The chilling discovery on Easey Street | Forensic Files

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147 easy street was a typical semi-detached terrace home for melbourne's inner city suburbs
its front door opened to a narrow hallway with three bedrooms leading off to the right
a bathroom sat at the end of the hall which also doubled as the laundry another door led to a living room and
modest kitchen which opened to a small backyard encased by a fence from the yard a gate granted access to a
side laneway that separated number 147 from a neighboring property and led out into the street
on thursday january 13 1977 next door neighbor janet waited anxiously in the laneway
at her side was a german shepherd cross puppy named mishka the dog belonged to the two young women
who lived at 147 easy street suzanne armstrong and susan bartlett janet and her housemate alona had found
mishka wandering the street two days earlier but knocks and calls to 147 had gone unanswered
janet and elona had kept mishka secured in their backyard waiting for the two sues to come looking for her
but no one did at one stage a loner peered over the fence into the backyard of 147 and
noticed a rear door leading into the kitchen was open and a light was on her worries increased the following day
when she overheard the distressed sound of crying through the home's shared wall
it was suzanne's 16 month old son it was unusual for his cries to go ignored as suzanne was a very attentive
and affectionate mother at their wit's end alona and janet headed next door to investigate
they bypassed the front door a note they'd pinned there days earlier informing the women that their dog was
loose remained untouched once in the side laneway janet waited with mishka while alona entered 147's
backyard and disappeared through the open kitchen door a short while later alona rushed from
the house in a panic call the police she said they're dead [Music] [Music] [Music]
it took two calls to triple zero and over 20 minutes before a single police officer finally arrived at 147 easy
street alona met him outside and led him into 147's backyard via the side laneway
along the same route she had taken almost half an hour earlier mishka's vacant kennel sat under the
kitchen window near the open back door the officer stepped inside into the narrow kitchen with its brick-a-brack
filled shelves and onwards to the living room so far nothing seemed out of the ordinary
there was a couch television and record player everything appeared neat and in order
the officer reached the dimly lit hallway and peered towards the front door at the end of the hall lying face down
next to the door was the bloodied body of susan bartlett she was fully clothed in a night dress
with numerous stab wounds to her arms hands legs and upper torso alongside her the walls of the hallway
were smeared and splattered with blood moving towards susan's body the officer glimpsed into the front bedroom
inside suzanne armstrong lay on the carpet she was naked except for a red and white
night dress that had been pulled up around her head her arms chest and chin were riddled with knife wounds and her
legs were spread wide apart grasping the enormity of the situation the attending officer radioed for backup
a swarm of police cars then descended on easy street the bartlett family hadn't been too
pleased when susan announced that she was moving to collingwood in october of 1976.
located four kilometers from melbourne's cbd the semi-industrial area had a checkered past
even though it was gaining popularity with students and young people looking to take advantage of the cheaper and it
still had a reputation as one of victoria's roughest suburbs crime rates were high and drugs and
gangs were an ongoing problem but for 27 year old susan bartlett who went by sue
collingwood offered everything she needed there was a milk bar on the corner reliable public transport nearby and it
wasn't far from the high school where she worked as an art teacher the house at 147 easy street was basic
but cozy and the rent was much more affordable than the place in nearby richmond where she had been living
previously furthermore sue was looking forward to living with her friend 28 year old
suzanne armstrong the two knew one another from high school having both grown up in the
country town of banala the women had a lot in common both were intelligent creative and
sociable and they shared a love of cooking and travel they'd recently explored the greek
islands together proving they could live alongside one another without issue sue also had a great affection for
suzanne's toddler son gregory by january 1977 sue and suzanne had been living in
collingwood together for around two months monday january 10 started normally for
both women they rose early ate breakfast together and then went their separate ways
suzanne bathed gregory and the two took off on her bicycle to visit some friends
sue's mother was in town and the two met to go shopping in the city sue went home to work on a dress she was
in the process of sewing she was a talented seamstress who made most of her own clothes and she intended
to wear this dress on a date she had planned for wednesday night after working on the dress for a while
sue began to cook dinner in preparation for company sue's brother martin was a regular
visitor to 147 easy street having also made the move to the big city from banala he enjoyed helping his
sister with tasks around the house in exchange for a home-cooked meal sue's stereo had recently broken so
martin agreed to come over for dinner and then have a go at fixing it martin got the stereo working and they
all listened to some records but then sue and suzanne said they wanted to watch television
one of their favorite shows the sullivans was about to start and they were keen to see it once suzanne put her
son down for the night [Music] at around 9pm martin bid the women farewell with the bartlett siblings
making plans to catch up again the following week it was an enjoyable albeit uneventful
evening everyone was in good spirits and nothing seemed out of the ordinary when martin left suzanne and sue were
comfortably settled in front of the television he would become the last person to see
his sister and her friend alive given there were no further sightings of either of the women after martin laughed
and their dog was found wandering the streets the following day it was determined they had likely been killed
sometime in the early hours of tuesday january 11. neighbours didn't hear or see anything
out of the ordinary although next-door neighbor alona recalled hearing gregory crying for a prolonged period on tuesday
morning this meant that the bodies of susan bartlett and suzanne armstrong lay undiscovered in their home for three
days while the young boy lay distressed and alone in his cart collectively the young women had been
stabbed a total of 82 times with sue sustaining 55 stab wounds to suzanne's 27. the wounds were deep having likely been
inflicted using forceful rapid thrusts with a two and a half centimeter wider blade
suzanne had also been raped postmodern however it didn't appear that any great struggle had taken place
other than a vas of flowers that had been knocked over suzanne's bedroom was in relatively neat order
blood had pulled on the carpet above her head several drops of blood stained her
bedsheet and a pair of her underwear lay beside her the scene indicated that suzanne had
been reading in bed when she got up and encountered her killer who then launched
a brutal and frenzied attack there were also smears of blood on the lamp and alarm clock next to the bed
either suzanne had reached over in an attempt to grab her bedside phone to call for help or the killer had reached
over to turn the lamp off the location of sue bartlett's body in the hallway just outside of suzanne's
bedroom suggested she had likely confronted the killer after suzanne was already dead
sue's hands and arms were covered with defense wounds which explained the smears of blood on the hallway walls
investigators believed that after killing sue the perpetrator returned to suzanne's bedroom to rape her lifeless
body the attack had been so quick and savage that neither woman had any time or opportunity to seek help
gregory was discovered in the middle room between the two women's bedrooms he was found lying hungry in his cart
his skin pale and nappy soiled other than having been dehydrated and distressed for some time he was alive
and unhurt his room which doubled as sue's sewing room was relatively tidy and didn't
appear to have been touched during the attack sue's bedroom at the end of the hall was
similarly neat and there was no blood smudges of blood were discovered in the bathroom specifically in the bathtub
blood pulled around the plughole and small bone splinters were found in the crook of the drain
this suggested that the killer had showered after carrying out the murders with the bone fragments having likely
been washed from their knife the knife itself was nowhere to be found small spots of blood were also found on
the lid of the washing machine the killer might have used the machine or at least considered doing so
the living room revealed further evidence of the killer's attempt to clean themselves up
a small blood-soaked tower lay on the couch a second blood-soaked towel was found at
a playground 300 meters from number 147 on wellington street as dna testing wasn't available in the
late 70s it couldn't be determined whether any of the blood belonged to the killer
sue's blood type was type o and suzanne's was type a both common blood groups only type a blood was found in suzanne's
bedroom the bathroom and on the blood-soaked towels while only typo blood was found smeared in the hallway
this either meant that the killer wasn't wounded during the attacks or that he shared a common blood type with one of
his victims however he did leave one undisputable piece of evidence behind semen was found on suzanne armstrong's
body as well as on her bedroom carpet bed sheets and one of the towels there were no signs of forced entry into
number 147 and when police arrived both the front and back doors were unlocked if the women had purposely left the
doors unlocked which they were known to do the killer might have let himself in uninvited walked into suzanne
armstrong's bedroom and launched an attack yet the top sheet of suzanne's bed was
neatly folded over and a book was face down on the corner it appeared as though she'd been reading
in bed when her killer entered if it was a stranger suzanne would have scrambled out of bed in a panic leaving
things in a far more disorderly state than the way they were found maybe the killer had knocked on the
front door or on suzanne's window and she had let him inside or perhaps she had been expecting a
guest and had left the front or back door unlocked so they could let themselves in
they might have exchanged words or maybe suzanne rejected his sexual advances which had enraged him
suzanne's family didn't believe she was expecting a visitor suzanne always wore decorative earrings
but at the time of her death she was wearing plain gold sleepers her family said she would never wear
sleepers if she was expecting male company sue was likely in the backyard kitchen
or possibly doing some laundry at the time which would explain why she hadn't heard the attack right away
when she realized what was going on she likely confronted the assailant who turned his fury to her
sue had been stabbed almost twice as many times as suzanne there were wounds all over her body
including on her buttocks and the back of her thighs the killer had continued his attack even
after sue lay incapacitated and face down on the floor however the level of overkill sue
endured didn't necessarily mean that she was the killer's main target the fact that sue hadn't been sexually
assaulted whereas suzanne had indicated that suzanne was most likely the intended
victim sue might have been killed in such a vicious way because she took the perpetrator by surprise and he wanted to
ensure there were no witnesses the question remained who would want to hurt these two young women and why
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when investigators initially examined sue bartlett's bedroom nothing appeared noticeably out of place
however upon closer inspection they realized something wasn't quite right sue's bed sat directly under a window
which looked out to the side laneway the blind on the window had fallen away at the corner and underneath was a dirty
shoe print on sue's bedspread after news of the murders hit the press a tobacco salesman named colin fowler
not his real name showed up at the police station claiming he was the one who left the shoe print
colin explained that on tuesday january 11 he was growing worried about the fact
he hadn't heard from sue in a couple of days the two had met the previous week and
had a date planned for wednesday evening colin had been trying to call sue to confirm the details but nobody was
answering the phone he wondered if she might have given him the wrong number by mistake
colin liked sue and was eager for their date to go ahead on tuesday night he had a few too many
drinks and decided to stop by easy street colin was familiar with the house having
spent the night there he headed down the side laneway and knocked on sue's bedroom window
there was no reply not thinking straight on account of being inebriated colin decided to climb
in through the window and check sue's phone to make sure he had been calling the right number
as he clambered through he knocked the window blind off in the process before leaving his dirty shoe print on sue's
bed colin crept up the dark hallway and into the living room the light was on in the kitchen so he
managed to find the phone which had its number displayed on the dial it confirmed that he'd been calling the
right number so where was sue colin didn't poke around any further he was keen to get in and out as quickly
as possible so he hastily left the house the same way he'd entered had he looked down the hallway he would
have noticed sue's bloodied body lying by the front door whether it was the fold of the alcohol
or the darkness colin claimed he never saw sue's body colin found out about the murders after
a friend read about them in a newspaper and recognised sue's photo he was horrified to discover he'd been
in the house while the two women lay undiscovered he also realized this didn't look good
for him enlisting the help of a lawyer colin immediately went to the police station
to clear his name investigators weren't convinced it seemed highly unlikely that colin
could have stood mere meters away from sue's body and not seen her nor heard suzanne's son's weak cries for
attention colin had also been one of the last people to spend time at 147 easy street
having slept over with sue two nights prior witnesses recalled seeing his car parked
out the front at the time it was a white mercedes and hard to miss was it possible that colin had sneaked
in through the window killed both women washed himself clean then quickly fled the area
his story about checking sue's phone number could be a ruse used to explain away his footprint at the scene
according to colin a friend had accompanied him on his late night track to easy street
he stood watch in the laneway as colin broke into sue's bedroom the friend vouched for colin's entire
story confirming he was in and out of the house in a matter of minutes and made no mention of seeing anything out
of the ordinary inside yet colin fowler wasn't the only person prowling around 147 easy street
in the kitchen investigators discovered an envelope tucked under an ashtray on a
table a phone number was written on the back of it along with the message to ring now
it was an urgent request as the word now was capitalized and had been followed up
with an exclamation mark alongside the phone number was the name barry woodard 31 year old barry woodard was thrilled
when he was set up on a blind date with suzanne armstrong late in 1976. they were introduced by suzanne's sister
who was going out with barry's brother barry and suzanne got along great although they had only been on three
days barry could feel himself falling for zuzan and he even began considering marriage
on sunday january 9 1977 suzanne joined barry for dinner at his sister's house in the suburb of
northcutt where barry was staying at the time he worked as a roving shearer which
meant he was constantly moving around but he typically stayed at his sister's house on weekends
after dinner he dropped suzanne back at easy street barry was invited inside for coffee and
suzanne suggested he stay the night but as he was expecting a call regarding a shearing job early in the morning barry
declined the offer he drove back to northcutt at around midnight the next morning barry didn't get the
job call he was expecting he called suzanne to let her know that he wouldn't be working after all but
nobody answered the phone the two had already discussed another dinner date for tuesday evening and
barry was keen to lock in the details he kept calling suzanne but the phone continued to ring out
by tuesday evening he still hadn't heard from suzanne to confirm what time she wanted to be picked up that night
barry tried calling her several more times but with no success by wednesday afternoon barry was really
starting to worry although he hadn't known suzanne long it simply wasn't like her to flake on their
plans without being in touch he shared his concerns with his brother and the two decided to drop by easy
street to make sure everything was okay they arrived at around 8 30 pm on wednesday
it didn't look like anyone was home no lights were on inside and there was a note pinned to the front door
the two brothers walked down the side laneway and through the rear gate into the backyard
a light was on in the kitchen and the back door was slightly ajar barry knocked on the door and yelled out
suzanne's name there was no reply he figured she couldn't be too far away but the thought of entering the house
without permission made barry feel uneasy the brothers decided they'd just duck inside quickly to leave susan a note
they went into the kitchen scribbled barry's number down on the back of an envelope and left it on the table
barry's brother suggested they checked the bedrooms but barry didn't feel comfortable going any further so they
left to via the back door and returned to their sister's house had they headed down the hallway they
would have encountered the dead bodies of both women [Music] on thursday morning barry called 147
easy street again finally someone picked up the phone it was a homicide detective who broke
the news about the murders barry was in shock when he identified himself the detective
recognized his name from the envelope on the kitchen table he immediately sent authorities to
barry's sister's house to bring him to the police station for questioning barry insisted he had nothing to hide
he hadn't noticed anything unusual at 147 easy street when he visited on wednesday night nor had he heard gregory
crying barry said that if he had he would have gone down the hallway to see if everything was all right
as for the night of the murders barry told police he and his brother went drinking at a pub before returning to
their sister's home where they were both staying they ate a late dinner had some more
drinks and watched television barry said he went to bed around midnight and didn't get up until early
the next morning his sister verified this alibi she had stayed up until 2am and didn't
recall seeing barry leave the house at any point when she got up at 6 30 am she brought
barry a cup of coffee there was nothing unusual about his appearance or demeanor
barry was heartbroken by the news of suzanne's death he declared his love for her via the
press saying he was very fond of suzanne's son and would happily adopt him investigators weren't so sure
barry's own admissions had placed him at the scene of the crime before the bodies
were discovered and it seemed a bit strange that he wouldn't have checked the entire house if he was that worried
about suzanne they also couldn't rule out the possibility that he had sneaked out of
his sister's house during the night without anyone noticing given he was dating suzanne at the time
of the murders he was an obvious suspect investigators weren't entirely sure what
to make of the situation while it was highly unusual that two men who were romantically involved with the
victims had entered the crime scene it didn't mean either of them were guilty as police began questioning friends and
associates of the two women they learned that barry woodard wasn't the only man that suzanne armstrong had recently been
involved with described as quote very attractive with the personality to match suzanne had
several admirers some friends described her as too trusting and said she'd recently been
spending time with some questionable people on occasion she had invited them to easy
street which had made sue feel uncomfortable one such person was a former police
officer who had been kicked off the force for sexually assaulting female motorists while on the job
he had attended a housewarming party the two sues had thrown just weeks before the murders and some guests recalled
he'd been watching suzanne very closely investigators questioned the former officer who gave contradictory
statements when asked about his whereabouts on the week of the murders something about his behavior seemed
off then there was an ex-boyfriend that suzanne's family believed could be involved
a violent alcoholic with a criminal record this man was reportedly drinking in a collingwood pub on the night of the
murders just blocks away from easy street his girlfriend vouched for his whereabouts saying the two were together
the entire night working on the theory that suzanne may have rejected the sexual advances of a
former lover or someone she had recently been spending time with several other men were added to the suspect pool
investigators also had to consider whether the killer could have been motivated by revenge
suzanne was a romantic at heart it was while she was visiting the greek islands that she met a local fisherman
named manolas the two fell in love and suzanne stayed in greece for a while she soon became pregnant and she and
manolis decided to get married foreign bureaucracy complicated their plans and they ultimately felt it was
too much hassle after giving birth suzanne was homesick for australia but manolis didn't want to
leave knowing that he wouldn't agree to let her take their baby boy away for good
suzanne told monalis she was simply returning to australia for a visit when she reached melbourne with baby
gregory she sent manolas a letter saying she wouldn't be coming back to greece manolas was heartbroken
he thought suzanne was the love of his life and he struggled to come to terms with the abrupt separation
while this could have given manolas a motive to want to hurt suzanne police confirmed he never left greece
some speculated whether manolis might have had ties to the strong greek community in collingwood and sent
someone to pay susan a vengeful visit on his behalf but there was no evidence to support
this theory while evidence indicated that the killer targeted suzanne armstrong this couldn't
be said with absolute certainty it was possible that the crime was a random opportunistic attack committed by
a dangerous predator two pubs were within close walking distance of 147 easy street both of
which closed at midnight this gave a reason for men who didn't necessarily live nearby to be in the
area late at night police couldn't discount the possibility that someone unknown to the victims had
committed the crime in a drunken rage detectives got to work at gathering the names of all known sex offenders both
locally and interstate witnesses who saw anything out of the ordinary in the early morning hours of
tuesday january 11 were urged to come forward dry cleaners who may have laundered
blood-stained clothing were also told to contact the authorities a police spokesperson said
the killer can't have washed off all the blood someone must have seen him a friend or a
relative probably or maybe someone in the street just so long as that someone tells us
this man is sick very sick and unless we catch him he will strike again then came a promising discovery
shortly after the double homicide a police officer was searching a car in relation to a separate matter
in the boot of the vehicle he found a leather sheath that held a blood-stained knife
it was 26 centimeters long with a small curve at the tip of the blade that could
have been caused by hitting something solid like bone the vehicle's owner strongly denied
having anything to do with the easy street murders he insisted he had found the knife on
the platform of the victoria park railway station 450 meters north east of the murder
scene he'd come across it on monday january 10 sometime between 10 20 and 11 pm although this seemed highly suspicious
the owner of the vehicle was quickly ruled out not only did he have an alibi for the
night of the murders others also vouched for his story about finding the knife investigators ultimately discounted the
knife as the murder weapon given that it was found only 90 minutes after sue bartlett's brother martin left easy
street it didn't seem possible that the killer could have conducted such a frenzied
attack spent time in the house cleaning himself up and then made it to victoria park station in such a short time frame
respected journalists to test lawrence covered the armstrong and bartlett case at the request of police
she attended 147 easy street when suzanne and sue's loved ones were permitted to enter their house to
collect their belongings published in the herald newspaper tessa's article detailed the layout of
the house and the items within shortly after it ran tess received a phone call at work from a man whose
voice she didn't recognize he began dissecting the details of her article line by line and criticized tess
for not being very observant tess had mentioned there was a record player in the living room the one martin
bartlett had stopped by to fix on the monday night but she didn't mention the names of any
of the records the caller pointed this out he then mentioned the name of one record
claiming it was on the turntable at the time during the early days of the media coverage it's believed that police
intentionally fed journalists several incorrect details so they'd be able to identify any misinformation or false
confessions that might come through not only was it falsely reported that sue bartlett had also been raped but a
layout of the murder scene published in newspapers purposefully included a few minor discrepancies
when tess lawrence's article about the crime was published she deliberately admitted the name of the record that was
on the living room turntable at the time the murders were carried out tess was left stunned when the
mysterious caller correctly named this record she scrolled a quick note to a colleague
asking to try and have the call traced while simultaneously trying to keep the caller on the line
he refused to identify himself but claimed to work at the victoria barracks the caller said he'd phoned back before
abruptly ending the call tess immediately reported the incident to the police [Music]
this was just one of thousands of tip-offs received in the first two weeks of the armstrong bartlett murder
investigation at the time victoria's homicide squad only had 16 detectives in the first 21 days of january alone 11
murders had been committed throughout the state for an average of one murder every second
day it was the largest number of murder cases on record since 1955. resources were stretched incredibly thin
while the easy street murders was one of the most brutal sex crimes in victoria's
history investigators had several other unsolved cases vying for their attention
the owner of a massage parlor was shot to death outside his home while another man had been stabbed in the throat with
a broken beer bottle a husband and wife was shot during a home invasion the woman survived but the
man wasn't so lucky none of the other murders were thought to be linked to the deaths of sue and
suzanne but those critical of the investigation believed the spiking crime meant the easy street case wasn't
getting the undivided attention it deserved surely a case of that nature which had
terrified young women all over the city should be top priority what the press and public didn't know
was that investigators had already set their sights on a promising person of interest
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you support case file to continue to deliver quality content 21 year old crime reporter john grant
worked at the same newspaper as easy street resident elona although the two colleagues weren't
particularly close they had gone out together on the night of monday january 11.
elona felt sorry for jon he'd been having a tough time lately there were some rumors circulating about him at
work and he had a difficult home life they ended up back at 149 easy street having drinks and playing pool in a
loner's lounge room until the early hours of the morning by 2 am it was too late for grant to
make his way home so he decided to sleep on the couch the next morning he got a lift to work
with alona two days later alona went next door where she discovered the bloodied bodies
of suzanne armstrong and susan bartlett when john grant was questioned by police
he maintained he hadn't heard anything next door on the night he slept at easy street
while this wasn't suspicious in and of itself there was something about john grant's presence in the neighborhood
that immediately raised a red flag eighteen months earlier a nineteen-year-old american woman named
julianne garcia soleil went missing from the flat she shared with her sister in north melbourne
on the night she disappeared julianne invited three men whom she had recently met over to her flat to discuss the
possibility of opening a restaurant the men claimed that julianne left at around 10 30 pm to make a phone call
from a public pay phone and never returned they eventually got sick of waiting and
decided to leave police weren't convinced of their story not only were several items missing from
the flat including 125 cash and a carving knife but a blood-soaked towel was also found and a pair of julianne's
underwear was on the floor furthermore one of the men who had visited julianne that night was a known
career criminal named joseph john power who had faced prior murder allegations one of the other men was john grant
[Music] grant was the kind of crime reporter who mingled with both police sources and
criminal contacts whatever it took to get a good story his gift of the gab and hard drinking
ways meant he could work both sides but this time his close connections with the
criminal world had left him in hot water grant claimed he had left julianne's house before the other two men
he remembered it specifically because he called his editor and asked for permission to take a taxi home that
could be reimbursed as a work expense police didn't necessarily think that grant was involved with the julianne's
disappearance they did however suspect that joseph john power had something to do with it
the problem was that power had recently made allegations of misconduct against victoria police after they accused him
of another murder and an inquiry into his complaint was currently underway because of this police were wary of
investigating him for julianne's disappearance and they didn't pursue the matter any further
john grant claimed it was an unfortunate coincidence that he was with the julianne on the night she disappeared
and next door to suzanne armstrong and sue bartlett on the night they were killed
police interrogated him for an entire day but he staunchly maintained his innocence
elona said she didn't hear grant get up or leave the house after he went to bed her flatmate janet was reading in bed
until 4am and didn't hear anything either when elona woke up the next morning grant had already showered and was
wearing the same clothes as the night before they were clean and dry with no visible
stains there was nothing unusual about his behavior that day or in the days following
although there was no evidence to suggest that john grant was involved with the easy street murders in any way
that didn't stop the speculation after all what were the chances that one crime reporter could be in the wrong
place at the wrong time on two separate occasions police also believed the easy street
killer had knowledge of forensic procedures which grant did given his line of work
furthermore both the easy street crime scene and julianne garcia-soleil's flat shared a similarity
the presence of a blood-soaked towel and a pair of women's underwear left on the
floor given grant's association with the joseph john power some wondered whether
it was possible that power had followed grant to easy street on january 11 for an unknown reason
maybe he'd caught a glimpse of suzanne armstrong in her front bedroom and acted on impulse
power was known to be a violent dangerous criminal and he was physically capable of overpowering two unsuspecting
women it was a bit of a far-fetched theory but every possibility had to be considered now that the investigation
wasn't shaping up to be as straightforward as initially anticipated the major hindrance was that nobody had
witnessed anything suspicious around 147 easy street on the night of the murders
or had they [Music] gladys coventry was a veteran of easy street having lived in number 145 since
1963. according to the book murder on easy street by helen thomas the elderly gladys made a habit of sitting in her
kitchen laid on summer nights to take advantage of the cool evening breeze tuesday january 11
1977 was no different but as gladys enjoyed the fresh air on that hot night she peered outside and
noticed something at number 147 her home was on the opposite side of the laneway to sue and suzanne's and from
her vantage point gladys could see directly into their kitchen there was a man standing at the sink
washing his hands repeatedly it also looked like he was scrubbing on a piece of clothing
gladys had never seen the man before or if she had she didn't recognize him she didn't think anything of it
after all her neighbours often had visitors and from the casual unhurried way the man moved about their house
nothing raised any alarm it was only when gladys heard about the murders several days later that she was
reminded of the sighting she approached a homicide detective to report what she had seen but he didn't
seem interested at the time the homicide squad had a reputation for being arrogant and it
wasn't until the case started to go cold that they realized that they might have
been too quick to dismiss gladys's siding detectives approached the elderly woman
again but she was offended that they didn't take her report seriously the first time
and she no longer wanted to speak to them detectives were so interested in the sighting that they even sent a doctor to
gladys's house under the guise that he was performing a welfare check in the hopes he could get her to talk
but there was no fooling gladys who quickly sensed that he was with the police the detectives realised that they had
missed their chance to get a description of the man gladys claims to have seen in
the kitchen of 147 but instead of persevering they accepted it and moved on had they taken gladys coventry's siding
seriously from the start they may have been able to get a physical description of the killer and an identity kid could
have been drawn but she wasn't the only neighbour who was overlooked by the police
21 year old peter sellers lived with his family at 139 easy street on the night of monday january 11 he had
a friend named ray stay over while the rest of his family were travelling interstate
according to the book murder on easy street at around 2 30 a.m both peter and ray thought they heard a front door
slamming moments later they heard what sounded like two-car door slamming before the
car quickly took off when police door knocked the area once the murders were discovered peter wasn't
home however his mother was there and she told them that her son had information that might be of interest
police took note of his name but never returned to ask peter what he had seen peter just assumed they weren't
interested so he didn't attempt to follow it up the failure to interview key witnesses
was just one problem in a long list of failures in the investigation one of the overriding issues was that
the case was overseen purely by the state homicide squad and collingwood's criminal investigation branch was never
brought in to assist had local police been involved their specialized knowledge of the area might
have led to more possible persons of interest it didn't help that days had already
passed before the crime scene was discovered this gave the perpetrator plenty of time
to dispose of evidence or flee melbourne secondly although the crime scene was secured as soon as officers descended on
the property things were done differently in the 70s police were free to move through the
crime scene without wearing any protective clothing one officer had even washed his hands in
the bathroom sink failure to maintain the integrity of the crime scene meant crucial evidence might
have been missed complicating matters further was the fact that several detectives seemed
convinced they already had their killer within sights many believed that john grant's
connection was too coincidental and it would be a matter of time before evidence linked him to the crime
others had the same feelings about barry woodard the man suzanne was dating at the time of her death
this tunnel vision meant that other persons of interest were potentially overlooked
during the short amount of time that sue bartlett and suzanne armstrong were living on easy street major construction
was taking place in the area not only was nearby hoddle street being widened in conjunction with the new
freeway but a new community health center was being built right behind the women's home
construction workers and other tradies were in and out of the site constantly was it possible that one of them had
glimpsed into the backyard of 147 easy street and caught sight of sue or suzanne lounging in their backyard
perhaps they'd taken an unhealthy interest in one or both of the women and returned to the property after dark
similarly concreting work had only recently been done outside of number 147 could one of these workers have peered
in through the front window taken note of suzanne and returned to approach her at the property later
many of these workers were employed short term and moved around often so with police chasing other avenues in
the early days of the investigation it would have been easy for any of them to fall through the cracks
on top of the lackluster investigation the armstrong and bartlett families weren't happy with how they were treated
by the authorities they were constantly chasing updates themselves rather than being kept in a
loop with how things were progressing suzanne's family was never even interviewed by police they had to make
their own appointment to go down to the station and provide information by july six months had passed and police
were no closer to making an arrest an inquest into the murders was held at the melbourne coroner's court but no new
evidence was presented the coroner concluded that susan armstrong and susan bartlett had been
brutally killed by an unknown person or persons and shed no light on who that person might be
suzanne's sister gale was given custody of young gregory and in december her family applied for victims of crime
compensation on gregory's behalf this was a standard payment of up to five thousand dollars issued by the
victorian crimes compensation tribunal for dependence of victims who were injured or murdered in a crime
in another blow to the armstrong family the tribunal rejected the application on
the basis that gregory was legally considered an illegitimate child because suzanne hadn't been married to his
father when word spread about the rejection the people of australia were outraged
they rallied behind gregory with the victorian premier announcing he'd make sure gregory received compensation even
if he had to change the laws to do it the following year the law was updated and gregory received five thousand
dollars compensation paid into a trust that he could access on his 18th birthday
the one-year anniversary of the murders passed with no breakthroughs in the case
despite a fifty thousand dollar reward for information being announced the public and investigators alike found
it difficult to believe that the perpetrator continued to go undetected surely there must have been something in
their behavior after the crime that tipped somebody off perhaps this person had been a heavy
drinker who avoided alcohol abruptly following the crime maybe their mental health had taken a
sudden downhill turn it was also hard to believe that someone would commit a crime so brutal and then
never reoffend [Music] suzanne's sister gail told the media we'll never really get over this until
the fellow is caught you walk around not knowing who did the murder it could be the bloke next door
one week later the armstrong family were again devastated when suzanne's father died from severe burns he had recently
sustained from battling a bushfire his was yet another life tragically lost within the armstrong and bartlett
families in the aftermath of susan's and sue's murders sue's father had a fatal heart attack
upon learning that his daughter had been killed the next day one of sue's aunts also had
a heart attack and passed away investigators kept an eye out for similar crimes that could potentially be
linked but easy street remained in a league of its own some thought the killer might have
already passed away perhaps by suicide or had been jailed for an unrelated offense
with no new information and other cases demanding attention the case went cold cursed by its reputation as the murder
house number 147 easy street remained empty for six years as still and silent as the investigation itself
the house eventually sold at a discounted price and the new owner renovated it extensively tearing out the
old wooden floorboards decades after the double homicide the case was reopened the new detectives casting their eyes on
it for the first time were expecting to have boxes of information to sift through
however when they asked for the documents all they were given was a skinny manila folder containing a few
flimsy statements by the late 90s forensic technology had improved dramatically and cold cases
were starting to be solved using dna victoria police were hopeful these advances would reveal the identity of
the easy street killer once and for all there were still eight key suspects on their list including barry woodard and
john grant and each one of them agreed to provide a blood sample dna from their blood was tested against
the semen of the killer none were a match this outcome was a major blow for years investigators and the
armstrong and bartlett families had held out hope that dna would be the clue that
finally held the answers new leads had long since dried up and now that the physical evidence
eliminated the major persons of interest it seemed increasingly unlikely that the
case would ever be solved then in september 1999 a postcard arrived at various media outlets across
the city postmarked from the town of bright in northeast victoria the writer of the
postcards claimed to know who was responsible for the murders the cards were forwarded to the homicide
squad who wrote them off as a hoax then in early 2004 a series of letters arrived at the home of suzanne
armstrong's mother and stepfather written in scrolling cursive they were from the same person who'd authored the
postcards four and a half years earlier his name was peter collier and he openly
criticized the police for not taking his previous claims seriously as reported in the book murder on easy
street peter had been a patient at melbourne's la rundle psychiatric hospital in early 1977.
in late january his friend 30 year old anthony thomas christie was also admitted after attempting to end his own
life christy spent 10 days in a coma before regaining consciousness three weeks later peter was sitting in a
group therapy session with seven other patients including christy when christy made a startling revelation
after having sex with women he felt an overwhelming desire to kill them with a carving knife
peter was stunned he started to put two and two together he knew christy had a criminal past and
the timing of the suicide attempt had him questioning whether christie could have committed the easy street murders
and then tried to take his own life because of it in one of the letters to suzanne's
family peter wrote this is only guesswork but i knew christy and it's the only thing that
makes sense to me i don't believe for a moment that suzanne was raped it's possible but highly improbable
if you're capable of butchering two women you're capable of making out that one of them was raped
a far more likely scenario is that suzanne and christy were involved in pillow talk
he's told suzanne that he's killed a couple of crims he'd hinted that to me the women have decided to get rid of
christy and they have threatened him with the police he's lost control they're dead what would have made him
lose control he's hatred for the police peter explained that he didn't speak up at the time because he was suffering
from poor mental health himself he couldn't believe that the staff at larundel had failed to pass the
information on to the relevant authorities it haunted him to this day bolstered by the fact that christie had
since passed away without facing any consequences in another letter peter wrote there is one way to get the truth out
and that is to put it out on the internet that anthony thomas christie is the easy street killer
that would put some pressure on the creeps covering up the truth suzanne's family reported the
information to police who dismissed peter collier's theory apparently this wasn't the first time
he'd made these kinds of claims to bereaved family members it wouldn't be the last time either
in november 2005 easy street was a buzz when several residents found a letter in
their mailboxes from peter written in black textile in all capitals it read larundel hospital protected anthony
thomas christie for the easy street murders for years [Music] while it was clear that peter had an
ongoing fixation with the case there was no evidence to back his claims although if the killer was being held in
a mental health facility that would explain why no similar crimes were committed after susan armstrong and sue
bartlett's murders that's one element that continues to baffle investigators it just didn't seem plausible that
someone could commit such an extreme brutal murder then go on to live a normal life without ever killing again
by january 2017 four decades had passed and police were still no closer to making an arrest
if anyone other than the killer knew who was responsible they had either taken their secret to the grave or continued
to live with the knowledge in the hopes of enticing someone to talk victoria police announced a 1 million
reward for information as well as possible indemnity against prosecution for anyone who came forward
a police spokesperson said we believe after 40 years someone out there knows something and it is time for
them to come forward these unsolved murders have been extremely devastating on these two young
women's families and after all this time we would like to provide them with closure
for susan armstrong's family it was too little too late suzanne's sister gail was still
disappointed about the way the case was handled from the get-go but she was grateful that the investigation was
still active after all these years she told reporters this reward should have been offered 39
years ago and it'd be solved and we wouldn't be doing all this now i hear the miracles that police do solve
cases and i think suzanne will be next they will do it they will find this person
there were still 130 persons of interest on the list and a team was tasked with going through each individual in a bid
to eliminate them once and for all this was no easy task given how much time had passed 41 of
those individuals had since passed away while others had relocated or changed addresses
those who were able to be tracked down were encouraged to submit a voluntary dna sample
the original eight suspects who had previously been cleared by dna were also retested
once again there were no matches despite the age of the dna evidence it still holds the key to solving the easy
street murders investigators in victoria haven't yet turned to genealogy testing to solve
cold cases but hope remains that the perpetrator could finally be identified via an ancestral link
veteran journalist tess lawrence who visited easy street as family members packed up suzanne and sue's belongings
has never revealed the name of the record that was on the turntable in the living room at the time of the murders
she has this information safely stored away on the off chance that might ever be useful to the investigation
collingwood today is not the suburb it was back in the 1970s it's now considered one of melbourne's
hippest areas the old terrace homes remain but the warehouses that once defined the area
have since been converted into trendy offices bars and cafes with its neighboring house having since
been demolished number 147 easy street now stands alone the house has changed hands multiple
times over the years when it sold in 2011 the real estate agent responsible for the sale found
themselves in hot water after describing the house in their marketing campaign as
part of melbourne's folklore a spokesperson for victim advocate group support after murder described this
campaign as absolutely disgusting and accused the real estate agent of trying to capitalise on the tragedy
[Music] in their defense the agent claimed they were just trying to fulfill disclosure
requirements as discreetly as possible at the time victorian law dictated that real estate agents only had to tell a
prospective buyer about any violent crimes that occurred in a property if they were asked
since then the laws have changed so that agents must disclose these details no matter what
in 2017 147 easy street sold again the real estate ad described the house as quote
enjoying a revitalized identity with a contemporary makeover while retaining its period lustre
for years after susan and sue were killed curious onlookers drove down easy street wanting to catch a glimpse of the
infamous murder house teenagers would hang out of car windows while pointing and laughing which upset
the local residents who continued to be haunted by the crime the notoriety of the gruesome crime
itself often overshadows the fact that at the heart of the tragedy two innocent young women lost their lives in the most
brutal way imaginable and their loved ones never received the closure they desperately soared
sue bartlett was well liked with both students and colleagues at the inner city high school where she worked
dedicated to her job she always went the extra mile to organize out of hours events for the kids such as school
dances and other activities if a faculty member was leaving sue was the one who hustled farms to buy them a
farewell gift in the wake of the murders a former co-worker of sues rallied to raise funds
in susana the money was used to buy a painting of the australian bush which hangs on the
wall of the high school in memory of the popular and dedicated teacher the co-worker remarked
everyone loved sue she was almost larger than life when suzanne armstrong's son gregory
turned 18 he was finally able to access the 5 000 compensation payment that had been put into a trust
the money had been invested wisely and by the time gregory accessed it it was worth almost twenty seven thousand
dollars he used it to complete his education gregory doesn't speak publicly about his
mother's murder but in 1996 he formed a friendship with crime writer tom pryor who penned a book about the case titled
they trusted man speaking to tom gregory said everyone loses out on something i've lost out because my mother was
murdered it has taken me a long time to realize how much i missed her from all accounts the last thing my
mother could be described as was ordinary i miss her i wish i could meet my mother again
even just once suzanne's vibrant inquisitive personality is forever captured in the
letters she wrote to friends and family during her travels while visiting florida in 1973
she wrote to a friend back in melbourne i think there are basically two ways to live your life yours at home and mine
neither is really satisfactory 100 it is just what you make of it happiness can only really come from
inside you and you have to know people i haven't found such happiness but i am getting to know myself and that is an
interesting experience life is really crazy but i do believe there is a purpose to everything
whatever it is i can't say but i suppose i will find out soon enough [Music] [Music]
in 2016 case file covered the disappearance of 22 year old shawno callahan all you can see is headlights
of a car flashing it's blatantly obvious that she got in that car whoever had taken her had done it for criminal
purposes now hear firsthand from loved ones and lead investigator steve bulger as we unravel how the case unfolded and
the minefield of legal and ethical dilemmas encountered along the way therefore there's only one way to do
this it was at that point that steve fortune decided to take an extraordinary gamble her life is my responsibility all
i could do was plead with him for her life when a killer confesses do you listen he said you and i should
have a chat the fact of his guilt was unequivocal but what if one interpretation of the
law says you shouldn't accept the confession when he got taken to swindon he got a
lawyer all that conversation those vital confessions disappeared of no value what they were
doing what were they doing what happens to the cop who believes he's making the right choice the whole reason we were
there was losing sight what was wrong in getting a confession from a murderer it obviously rehearsed
this line that you ended with which was it was a pleasure to ruin your career you corrupt bastard if it had been your
loved one steve bulger was looking for what would you have wanted him to do to crucify somebody
for trying his best to get closure for two families doesn't make a lot of sense case file presents the detective's
dilemma available for free on march 14 only on spotify [Music] you

Case 207: Suzanne Armstrong & Susan Bartlett

In early January 1977, residents of Easey Street in Melbourne’s inner-city suburb of Collingwood noticed they hadn’t seen the tenants at number 147 for several days...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Elsha McGill Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-207-suzanne-armstrong-susan-bartlett

Brief Summary

The episode details the unsolved 1977 murders of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett in Melbourne, exploring the investigation and its impact on their families.

Key points

The Discovery of the Bodies. Alona and Janet find the gruesome scene at 147 Easy Street, leading to a police call.
Barry's Concern. Barry starts to worry when he can't reach Suzanne before their dinner date.
The Shocking News. Barry receives a call from a homicide detective about the murders.
Barry's Heartbreak. In the wake of Suzanne's death, Barry publicly declares his love for her.
A Suspicious Guest. Investigators question a former police officer who had been close to Suzanne.
A Disturbing Discovery. Police warn that the killer is still at large and may strike again.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Call the police, they're dead.

Alona's panic after discovering the bodies.

3:05WatchApr 16, 2022

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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