Unsolved case of Andrew Podpinka: Mysterious caller from 1999 murder may be key to unsolved murder

An anonymous caller to the police about the brutal stabbing death of a Morley man in his home more than 25 years ago got cold feet and hung up, leaving investigators close but still far from solving the shocking case.

WA detectives hope releasing details of the phone booth call made just days after the murder of Andrew Podpinka in March 1999 will enable the caller or others to contact them.

Mr Podpinka, a 43-year-old vulnerable Polish immigrant on a disability support pension, was found dead in a pool of blood by his wife Margaret and then 19-year-old daughter Anna when they returned home on March 4, 1999. shopping around 3:45 p.m.

In WA Police’s latest unsolved case podcast, the contents of the Triple Zero call that detectives believe was a burglary gone wrong are revealed as Mr Podpinka’s wife reveals the impact of the murder, a police psychologist investigates what happened and a neighbor talks. He described what he saw for the first time that fateful day.

Case leader Det-Sgt Kevin Glynn said Mr Podpinka, who was stabbed multiple times in the master bedroom of his Hannans Street duplex, had no enemies and police had found no evidence he was targeted for such a brutal attack.

“Morley was facing a number of burglaries at the time and the evidence suggests that this was a case of burglary gone awry where Andrew confronted the offender, leading to some sort of altercation that resulted in Andrew’s death,” he said. .

Det-Sgt Glynn said the mysterious phone call was made at 2.38am on March 7 by a man with a New Zealand accent from a phone box 1km from Podpinka’s home.

The conversation lasted less than 20 seconds:

Police operator: “Police emergency!”

Caller: “Yeah, I was just about to say it was about the murder in Morley.”

Operator: “Well, what about?”