Auckland man Paul Maroroa revealed as murder accused in 18-year-old cold case

Paul Maroroa appeared in an Adelaide court this week. Image / Channel 10

The Auckland man accused of a cold case murder in Australia can now be identified as Paul Beveridge Maroroa.

Maroroa, who was extradited from New Zealand to Australia, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court this week.

Maroroa tried to hide his face in court using a T-shirt, local media site the Advertiser reported.

Paul Maroroa appeared in an Adelaide court this week. Image / Channel 10

He is charged with the murder of Robert Sabeckis, who was gunned down in a car park south of Adelaide in January 2000.

Maroroa, 43, who lived in Piha, was arrested in New Zealand earlier this month.
South Australian police say they have linked Maroroa to the murder using DNA technology.

Robert Sabeckis was murdered in South Australia in 2000. Photo / Supplied

Detectives from South Australia had joined local police to make the arrest and said the man was formally charged with murder at the Henderson police station.

Sabeckis, 42, was killed at a carpark on Tuit Rd, Maslin Beach, a southern coastal suburb of Adelaide.

He died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.

Police allege that after the shooting the killer drove off in Sabeckis' vehicle, which was then crashed into bushes and a fence further along Tuit Rd.

He was then seen running from the vehicle across paddocks. Police found a sawn-off shotgun and jacket in the area.

They believe the gun was used to kill Sabeckis and the jacket belonged to the killer.
The shotgun and another firearm, were stolen during a break-in at a house at Aldinga Beach south of Adelaide on New Year's Eve - just days before Sabeckis was murdered.
The house was then burned down, destroying potential forensic evidence.

DNA believed to belong to the killer was taken from several items.

Police have said Maroroa was blindsided by his arrest, but then became "indifferent" and "showed no reaction at all".