Man denies murdering Scottish woman Jean Hanlon in Crete in 2009
A Greek man has been committed to trial, denying the murder of Jean Hanlon, 53, from Dumfries in Scotland, whose body was found in the sea near Heraklion in 2009.
Man denies murdering Scottish woman Jean Hanlon in Crete in 2009
A man has been committed to trial in Greece, denying the murder of Jean Hanlon, a Scottish woman whose body was retrieved from the sea near Heraklion in Crete in 2009.
Jean Hanlon, 53, from Dumfries, was discovered in waters off the northern coast of the island on 13 March 2009, four days after her disappearance was reported. An initial post-mortem examination concluded that she had drowned, but a subsequent review in 2019 identified injuries suggesting she had been attacked.
The defendant, a Greek national who cannot be named under Greek law which provides anonymity to defendants until conviction, appeared in court in Neapolis, approximately 49 kilometres from Heraklion. The trial is expected to last up to four days.
Jean's three sons gave evidence on the first day. One of her sons, Robert, told the court that the defendant had "intimidated" their mother after she ended their relationship. The court heard that Jean had kept a diary in which she named the defendant, and that she had "kindly" ended their relationship.
A forensic pathologist told the court that she had not examined the body directly, but believed that the cause of death was an incomplete tear of the brainstem caused by a forceful blow to the back of the neck with a blunt object. She said the injuries were not consistent with a fall.
Jean's family has been fighting for years for the case to be reopened. A fresh appeal on Greek television in 2020 produced no new evidence. In 2021, specialist officers investigating organised crime concluded that it was a "criminal act". The investigation was formally reopened in June 2024 after a private investigator hired by one of Jean's sons submitted a 24-page report to the Greek authorities. The defendant was interviewed in January of last year and was formally charged in November.
Source: BBC News
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)