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Man charged over 1986 cold case murder

A man has been charged over the stabbing murder of nurse Ina-Doris Warrick, more than 30 years after she was found dead in her suburban Melbourne home.

The development means the family of Ms Warrick is one step closer to justice and finding out what happened to her on the night of March 21, 1986.

Cold case detectives arrested the 63-year-old man at a home in Bairnsdale, in Victoria's east, on Friday morning.

He was later charged with one count of murder.

The 25-year-old nurse was found by a neighbour in the bedroom of her Ringwood home on March 25, with stab wounds to the back, according to a 2017 episode of Million Dollar Cold Case on the Seven Network.

An autopsy revealed the nurse died from the wounds soon after having dinner on March 21.

Two main suspects were named by police during the program, which offered a $1 million reward for information that led to an arrest and conviction.

It prompted a call from a viewer who said one of the suspects confessed to killing Ms Warrick.

Detective Senior Constable Stephen Kelly told the program Ms Warrick likely knew her killer and invited him into the bedroom.

"She'd been stabbed a number of times, there were no witnesses, so the only person who knows what happened is the murderer," he said.

The program also spoke to Ms Warrick's brother, Wolfgang Sattlecker, who described his sister as a "real go-getter, so full of life".

"For thirty years, I still think about her all the time, it's just so hard," he said.

"Who would want to kill my sister? I mean she's such a nice person, what could have led to that?"

Ms Warrick was a champion gymnast before she took up nursing.

She was due to start her first night shift at Heidelberg hospital after taking a year off following the death of her husband from cancer.

The accused man is due to face Bairnsdale Magistrates Court on Friday.