Melbourne man Joe Lo Bianco, who ambushed his wife Kaliopi Roumeliotis in their garage, attacking her with a metal car ramp, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Lo Bianco received the sentence in Victoria’s Supreme Court on Thursday, November 7, with a non-parole period of 18 years and six months.

On November 30, 2022, Lo Bianco waited for his wife to step out of her car at their Melbourne home before striking her repeatedly in the head and neck with a metal ramp. He left her body on the garage floor, positioning the ramp under her head in an attempt to stage the scene as an accident, and then disposed of his blood-stained clothing.

Lo Bianco then went to his in-laws’ house for about an hour until his daughter returned from a birthday party. When the girl, referred to in court as Sally, asked about her mother’s whereabouts, Lo Bianco told her to check the garage. Sally entered the garage to find her mother’s lifeless body, with blood covering the floor, walls, and car.

She ran next door for help, and her uncle and aunt attempted CPR while Lo Bianco called emergency services. Paramedics confirmed Roumeliotis was already deceased upon their arrival.

Justice Amanda Fox said leading his daughter to her mother’s body was a “deeply aggravating aspect to (his) offending,” and emphasised that Roumeliotis was “dearly missed by everyone who loved her.”

Justice Fox also highlighted that Lo Bianco’s refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccination had caused ongoing financial tension between him and Roumeliotis. Days before her murder, Roumeliotis had confided to a friend that she was “frustrated” and “had reached saturation point.”

Initially, Lo Bianco claimed he had no role in his wife’s death, telling police she must have fallen while he was outside cleaning a rabbit enclosure. He later admitted responsibility and pleaded guilty to murder in September.

Source: Nine News.

Australian homicide squad detectives are on standby to travel to Rome, as a comprehensive brief of evidence on the 1977 Easey Street murders has been sent to Italian authorities.

According to the Herald Sun, a decision on whether suspect Perry Kouroumblis will be extradited for the murders of Suzanne Armstrong, 27, and Susan Bartlett, 28, may be reached as early as next week.

The detailed brief, prepared by homicide detectives, was first sent to federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus before being relayed to Rome, ahead of the 45-day deadline that began with Mr Kouroumblis’ arrest at the airport two months ago.

The file was submitted despite Mr Kouroumblis indicating he would not contest extradition. There was initial speculation that he might be back in Melbourne by late October.

The investigation had progressed significantly before his arrest in Rome on September 19, after he arrived from Greece, where he had lived since 2017. Extradition would have been more challenging had he stayed in Greece, as he holds dual Greek-Australian citizenship.

Homicide squad investigators are prepared to fly to Rome on short notice, and Mr Kouroumblis’ willingness to return may expedite the process.

A previous brief on the murders at the Collingwood home of Ms Armstrong and Ms Bartlett was compiled for an inquest held months after the crime. This updated version includes DNA evidence and other information unavailable to the original investigators.

At the time of the murders, Mr Kouroumblis, then 17, was found with a knife in his car, which he claimed to have found on railway tracks near the crime scene.

In 2017, Mr Kouroumblis left Australia after being asked for a DNA sample by cold case investigators. He was arrested in Rome two months ago, where he remains in Regina Coeli prison, known as one of the city’s toughest.

Mr Kouroumblis’ family denies he left Australia to evade the investigation, and he has consistently maintained his innocence.

Source: Herald Sun