'My father would come out of his grave if he knew that': Daughter of murder victim is revealed to be living with the man accused of beating her father to death 30 years ago
- The daughter of a cold case murder victim is living with his suspected killer
- Salvatore 'Sam' Rotiroti was beaten to death in his driveway in September 1988
- A 21-year-old was arrested and released after witnesses withdrew statements
- Three decades on, Rotiroti's daughter Maria is living with the once-accused killer
A woman whose father was brutally murdered over 30 years ago has secretly been living with the man suspected of killing him.
Maria Rotiroti has been living with Vince Zangari, a suspect in the cold case murder of Salvatore 'Sam' Rotiroti, in North Sydney for nearly eight years.
She was just 14 years old when her father was found bashed to death in his driveway in Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, on the night of September 5, 1998.
Her brother Vince Rotiroti only recently learned of the living arrangements, saying his father would 'come out of his grave' if he knew.
The daughter of murdered Italian concreter Salvatore Rotiroti has been living with his suspected killer for nearly a decade. Pictured left to right: Salvatore, his wife Giuseppina and their five children Maria, Tony, Elizabeth, Joe and Vince (seated)
'It's shocking that she is living with the man police suspect of committing the murder,' Vince Rotiroti told The Herald Sun.
A concreter, Sam Rotitori had paid a $100,000 ransom to have his kidnapped son Tony freed.
The extortionist was trying to elicit more money from him before the murder took place.
Police swooped in on the then-21-year-old Zangari, charging him with murder three weeks after the bloodied corpse was found.
But the murder charge was dropped in 1989 after witnesses began withdrawing or changing their statements.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Zangari had any role in the murder, only that he remains a suspect.
Salvatore's daughter Maria moved from the Geelong home (pictured) where her father was found murdered and is now reportedly living with his accused killer Vince Zangari
Zangari is now 51 and has adopted the new name Luke Conrad.
He and Ms Rotiroti also jointly owned a property in Double Bay, an affluent harbourside suburb in Sydney, before they were both declared bankrupt in 2011.
The Herald Sun sent reporters to their new apartment in North Sydney, but were accosted by a string of abusive messages and threats of legal action.
He also did not respond to questions emailed to him.
Mr Rotiroti was beaten to death in his driveway in September 1988 and his killer never found
A $1million reward for information leading to a conviction was offered in September last year by homicide detectives.
Detective Inspector Tim Day confirmed at the time that Zangari remains a person of interest in the investigation and believed Mr Rotiroti's family had more information.
'We are appealing directly to those people to come forward and help us solve this murder.'
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