when police allegedly found a knife and sheath in his possession that contained traces of blood. Then 17, he told detectives he had found the knife on train tracks in Collingwood.

A teenager at the time of the killing, he lived just a few hundred metres away from the Easey Street house where the bodies were discovered in January 1977.

About a week after the killings, he was pulled over by police in a routine patrol near Easey Street and it was recorded in coronial proceedings that he was carrying a knife. He was also named in an inquest into the deaths as the person who found the knife used in the killings, but was not called as he could not be located.

In a relaunched 2017 investigation, police identified Kouroumblis as a person who should be re-interviewed and DNA tested. Then aged 57, he agreed to provide a sample – but allegedly left Australia and moved to Greece. It is understood a DNA sample from a relative established a match.

Kouroumblis could not be extradited from Greece, as under Greek law charges must be laid within 20 years of the alleged offence. Attempts through diplomatic channels to have him returned to Melbourne failed, and he was put on an international watch list that led to his arrest in Rome.

Victoria police have been contacted for comment.

The federal Attorney-General’s Department declined to comment on Wednesday night. A spokesperson for the department previously said the case was being treated as a “high priority”.

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