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By Michael Inman

Photo: Irma and Gregor Palasics were attacked by two intruders in their own home. (Supplied: ACT Policing)

Liz Mikita wants nothing more than to see her mother’s killers caught and jailed.

She has been waiting 20 years for justice for her parents, who were victims of a violent home invasion in Canberra’s north.

“I’d love to look at those two [responsible] and say ‘What on earth could possess two so-called human beings to do something like that?'” Mrs Mikita said.

“The violence and ferocity of it all, to two old people. How can you do that to people?”

Gregor and Irma Palasics came to Australia as Hungarian refugees and worked diligently to get ahead in their adopted country.

But on November 6 1999, the Palasics’ McKellar home was ransacked by two intruders, who bound and beat the couple.

Mrs Palasics, 73, died at the scene.

Mr Palasics, 74, was hospitalised with severe injuries.

The killers have never been caught, despite leaving DNA evidence at the scene.

That DNA was tested, but has not yet been matched with a suspect.

The rise of DNA in fighting crime

Photo: John and Liz Mikita have never stopped working to identify those responsible for the death of Irma Palasics. (ABC News)

As Mrs Palasics’ family prepare for the 20th anniversary of her death, they hope new forensic procedures utilising the DNA police currently hold could provide the breakthrough needed to finally crack the cold case.

DNA phenotyping and forensic genealogy have been used in the United States to secure prosecutions after traditional leads hit dead ends.

The phenotyping procedure can give police a facefit of an offender, while genealogy allows police to check crime scene DNA with DNA supplied to commercial genetics labs from people researching their family tree.

Most famously, genealogy helped track down the alleged Golden State Killer, who terrorised California in the 1970s and 80s.

Professor of Forensic Genetics at the University of Technology Sydney, Dennis McNevin, said the techniques can provide a fresh lead to investigate where none had previously existed.

“If there’s no match [to DNA evidence] then that can be a dead end, a DNA profile is only as good as what it can be matched too. But what we can do now is we can paint a picture of the DNA donor from that DNA that they leave behind,” Professor McNevin said.

“You can use these techniques to narrow your suspects to a manageable level where you can invest police resources, following those leads more closely.

“A lead is a lead… if you have no other leads and if the case has not gone anywhere, if it’s a cold case, then any new information is potentially useful information.”

Photo: Irma Palasics died, aged 72, after being bound and bashed by two men in her McKellar home in November 1999. (ACT Policing)

That’s exactly why Mrs Palasics’ grandson, John Mikita, wants ACT Policing to use the techniques on his grandmother’s case.

“It’s the perfect opportunity to give it a go here in the ACT because, let’s face it, if it works for our case and it brings the murderers forward, well then it could be used in the other unsolved cases we have in the ACT,” he said.

“It’s getting to the stage now where, after 20 years, if nobody has come forward and this is our only opportunity to actually try and find some way of getting some sort of progress on the case, then I think it’s about time.”

But Professor McNevin warned the process can be time-consuming and expensive.

“For phenotyping and ancestry, we’re talking thousands of dollars for an analysis, where a typical DNA analysis is $100, more or less,” he explained.

“Genealogy is even more expensive. Probably it’s going to be reserved for very high profile crimes.

“[But] if you have nothing else, and you have a crime you really need to solve, then it’s a lead where there was none previously.”

Family, police, have not lost hope

Photo: ACT Policing installed these traffic signs in a bid to find Mrs Palasics’ killers in 2014. (ABC News)

Mr Mikita has never stopped fighting for justice for his grandmother. Alongside calling on ACT Policing to make use of the DNA technologies, for this year’s anniversary he has planned an information blitz of corflutes, letterbox drops, posters, a pop-up shop in Civic, and a social media campaign.

He pays for it all out of his own pocket, hoping to one day give her memory the peace she was robbed of in her later years.

“I do what I can to keep my grandmother’s dream alive,” Mr Mikita said.

“I’m telling the perpetrators, if they are still living within our community, that I’m not going to let it go, and will continue at every opportunity I can to keep what happened on that night going.

“Getting more exposure is going to potentially provide some more leads that the police might be able to follow up and actually solve the crime, find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

ACT Policing said the investigation was open and the force had not lost hope of bringing the offenders before a court.

In a statement, they said they recognised the continued distress of Mrs Palasics’ family and friends.

“Police will actively consider any new evidence brought forward,” the statement said.

“To encourage this, a $500,000 reward remains in place for information leading to the apprehension and subsequent conviction of the person(s) responsible for Irma’s murder and an appropriate indemnity from prosecution will be considered for any accomplice who first gives information.”

Police urged anyone with any information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Information can be provided anonymously.

Topics: law-crime-and-justice, crime, police, australia, act, canberra-2600