Toddler of slain mother clung to neighbour ‘like koala’
A neighbor recalled how a young boy clung to her “like a little koala bear” before his mother and flatmate were found dead nearby.
Janet Powell told how the man accused of murdering Suzanne Armstrong, 28, and Susan Bartlett, 27, found the lifeless bodies of his neighbors when he appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court nearly 50 years ago.
He first noticed something was wrong two days earlier, on January 11, 1977, when a dog entered his garden on Easey Street in inner Collingwood.
“I went out front to sweep the path on our little porch and the dog came running,” she told the court. “I knew the puppy.”
Mrs. Powell said it was Benji, their neighbor’s Beagle
When housemate Ilona Stevens arrived home, the couple went over and knocked on the door again before leaving a note saying the dog was safe in their home.
On the morning of January 13, Ms. Powell said she was awakened by the sound of a child crying.
“I heard Gregory crying behind the wall and I shouted at Ilona,” he said.
The pair went into the next room and found the back door wide open when Mrs Powell ran in to find Gregory “very distressed” in his cot.
“I picked him up. He was like a little koala bear. I took him to our house and he was still holding on,” she said.
He said Miss Stevens walked ahead of him down the corridor and discovered the bodies of Miss Armstrong and Miss Bartlett, then shouted: “Don’t go any further.”
Ms. Powell said she saw Ms. Bartlett’s lifeless body in the hallway but could not see Ms. Armstrong and ran into the house to call the police.
“I didn’t see any blood, but I could see that he looked dead.”
He is one of several witnesses to be called in the trial of Easey Street double murder suspect Perry Kouroumblis, which begins Wednesday.
At the end of the statement, magistrate Brett Sonnet will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to send the matter to the Supreme Court.
His lawyer said 66-year-old Kouroumblis, who was 17 at the time of the murders, would be found not guilty if the case was tried in the high court.
The hearing will continue on Thursday.
