“Unfortunately, real life sometimes gets the best of even the most inventive and resourceful screenwriter. By his general behavior, cruelty and callousness, he showed complete disregard for the legitimate good of human life. With these words and addressing the judges of the Mixed Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki, prosecutor Leonidas Nikolopoulos asked to be found guilty A 51-year-old AUTH teacher who was on second-degree trial for months accused of the double murder of his 34-year-old wife and her 85-year-old grandmother.

Assessing during his lengthy trial, which exceeded 4 hours, the evidentiary material of the case, unprecedented in the judicial and police annals of the country, the appellate prosecutor proposed to recognize the defendants guilty – as in the first instance – of premeditated murder, series. This is “a harsh, unforgiving reality, not scenarios, assumptions and conjectures,” the prosecutor said, noting that the death of the twins was the result of arsenic poisoning, which the accused lecturer injected into the water that the two women consumed.

The grandmother and granddaughter died in August 2013 after being admitted to the Papanikolaou Hospital in Thessaloniki, although arsenic poisoning was not initially confirmed. First, an elderly woman died, who was briefly hospitalized, and a few days later her granddaughter. Suspicions of death from poisoning were confirmed by the results of extensive laboratory tests and the exhumation of the bodies. The 51-year-old man was charged and taken into custody in January 2016, and two years later he was sentenced by the Thessaloniki Criminal Court to two years in prison.

“Spew Poison”

Referring to the history of the case, the appeals court prosecutor said that the administration of arsenic began in February 2013 and continued in the nursing home, where the 34-year-old woman “fought an unequal battle for her life.” “He threw poison at his wife,” he said characteristically, referring to the death of an 85-year-old woman, he said it was a “collateral loss” in an attempt by the defendant to mislead the authorities and make it appear that the death was due to food consumed by the women. , which he exclusively managed a 34-year-old mother and an elderly daughter.

“In view of the hardships that befell him, there should have been another person from the closest family circle who would have suffered the same death, motivated by the disorientation of the prosecution authorities. He chose an unfortunate grandmother,” he stressed. As Mr. Nikolopoulos noted in his speech, the 51-year-old geologist, by virtue of his professional status, knew about the deadly consequences of arsenic. Regarding his intake, he said that he “poured” the so-called “clean arsenic” in a bottle of water from which his wife drank, and in the same way administered this substance to an elderly woman who drank water exclusively from the tap. The bottle is designed for her the same.

The prosecutor denied the defendant’s allegations that two of the deaths were due to two women being exposed to arsenic-laced water at a family holiday home in Halkidiki and eating contaminated food. Regarding foods in particular, he said they had to consume huge amounts to blame them for death.

Motivation

In search of a motive for his heinous act, the appellate prosecutor focused on the 51-year-old man’s difficult relationship with his wife (they had a child in 2010), as well as his extramarital affair with a graduate student, with whom he later had a child. For the student, he emphasized that she played a key role in the course of the case. “He had an emotional relationship with her, he wanted to start a family. His marriage was to be ended,” he said characteristically.

“All Accusations”

He was preceded by an apology by the defendant, in which he followed the line of a complete denial of the allegations, which he characterized as false, baseless and unproven. He contested the extensive lab tests, leaving evidence of wrongdoing, while denying that his relationship with the 34-year-old was problematic. He confessed to the relationship he entered into, saying that it was purely carnal in nature and had no emotional value. He attributed the death to chronic poisoning from accidental exposure to cadmium and arsenic, which did not receive immediate medical treatment, and also reported that his wife had contracted a germ (Klebsiella) in the hospital.

The lawsuit has been postponed and will continue in the next few days with the purchase of civil suits and defense attorneys.

Source: RES