New forensic link could bring closure in brutal Canberra cold case murder

Fifteen years on from one of Canberra's most brutal unsolved murders, a new forensic link has brought the killer closer to justice.

Irma Palacsics and her husband Gregor were repeatedly burgled in an increasingly violent series of attacks in their home in the Australian capital, from 1997 to 1999.

After the first two attacks, the Palacsics' moved to a new house in a quieter suburb, but in November 1999, the predators followed them.

The thieves broke into the house and bound and gagged the couple before viciously assaulting them and ransacking the residence for the next two hours.

Irma's nose was broken in the attack and with her mouth gagged, she slowly choked to death.

No arrests have every been made, but new technology has given the Australian Federal Police a new lead on the old case.

"They left their DNA and we'll always have that," AFP Detective Jarryd Dunbar told 60 Minutes.

"So it's just a matter of time before forensic science catches up."

A new method of tracking "familial DNA" allows officers to search for genetic evidence linking families between crime scenes.

More than a decade after Irma was killed, in May 2010, a group of young men broke into a Canberra putt putt golf premises.

One left behind a blood sample, which was identified to be an "extremely close" match to Irma's killer - possibly even his son.

Police believe the group of young men had earlier that night celebrated at an 18th birthday party at the nearby Slovenian-Australian Association.

And with a $500,000 reward out for information leading to the arrest of Irma's killer, Det Dunbar said there were half a million extra reasons for somebody to pick up the phone to help solve one of Canberra's most brutal murders.