Is this the end of the nightmare?

Claire Acocks and Margaret Penny. Source: HeraldSun

FOR almost 25 years, Bob Menzel has been kept awake at nights recalling the moment he may have come face to face with a killer.

Mr Menzel, a former mayor of Portland, was driving down Julia St in the town on May 3 1991, when he was forced to stop as a man hurried across the road outside the Old London Coiffure hair salon.

The man appeared to be in a rush that Friday afternoon, arousing Mr Menzel's suspicions. Hours later he learned of the gruesome double murder of popular hairdresser Claire Acocks and her client Margaret Penny.

Despite telling police twice of his odd encounter in the street, Mr Menzel's full statement was not taken until February 1994, almost three years later.

The slaying of the two middle-aged women shocked residents of the coastal town in Victoria's southwest.

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Even today, not a week goes by without someone mentioning the evil deed that occurred at the former London Inn.

Built in 1844 and licensed later that year, the heritage- listed inn is one of Victoria's oldest buildings.

The salon never reopened after the 1991 horror. The ground floor of the bluestone building is now rented by a shipping business, and the upstairs is a private residence.

A 60 Minutes documentary on Channel Nine last year appears to have been the catalyst for a renewed push by Victoria Police to solve the case.

A crime scene photo from Old London Coiffure hairdressing salon in Portland.

In the days after the program went to air, Mr Menzel received a surprise visit from detectives belonging to the cold case squad.

Unhappy with the original photofit produced 23 years earlier, Mr Menzel helped police produce a fresh sketch of the man he saw that day. He says the new sketch has never been made public. It was a face he cannot forget.

"It has kept me awake at night," he said. "It's never really gone from my mind.

"And it has left a stain on the town because nobody knows who it was. It's made us all much more aware, you look over your shoulder a bit more and think, 'How could something like that happen in our nice little town?' "

News of yesterday's arrest also came as a relief to Barkly Street General Store owner Shaun Smith.

Mr Smith says a man came into the store the weekend after the murders asking for something to remove bloodstains.

"He came in and was acting a bit strange asking what we would recommend to get bloodstains out of something," he said.

"When something really stands out like that, you never forget it. I know we would never have rung the police unless we felt very strongly about the way this person acted."

To his disappointment, Mr Smith never received a call back. Finally, last year around the time of the 60 Minutes update, he too received a visit from detectives attached to the cold case squad.

"That was the first statement I made and it took 23 years," he said ruefully.

Robert and Margaret Penny.

"I don't know what other information they got but I do know the information I gave them was quite important.

"It's just disappointing that it's taken so long.

"Even after all these years, it's still something talked about on a regular basis in the shop."

In Geelong, Mrs Penny's sister, Ann Bryden, said she was shocked to hear her former brother-in-law had been charged, and she admitted she was struggling with that news.

"I only heard myself when the media rang this morning," Mrs Bryden said yesterday, holding a photo of her elder sister who she described as a "good and gracious lady".

With her two daughters and a son-in-law comforting her at her Geelong West flat, Mrs Bryden said she had always looked up to her sister, whom she missed dearly.

"There was a seven-year age gap between us," she said. "By the time I was at school she was working.

"She had so many beautiful things, I used to go in her room and look at her clothes and all her jewellery.''

Mrs Bryden reflected on the trips she would make to visit her sister.

"I'd ride my bike all the way out to her farm to see her, it was a good half-hour ride."

Mrs Penny's son Tony yesterday thanked Victoria Police for their ongoing commitment to solving the crime. He also said his "heartfelt thoughts" were with the Acocks family.

"I will continue to assist police in any way possible, in the hope that the perpetrator or perpetrators will be brought to justice,'' he said.

The family of Mrs Acocks said they were "extremely encouraged" by the news and hoped to "gain a resolution for us and justice for Claire".

HOW IT ALL UNFOLDED

MAY 3, 1991: Bodies of Margaret Penny and Claire Acocks found in Old London Coiffure salon in Portland

JULY 1991: Police offer $100,000 reward to help solve the case

FEBRUARY 1994: Police release computer generated image of man seen near salon around the time of the killings

FEBRUARY 1994: Mrs Penny's husband, Robert, appeals for the killer to turn himself in

JUNE 2, 1998: Former serviceman Gordon Smith questioned by police in relation to the deaths

JUNE 30, 1998: Mr Smith takes his own life in Melbourne. Police say the case remains active despite his death

MAY 2006: A homicide squad review of the case reportedly uncovers new leads

MARCH 2014: Robert Penny publicly denies having anything to do with the killings

APRIL 2015: Mr Penny is arrested and charged with the murders of his wife and Mrs Acocks