Australia Australia - Suzanne Armstrong, 28, Susan Bartlett, 27, Collingwood, Vic, 10 Jan 1977

[PuzzlinEvidence]

All fine points and worthy of further elaboration, PE, ... in addition to your theory, I am asked to believe that in all of Italy, no welder could be found to be in Rome

I was just speculating on him being a bit unaware. I think the mere fact he went to Rome suggests he didn't know that the Greek/Aus treaty was the only thing keeping him safe.

But yes, regardless, he still would've needed a very good reason to travel internationally, because it's a huge risk. I think you suggested upthread that Vicpol could've run a 'Mr Big' type operation. This definitely seems like the type of case where they'd consider that - it's high profile, cold, it's a brutal double murder, and they don't have a lot of options. They could've set him up over the long-term with 'jobs' (not necessarily welding). Then one day there's a nice job, but some sort of unexpected quirk emerges that requires travel to/through Rome.

It'd be a bold move from Vicpol (surely requiring Greek co-operation) but then again, they would've been desperate to get him.

 

[Cliff Hardy]

He may have been blissfully unaware of any extradition laws and merely fled to Greece because he had a dual passport that allowed him to go there.

 

[Trooper]

His going to Greece to possibly look after his mother happened in 2017, not when he was 16.
Professional reasons could mean anything. Maybe caring for his mother became his job.

It is said he was a welder but that doesn't mean once you become a welder or whatever, that you are stuck in that job forever and can't become anything else.

We don't know enough about his life yet.

One skill, perhaps his real trade, was his burglary career.. he appears to have never given that up, continuing on with it in AU and then still on with it in Greece where he was apparently caught and charged a few times. The cousins father ( his uncle ) was a policeman and had to speak to him several times about it..

Maybe he was lured to Rome on the promise of a grand heist..!! his last fling, perhaps, a big job to go out with and kick back in Athens as a real man about town dispensing drachma, ( or Euro's now ) to the poor beggar children in Thessalonika... !!

 

[Sir_Loin]

Hmm, I think it's at least possible he didn't know.

Innocent until proven guilty, but for argument's sake, let's say he did it. 2017 rolls round, the cops want DNA. He's not going to want to give it, because they could potentially match it. But he may not know whether the cops have a full, useable profile. Heck, maybe it's just partial DNA - enough to rule people out, but not definitely say that person X is a match.

Obviously he's not gonna take chances, so he flees to Greece. Six years in, living normally. Nothing from the cops in either country, nothing from the media back home about DNA or how he's wanted for murder. Maybe they never got an actual DNA hit and that's why he's never heard a peep.

But IF he were smart and logical, at some point he'd look into extradition laws. He'd become aware of the specifics of the Greek/Australia treaty - i.e. a limitation period - and consider whether this is the ONLY thing keeping him safe. And he wouldn't travel to any nearby countries without checking on this. But IF he's a bit ignorant and he's just a 60-something welder who never figured out exactly why he was safe and after six years he gets a bit careless...

Couldn’t have put it better spot on

 

[Sir_Loin]

He may have been blissfully unaware of any extradition laws and merely fled to Greece because he had a dual passport that allowed him to go there.

Well he wants a fast tracked extradition. Maybe that’s because of the prison he’s a guest of or maybe he’s mounting a case of innocence. Maybe both.

He could have solved all of his problems by giving a DNA sample when he was asked.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Oh I see that I missed a bit.
The bit was that he was said to be working as a welder in Greece.
I mistakenly thought that it was when he was very young.

Unless he was an above average welder who was in demand I can't see the need to go to Italy on business.

He may have had other business ventures.

 

[dotr]

Sep 26, 2024

 

[Cliff Hardy]

Well he wants a fast tracked extradition. Maybe that’s because of the prison he’s a guest of or maybe he’s mounting a case of innocence. Maybe both.

He could have solved all of his problems by giving a DNA sample when he was asked.

If he'd given a DNA sample when he was asked, he might have been year 7 into a very long sentence.