Australia Australia - Haroula Kipouridou, 25, singer, bashed, strangled & left semi-naked on floor of a jammed lift, Richmond, 3 July, 1981 *Reward, $1Million*.

[dotr]

By Eleanor Wilson Feb 22, 2026 rbbm

Police offer $1M reward to solve 1981 cold case sex assault and murder

The 25-year-old was engaged and working as a singer at a Greek Tavern on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy at the ...

www.9news.com.au

'A rare $1 million reward is being offered to help solve the 1981 cold case sex assault and murder of a 25-year-old Melbourne woman.
Haroula Kipouridou's body was discovered in a jammed lift about 2.30am on July 3, 1981, about 30 minutes after work friends dropped her to her mother's home in Richmond's commission flats.
Detective acting Sergeant Leigh Prados said the young singer had been bashed, strangled and left on the floor semi-naked.'

Haroula Kipouridou was working as a singer at a Greek tavern at the time of her murder. (Nine)
"She had been violently attacked – whoever did this did it with a high level of brutality," Prados said today''.

'Several suspects have been interviewed and police are not ruling out links to other similar crimes of the era.'

 

[dotr]

Feb 22, 2026 #9News #BreakingNews #NineNewsAustralia
A $1 million reward is being offered to help solve the 1981 cold case sexual assault and murder of a 25-year-old Melbourne woman.

 

[dotr]

Massive reward for tip-offs in brutal murder cold case

Police hope a $1 million reward for information about the brutal murder of a young hotel singer more than four decades ago will lead to tip-offs.

au.news.yahoo.com

''Haroula Kipouridou was last seen alive in the early hours of July 3, 1981, after a shift at a hotel in Fitzroy in inner-north Melbourne where she worked as a singer.'

'Two associates had given the 25-year-old Richmond woman a lift home to a housing tower on Elizabeth Street after work''
They dropped her off in front of the building about 2am and did not see anything suspicious at the time'.

Police deemed several people potential suspects over Ms Kipouridou's death but no one was charged. (PR IMAGE PHOTO)

"Haroula's death was nothing short of brutal," Detective Inspector Dean Thomas says. (PR IMAGE PHOTO)

 

[Cacophonies]

Cold case: Haroula Kipouradou

Help Victoria Police solve the 1994 murder of Leah Buck. View the details and a video of this cold case.

www.police.vic.gov.au

They don't seem to be disclosing much information. I hope someone local is able to come forward with more information.

 

[3llecia]

Some articles from the time of her murder:

Newspapers.com - The Age, Saturday 04 Jul 1981

• Singer at a tavern attached to The Builders Arms, Fitzroy
• Haroula was dropped home by her employer
• Her boyfriend said he usually picked her up but had an early shift and went to bed
• Her family said Haroula told her employer not to escort her up to the flat that morning
• Police believe she was only alone for minutes before the attack, was struck in the face and possibly suffocated on blood
• Relatives also said Haroula told a friend at the tavern Thursday night that she was worried and feared for her life. She had apparently received strange phone calls but had been secretive about them.
• Haroula lived with her mother at the Richmond flats where she died, and had been singing in nightclubs for 18 months

Newspapers.com - Sydney Morning Herald, Apr 24, 1982

• Three murders at Richmond flats in 10 month period
• Mrs Jenny Ng, 35, found in blood-splattered flat on the 19th floor by her two children on Friday, 23 April 1982
• Stabbed more than 20 times, her 11 month old was present but unharmed in the attack
• No forced entry, attacker believed to be someone she knew, and neighbours heard yelling just before 10am
• Five weeks after Haroula Kipouridou was killed in July, 1981, a three year old Vietnamese girl, Kim Anh Ho, was found deceased after being bashed and sexually assaulted. A 26 year old male was sent to trial on a murder charge.
• Ho and Kipouridou's murders happened in the same block, but separate to Mrs Ng's block of flats in the same housing commission

Newspapers.com - The Age, Monday Sept 06 1982

• 28 year old Allen Leslie Johnson, gym owner, was shot dead at The Builders Arms, Fitzroy on Saturday, 4 September 1982
• No one apparently saw the killer, despite police interviewing 30 people
• Johnson was shot twice at close range in front of around 50 people in the front bar of the venue
• Third murder associated with The Builders Arms in 15 months, including Haroula Kipouridou in July, 1981 and a 34 year old Preston man stabbed to death at the venue in September, 1981
• Police say patrons of The Builders Arms aren't known to be helpful to police, and some witnesses may fear retribution for giving information
• Johnson was committed to stand trial over an incident at a Melbourne disco and police speculate he may have been killed over it

 

[3llecia]

Following on...

The coverage on Kipouridou's murder dried up after the State Coroner opened and quickly adjourned an inquest indefinitely.

The Age and Victorian branch of the Australian Journalists Association raised concerns with the Police Commissioner about the irregularity. Any further media reports at the time about the murder investigation would now be considered subjudice, risking a charge of contempt from the Coroner's Court.

In 1983, the Coroner made an open finding into the death.

The most recent (very short) article is from The Age Thursday, 20 October 1994:

• Police appeal to an anonymous woman who contacted Crime Stoppers earlier that year regarding Kipouridou's death
• She was encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers or the Homicide Squad