Levantakis murder: Forensic confirmation and search for motives
Investigators are examining the motives behind the murder of 45-year-old Stavroula Levantakis in Chania, as the autopsy confirms the confession of the 43-year-old suspect.
Levantakis murder: Forensic confirmation and search for motives
The autopsy findings for 45-year-old Stavroula Levantakis in Chania are consistent with the confession of the 43-year-old man accused of her murder, whilst the authorities have now turned their attention to the actual causes that led to the crime.
Forensic pathologist Stamatis Belivanis stated that the unfortunate woman sustained fractures and injuries to the skull. Because she had been buried approximately twenty days before the removal of her body, the examination faced serious difficulties. Additionally, minor injuries were found on the left side of the chest from a sharp object. Further analyses and toxicological tests are ongoing.
The suspect was arrested on 30 May, the day the woman went missing. Initially, he attempted to mislead police with conflicting accounts. However, cross-examination of genetic material, mobile phone data, witness testimony and material from closed-circuit surveillance systems created an irrefutable case. Unable to deny it further, he confessed to the act and led officers to the burial site, in a field in Vatolakka.
According to his statement, the incident took place on the afternoon of 30 May at his house in Varypetro, where the 45-year-old had gone to check on the property's condition. He claimed that after a quarrel, she picked up a bottle to hit him, that he took it from her, used it against her and subsequently killed her with a knife and wood.
He then attempted to cover up the crime. He moved the body in bags, removed bloodstains from the house and used the deceased's cards to withdraw cash, attempting to present the incident as a theft. The body was found bound and with its mouth closed in a rural area, in a condition suggesting it had been lying on the ground for several days.
The 43-year-old is already in custody for a cannabis cultivation case in Fournes, Chania and is scheduled to appear before an investigating magistrate.
Source: ERT News
Source: ERT