Greek authorities are continuing their investigation into the tragedy in Nea Smyrni, where a 48-year-old man of Albanian origin shot and killed a 45-year-old woman, also Albanian, before taking his own life.
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Investigators are trying to reconstruct what happened in the hours leading up to the crime and shed light on the relationship between the two individuals.
One of the main issues being examined is the nature of their personal relationship. So far, it has not been established what kind of relationship they had, how long it had lasted or whether there was tension between them.
According to the authorities, clarifying this element could help determine the motive that drove the 48-year-old to commit the murder.
According to published reports, the 48-year-old was married and had one child. His wife told the authorities that she was unaware of any relationship between him and the 45-year-old woman.
Police are searching the 48-year-old’s home in Tavros, where they hope to find evidence that could clarify his relationship with the victim and indicate whether the incident had been planned in advance.
Investigators are focusing on electronic devices, documents and any other material that could help trace his movements and communications before he went to Nea Smyrni.
At the same time, investigators are examining both individuals’ mobile phones and online activity to determine whether there had been a conflict, meeting or communications before the incident that could be linked to the murder.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday in Nea Smyrni. According to preliminary information, the 48-year-old had gone to 3 Grigoriou Kydonion Street, where he remained inside his vehicle while waiting for the 45-year-old woman to leave the apartment building.
The 45-year-old lived in the building with her 16-year-old daughter. Authorities suspect that the perpetrator knew she was there and had waited for her outside her home.
When the woman left the building, he got out of the car, approached her and shot her with a revolver. The victim was wounded in the body and, according to initial reports, possibly also in the face, dying at the entrance to the building.
The 48-year-old then turned the weapon on himself and shot himself in the head, ending his life. The handgun was found near his body and has since been seized and is being examined by police.
The 45-year-old woman’s mother was informed of her daughter’s murder only a short time ago. She was told by her other daughter and is in a state of shock.
Speaking to reporters, the victim’s mother repeatedly said that she knew nothing as her eyes filled with tears. She said the 45-year-old had not told her about any romantic relationship.
“I know nothing. She had not told me anything. I have just found out about my daughter. My other daughter called me a short while ago and told me. She had not spoken to me about her relationship. She and her former husband separated a long time ago,” the woman said in a trembling voice.
Investigators are also examining the 48-year-old’s social media activity. In several photographs he had posted, he was seen posing with weapons in his hands. Police are investigating whether any of those weapons could be linked to the revolver used in the murder and suicide.
The posts are being analyzed alongside the other evidence collected, but it has not yet been confirmed whether the weapon used in the crime appeared in any of the photographs.
Local residents said the gunshots were heard at around 05:30 in the morning. A woman who was near the scene said she heard three shots and had not noticed any vehicles or anything else suspicious.
“The neighbor said she heard gunshots in the early hours of the morning. My parents’ home is here, and I heard three shots at around 5:30 in the morning,” she said.
Another resident said she had heard three very loud noises a few seconds apart. According to her, she did not initially realize that they might have been gunshots.
“I was sleeping, but I was not in a deep sleep at home. Suddenly, we heard three very loud noises. We did not know whether they were gunshots or not, but they were extremely loud. I counted three. They were not one immediately after another; there was an interval of three, four or five seconds between them,” she said.
She added that a short while later, she heard the siren of a police patrol car and initially did not understand what had happened. “I did not believe it; it did not even occur to me that they could have been gunshots, but they were,” the resident concluded.
The case is being investigated by the relevant unit of the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime. Police aim to fully establish the nature of the relationship between the 48-year-old man and the 45-year-old woman, the developments in the final days and hours before the crime, and the reason that led to the murder.
