Tragedy in Greece: 48-Year-Old Albanian Was Married and a Father of One; Wife’s Testimony Revealed: “I Didn’t Know About Their Relationship

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.

Investigators are trying to reconstruct what happened in the hours leading up to the crime and shed light on the relationship between the two people.

One of the main issues being examined is the nature of their personal relationship. It has not yet 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 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 killing.

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 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 the perpetrator knew she was there and had lain in wait for her outside the building.

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 gun on himself and shot himself in the head, taking his own life. The gun was found near his body and has now been seized and is being examined by police.

The 45-year-old’s mother was informed of her daughter’s murder only a short time ago. She was notified by her other daughter and is in a state of shock.

Speaking to reporters, the victim’s mother repeatedly said she knew nothing, as her eyes filled with tears. She said the 45-year-old had not told her about any romantic relationship.

“I don’t know anything. She hadn’t told me anything. I have only 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 guns in his hands. Police are investigating whether any of those weapons could be linked to the revolver used in the murder-suicide.

The posts are being analyzed alongside the other evidence collected, but it has not yet been confirmed whether the murder weapon 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 had heard three shots and had not noticed any vehicles or anything else suspicious.

“The neighbor said she heard gunshots during 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 initially did not realize they might have been gunshots.

“I was asleep, but I was not sleeping deeply 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 continuous, one after another; there was an interval of three, four or five seconds between them,” she said.

She added that shortly afterward she heard the siren of a police patrol car and initially did not understand what had happened. “I didn’t believe it; it did not even cross my mind 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 and the 45-year-old, the developments in the final days and hours before the crime, and the reason that led to the killing.