Second man arrested over Canberra cold case murder

ABC NEWS (Australia)

There's been another major breakthrough in one of Canberra's most notorious cold case murders. Police have arrested a second man over the killing of Belconnen grandmother Irma Palasics nearly a quarter of a century ago.

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00:00 Irma Pleszczyk's brutal murder rocked her family and has haunted them for 24 long years.

00:08 On a night in 1999, two men broke into the McKellar home she shared with her husband

00:14 Gregor, beating the couple and tying them up.

00:18 This wasn't the average robbery.

00:21 My grandparents were beaten, tormented for hours, and my grandmother was left to die

00:28 on the lounge room floor.

00:30 The house was also ransacked and robbed of cash and jewellery.

00:34 But who was responsible remained a mystery until September this year when Melbourne man

00:39 Steve Fabrizi was arrested.

00:42 It was all down to DNA found at the scene that was also in the Victorian Police DNA

00:48 database.

00:49 Then, this week, 68-year-old Joseph Vercone got a knock at the door.

00:55 Police haven't said how he was identified.

00:58 Irma Pleszczyk's family never gave up hope of justice, running a campaign in the hopes

01:04 someone would come forward, even offering a reward for information.

01:10 But today, police said they solved the crime and there would be no payout.

01:15 Part of that investigation has been forensics.

01:18 Part of it has been some tremendous work that's been done by the investigations team.

01:23 But ultimately it's about joining all those dots.

01:27 But police say the case is far from closed and they believe others have information.

01:32 I think there's certainly other people that have knowledge of this matter.

01:36 Certainly other people that know what's happened and certainly after it, knew that it happened

01:43 and haven't come forward.

01:45 And we'd love to talk to those people.

01:46 Joseph Vercone did not apply for bail today, although his lawyer has indicated he plans

01:52 to plead not guilty.

01:54 He's been remanded in custody.

01:57 Mrs Pleszczyk's family packed out the court to watch on as he was charged with murder.

02:03 There is a sense of relief, but there's still such a long way to go.

02:07 Mr Vercone will return to court in late January.

02:11 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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