Episode Transcript
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0:02
47 years ago, on a warm summer's
0:04
night in Melbourne, Susan Bartlett and Suzanne
0:06
Armstrong were stabbed to death in their
0:09
home in Easy Street, Collingwood. Suzanne's
0:11
16-month-old son was asleep in his
0:13
cot at the time. The
0:16
double homicide left the community shocked
0:18
and detectives rattled, as several promising
0:20
early leads gradually peed it out.
0:24
Eventually, the case went cold. To
0:27
this day, the Easy Street Murders
0:29
is still one of Australia's most
0:31
confronting cold cases, a frenzied
0:34
crime shadowed by strange twists of
0:36
facts and fate. A
0:38
million-dollar reward for information has failed to
0:40
lead to an arrest, no
0:42
one has ever been charged, and
0:45
critical questions remain unanswered. Did
0:48
the young women know their killer, or
0:50
did they die in a brutal, random
0:52
attack? Why has their
0:54
murderer never been found? Journalist
0:57
Helen Thomas has been investigating
0:59
Susan and Suzanne's deaths for
1:01
more than a decade, initially
1:03
for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's
1:05
Background Briefing Program, and then
1:08
for her book, Murder on
1:10
Easy Street. Now
1:12
Helen has delved into the case
1:14
again for a brand new original
1:16
podcast made for Casefile Presents. In
1:19
Casefile Presents, The Easy Street Murders,
1:22
Helen explores the crime and the
1:24
investigation that followed. She
1:26
speaks with the young women's family and
1:29
friends, potential witnesses living in Easy Street
1:31
who were never interviewed by detectives, and
1:33
the retired police who were first at
1:35
the crime scene in January 1977, and
1:40
remain haunted by it even now.
1:44
Search Casefile Presents, The Easy Street
1:46
Murders, wherever you get your podcasts,
1:49
or binge the entire series for
1:51
free on the iHeartRadio app. Now
1:54
stay tuned to hear the trailer. in
2:00
Melbourne 46 years ago, Suzanne
2:02
Armstrong and Susan Bartlett were brutally stabbed
2:04
to death in their home in Easey
2:07
Street, Collingwood, as Suzanne's young toddler
2:09
lay in his court. Their
2:11
killer has never been found and
2:13
their double homicide remains one of Australia's
2:15
most chilling cold cases. It
2:19
would be absolutely fair to
2:21
say that I'm 75 now. Hardly a day goes by
2:26
that I don't think about this
2:28
particular murder. Did
2:31
they know their killer or was it a random
2:33
attack? At the time
2:35
police weren't sure and warned women in Melbourne
2:37
to lock their doors and windows. Yet
2:40
they failed to interview a number of witnesses
2:42
living in the street, one
2:45
right next door to Sue and Suzanne. She
2:48
told me that she was sitting there at the
2:50
window because it was a hot night and
2:52
she said she saw a bloke
2:54
leaving out the back gate. Till this
2:56
day, until I die, I'm convinced
2:59
there were two killers, not one. Has
3:01
the investigation focused on the wrong person?
3:04
How many men were really there? In
3:07
the Easey Street murders we'll talk to
3:09
forensic and legal experts as well as
3:11
Suzanne and Susan's family and friends. Instead
3:14
of a good sense of humour
3:17
and the kids loved her because
3:19
she made them feel real. She
3:22
wasn't constrained I should say by
3:25
the norms of the time which
3:27
45 years ago a single
3:30
mother was regarded
3:33
very poorly by society. And
3:36
the retired detective who'll never forget walking
3:38
into the little house in Easey
3:40
Street. This guy has
3:42
done something so bad, so
3:45
bad that you
3:47
know humanity just would
3:49
never even forgive him no matter who
3:51
the relative was. What he did to
3:53
those two girls could
3:55
never ever ever be
3:58
forgiven anyone. you
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