SA woman charged over cold case murder

A South Australian woman has been charged over the violent murder of a Victorian pensioner more than a decade ago.

The body of Elia Abdelmessih, 69, was found in the front foyer of his East Kew home in 2005 beaten to death with a heavy, blunt object.

His house was ransacked and robbed.

Blood found on a glove beside his body, as well as on the home's laundry tap, and a broken statue of the Virgin Mary, was later DNA tested and found to be from a woman.

The lonely widower, who had migrated to Australia from Egypt, had been a "well known identity" in his neighbourhood, who had often sought out strangers on the street for company.

Armed with the woman's full DNA sample, police offered a $100,000 reward to solve the case.

The 35-year-old woman was arrested on Thursday, charged with one count of murder and will be extradited to Victoria if granted by an SA court.