Cold case murder arrest

Nella Poli. Photo / Daily Telegraph

An Auckland man who allegedly murdered his estranged girlfriend in 1987 has handed himself into police after being on the run for almost 24 years.

Auckland woman Nella Celeste Poli, 19, was found dead in her bed at her west Sydney home in May 1987 by her mother after she failed to show up for work.

The young barmaid, who had been in Sydney for only a couple of years, had a 20cm burn mark around her neck, leading police to believe she had been strangled with a piece of rope or cord.

It was reported at the time that a photo of Miss Poli with the head ripped off was found near her body.

A taskforce was set up to investigate Miss Poli's murder, and New South Wales police issued a warrant for the arrest of her de facto husband.

The man worked for a large company at the time as a stock controller, and the Herald has learned Miss Poli broke up with him and told him to leave their house shortly before she was killed.

Police believe the man created a false identity to help him evade authorities.

But last week he walked into the Atherton police station in north Queensland and gave himself up.

The man, now 61, was extradited to Sydney and charged with murder. He was refused bail and is in custody awaiting his next court appearance.

Miss Poli's sister, Silk Sullivan, told the Herald she was shocked and relieved when she heard the man, who she said was from the Auckland area, had been arrested.

"I thought, this can't be true," she said yesterday. "That would be too easy ... that he just walked in off the street. It doesn't feel quite real yet.

"It's amazing. But it's difficult. On one hand I'm ecstatic. But on the other hand, it's dredging up old memories.

"This is something I've always had in the back of my mind. It's not something I'd think about every day, but it's something that hovered there. And now, it's over - in a way."

Ms Sullivan was only six when Miss Poli was killed, but said she was old enough to know what was going on.

"I don't remember specific details, but I remember the special cover up work they had to do with her because we had an open casket at the funeral. I just remember looking at her face for the last time," she said.

"I loved her very much. She was an amazing person, such a generous, loving person."

Ms Sullivan said it was frustrating knowing who had allegedly killed her sister, but being unable to find him.

She remembered spending time with the accused killer as a child.

"He was around, but I never thought anything was off or wrong with him."

Over the years, relatives had tried to find the man themselves, without success.

Six months ago, Ms Sullivan's cousin, who lives in Australia, decided to try to hunt the man down one last time.

"She said,'This is it. I want this guy found'. And then he just rocks up to the police station. All these years he's been going, then all of a sudden we start looking for him and talking about him and here he is ... .

"I wonder if the guilt got to him. He's getting old, too, perhaps that's a reason."

Queensland police Inspector Rolf Straatemeier believed the man had been living at the heritage town of Irvinebank, southwest of Cairns.

People in Irvinebank spoken to by the Herald yesterday had never heard of the man or knew of anyone around who had left the town suddenly in the last two weeks.

Mr Straatemeier told the Cairns Post it was unusual for people to present themselves to police on such an old case.

"It happens occasionally and I believe people's conscience gets the better of them over time," he said. "It would be terrible to live with having murdered somebody."

New South Wales police would not comment on the case as it was before the courts.

Ms Sullivan was critical of the police investigation.

"The police knew who he was. It wasn't a mystery who [allegedly] did it. He just disappeared off the face of the planet. But obviously he's been there the whole time, just one state away.

"I wouldn't go after them with fiery pitchforks because obviously people do get away. But I do want to know how competent the task force was. I don't know why they gave up and I don't know why it went so cold."