Police believe that a botched attempt to scare businessman Panayiotis Papadakis led to his 71-year-old wife being shot to death outside the couple’s home in Kifissia, northern Athens, late on Tuesday night.

Officers said that two hooded men opened fire on the couple’s car as it pulled into their apartment block on Harilaou Trikoupi Street. The assailants fired four shots before jumping into a getaway car that was driven by a third suspect, police said.

Papadakis’s wife, Alexandra, was hit in the chest by one of the bullets and died instantly. The 72-year-old businessman was slightly injured by shards of flying glass. His nephew, who was driving the car, was not hurt.

Papadakis owns an investment group based in Switzerland and Greece. Police are focusing their initial inquiries on his immediate business environment.