Wife killer arrested 11 years on
A 73-year-old man, believed to have killed and chopped up his wife 11 years ago and subsequently collected her health benefits, is to answer to murder charges before an investigating magistrate tomorrow. The unnamed man is suspected of pushing 56-year-old Flora-Anna Panayiotopoulou down an elevator shaft on the site of her half-built home in the Athens district of Nea Smyrni in 1996. He then allegedly cut Panayiotopoulou into pieces and disposed of her remains in garbage bags. Three years later, the husband declared his wife as missing before allegedly arranging to receive her state health benefits. Following his son’s death two months ago, the 73-year-old allegedly declared his wife’s disappearance once again, in an apparent effort to inherit her fortune. His initiative sparked the suspicions of police who arrested him after noticing inconsistencies during questioning. The suspect insists that his wife’s death was an accident that followed an argument. His lawyer told reporters that the 73-year-old confessed «because he could not bear the guilt.»
