Elizabeth Byrne

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

They were virtually tortured that night.

Hi, Stockie.

It's so sad that you lost her and obviously such lovely memories.

One of the things that struck me during the trial was that during the evidence, some people in the family had expressed concern about Irma's money storing practices.

And it raised the question for me,

Why was there so much money in the house?

And not just in 1999, but also in the other times, particularly 1997, when they lost over $100,000 in cash.

Which brings me to the compartment.

Did you know about that secret compartment?

And that's, in fact, what your mother told the court, she said.

We felt we had to give them something, otherwise it would be spread all over the house.

When did you first learn that there was a secret compartment and, in fact, see it?

So let's flip forward to 1998, the second burglary.

where Irma was actually assaulted.

What was life like for them after that?

Because obviously that prompted them to move.

So after the 1999 incident, what was the family's feeling about who might have been responsible and what was the relationship with the Hungarian community like at that time?

Did you suspect anyone from there?

Such a sad time, John.