No one stands out as a "star suspect" four decades after the unsolved brutal murder of Melbourne woman Maria James, a former police officer has told an inquest.
Ms James was stabbed 68 times, including 38 times in her back and 11 in her neck, with three wounds on her head, at her Thornbury home in June 1980.
A new inquest into the cold case murder has identified six suspects, but only one is still alive.
"I can't provide a name I would consider a star suspect," former detective senior sergeant Rowland Legg told the Victorian Coroners Court on Wednesday.
"To me no one stands out more than anyone else."
Two of the six main suspects are now-deceased Catholic priests Father Anthony Bongiorno and Thomas O'Keeffe, both accused of abusing one of Ms James' sons.
Allan Hircoe, an electrician, earlier this week told the inquest he saw blood on Father Bongiorno's hands when he did some work at the priest's church, near Ms James' home, on the day of her murder.
Another witness, Jan Sharp, described seeing a man dressed in black priest robes standing outside Ms James' residence, which was also a bookshop, that same morning.
Counsel assisting the coroner, Sharon Lacy, asked Mr Legg - now a private investigator - whether the two priests were considered suspects during the early 1980s.
"I suppose they were considered," Mr Legg responded.
"Anyone who knew her, we would consider. Would they do this? Why would they do this?
"(But) I wasn't really taken with Bongiorno. There was nothing that suggested he or the other priest (Father O'Keeffe) was involved."
Ms Lacy then asked the former police officer if Catholic priests, generally speaking, would have been subject to less scrutiny from investigators around the time of Ms James' murder.
"If a suspicion was raised, they wouldn't be treated any differently," Mr Legg said.
"They would be treated like any other person as a suspect ... even a police officer would be treated the same."
Mr Legg said Ms James' ex-husband, John James, could not think of anyone who would want to kill the mother of his children.
"If Ms James was having problems with (Father Bongiorno), we would be satisfied she would have contacted her husband," he said.
"We established they were still very close ... and he didn't have any suspects at all."
The inquest before Deputy State Coroner Caitlin English continues.
