A 32-year-old carpenter charged with murdering a 52-year-old psychiatrist who had treated him two years ago faced an Athens prosecutor yesterday.

Police said the man turned himself in on Monday after being overwhelmed by guilt. “I killed a doctor a long time ago,” he is alleged to have told officers after walking into his local police station on Monday. After an hour-and-a-half of questioning, the suspect is said to have confessed to his alleged crime in detail.

According to police, the suspect admitted to visiting the psychiatrist at his clinic in the Athens district of Ilion in November 2007 and to have begun stabbing him with a knife as soon as the victim opened the door. The reason the 32-year-old gave for killing the psychiatrist, police said, was that the doctor had failed to “cure” him.