Overview

• Victoria Police arrested a 67-year-old man in Ararat and charged him with the 1994 murder and two counts of rape of 24-year-old Samantha Mizzi.
• He appeared at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on August 14 and was remanded until a December 18 hearing via audio-visual link.
• Detectives allege Mizzi was beaten with an object, sexually assaulted, stripped and left in bushes behind a St Kilda property, with her belongings stolen and the weapon never recovered.
• Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said the arrest shows progress can be made on decades-old cases and urged anyone with information to contact authorities.
• The prosecution brief is due by November 6 and police have appealed for new leads through Crime Stoppers and support lines such as 1800 RESPECT.