Second arrest in Irma Palasics cold case

The Canberra Times

Detective superintendent Scott Moller announces the arrest of a second person charged after the death of Irma Palasics in 1999.

Transcript

00:00 Good morning. We are pleased to announce today that this morning that a second man will face

00:06 the ACT Magistrate's Court today charged with the murder of Irma Plassicks from 1999.

00:12 On the evening of Saturday the 6th of November, two men forced their way into the McKellar home

00:19 of Gregor and Irma Plassicks. The elderly couple were bound, violently assaulted,

00:26 and before the two men ransacked the premises and stole cash and jewellery.

00:31 Tragically, Irma didn't survive that evening and she died at the scene.

00:37 Yesterday, a 68-year-old man from Endeavour Hills in Melbourne faced the Dandelong Magistrate's

00:45 Court where his extradition was granted. He is scheduled to face court today here in the ACT

00:52 and he'll be charged with one count of murder. This week's arrest follows the arrest of a 68-year-old

00:59 man from September this year and he was also a Melbourne man that was also charged with murder

01:06 in relation to Irma's death. At this time I'd really like to take the opportunity to thank

01:12 all the investigations team, the forensic team and all the support staff that worked on this

01:18 investigation over the last 24 years. We wouldn't have got this result without their dedication and

01:23 commitment. Now I'd just like to introduce John who's a representative of the Plassicks family

01:29 and he'd like to say a few things. Good morning. On Wednesday this week, the ACT Police arrested

01:42 a second suspect relating to the home invasion and murder of my grandmother, Irma, and the

01:47 violent bashing of my grandfather, Gregor. The second suspect, also from Melbourne, is unknown

01:54 to our family. We continue to question why he and his accomplice came all the way to Canberra

02:00 to commit these vicious crimes against my grandparents. This wasn't the average robbery.

02:06 My grandparents were beaten, tormented for hours and my grandmother was left to die

02:15 on the lounge room floor. 24 years is a long time to wait, especially for answers.

02:23 We never gave up hope. We never stayed silent. We made sure the community never forgot what

02:31 happened to my grandparents on the 6th of November in 1999 in the safety of their own home in Mackellar.

02:41 Since September this year, when ACT Police arrested the first suspect,

02:45 we have been eager to hear the news of the second arrest. This arrest comes as a great relief

02:52 and hopefully will allow our family to continue the long healing process

02:56 and lead to the much needed feeling of closure that we have waited for for so long.

03:02 We would like to again thank the ACT Police Criminal Investigation Unit, the Chief Police

03:09 Officer Neil Gagan, Scott Muller, his team led by Craig Marion and the many detectives and officers

03:17 who have come before them for the lengths they have gone to investigate over the many years.

03:23 ACT Police have done a phenomenal job with the limited resources and funding they have.

03:30 Resulting in these arrests would show that how committed they are to how much they care about

03:37 finding justice for families like ours and keeping our communities safe from dangerous criminals

03:44 such as those who prey on the vulnerable.

03:46 Unfortunately, my grandparents' murder is not the only unsolved case in our community.

03:55 Other families continue to wait for answers and our message to them is that they should never

04:02 give up hope as the arrest of my grandmother and her alleged murderers is proof that justice can

04:09 also prevail for them. Thank you. Happy to take questions.

04:16 How did you find the second man? Was it DNA or did Stephen Ritzy roll on him?

04:30 Look, there's a significant amount of investigation that's gone into this case,

04:33 as you know, we've talked about. And part of that investigation has been

04:37 forensics. Part of it has been some tremendous work that's been done by the investigations team.

04:44 But, you know, ultimately, it's about joining all those dots. And that's how we've come to

04:51 here today. So not one piece of evidence or process has brought us here. It's about

05:00 the combination of all this and ultimately the detectives and the work they've done.

05:04 There was reward money for information that could lead to an arrest in this case. Is it expected

05:10 that that money will be paid out to somebody? Was there a tip that helped lead to these arrests?

05:14 There's been a lot of information from the community, which we're grateful for,

05:18 but the reward money will not be paid out.

05:19 And after Mr. Ritzy was arrested, did you receive more information from the public?

05:29 The information from the public has been ongoing for 24 years. Certainly every time we publicise

05:40 some activity, yes, we get an influx of information. But again, the rewards are being paid,

05:46 even though the information has helped us greatly. This matter has been solved by the

05:53 detectives that worked on the case. Would you expect this second man to face more charges?

05:58 Because I think the reason is there are charges in both cases, including Mr. Jaffna Brinkmore,

06:05 and we've seen the majority. Is there a need to face some extra charges?

06:11 There may be additional charges this man will face, yes.

06:15 Is there any other people of interest in relation to this case at the moment?

06:20 Certainly the investigation is ongoing. We'd again appeal to the public for any information,

06:25 additional information that may be out there that they might help us with. And like I said,

06:32 the investigation is ongoing. Does that mean it's suspected that there are other people who

06:36 may have assisted after the fact in this crime? I think there's certainly other people that have

06:41 knowledge of this matter. Certainly other people that know what's happened and certainly after it

06:48 knew that it happened and haven't come forward. And we'd love to talk to those people.

06:52 All right, thanks guys. Thank you very much.

06:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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