Italian Woman Poses As A Man. (Press, 17 July 1920)
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Summary: Italian Woman Poses As A Man. (Press, 17 July 1920)
An unusual case of gender masquerade has emerged in Sydney involving an Italian woman named Eugene Falleni, who has been arrested on a murder charge. This case bears a resemblance to the Bock case in New Zealand from 1908, where Amy Bock, a woman posing as a man, swindled and married a young woman before being apprehended. Eugene Falleni, born in Italy, married a man named Martello before relocating with him and later their daughter to New Zealand. She later left Martello, who is believed to still be in New Zealand, and moved to Sydney with her daughter, both finding employment. Shortly after, Falleni adopted male attire and assumed the name Harry Roach, working as a "generally useful" individual. While living in Wahroonga, Falleni met a widow named Annie Birkett, who had a 14-year-old son. Birkett eventually married Falleni, unaware of her true identity. Their life together was shrouded in secrecy, leading to speculation that Birkett was coerced into compliance regarding her husband’s deception. In October 1917, Birkett disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving her son confused about her whereabouts. In the same month and year, a charred, decomposed body of a middle-aged woman was found in a bush near a paper mill in Drummoyne-Wahroonga. Despite police investigations, the identity of the body remained a mystery, and an open verdict was returned by the Coroner. The case saw renewed interest when Birkett's son encountered a relative of his mother and recounted the circumstances of her disappearance. This led to an investigation by the police, who pieced together various clues that culminated in Falleni’s arrest in Annandale. She was charged with murder and appeared in court on 11 July 1920. Described as slight and hollow-chested, Falleni's masculine appearance made it difficult for authorities and observers to recognise her as a woman. The inquiry into the mysterious disappearance of Annie Birkett and the subsequent developments in Falleni's case has drawn significant attention, reviving concerns about deception and identity, reminiscent of the notorious Bock case from over a decade earlier in New Zealand.
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