In Brief
Kypseli killer
Suspect, 35, behind many violent attacks on women A 35-year-old man believed to have fatally stabbed a 27-year-old Nigerian woman in a basement apartment in the central district of Kypseli earlier this week was in custody yesterday. According to police, the man has serious mental problems and is thought to be behind attacks on six women in Thessaloniki in 2003, using a knife in some of the attacks and a screwdriver in others. Officers who took the suspect in for questioning a few hours after the killing said that the 35-year-old initially denied the crime but eventually admitted to stabbing the woman, with whom he had recently begun a sexual relationship, following an argument. Actor’s murder Court hears from witnesses A court hearing the trial of a 40-year-old Georgian man charged with murdering popular actor Nikos Sergianopoulos in June 2008 is to reconvene on October 29 with the testimony of the defendant after the final witnesses appeared on the stand yesterday. According to court sources, a professor of psychology summoned by the lawyer defending the Georgian said her analysis showed that he had stabbed the 56-year-old actor in a fit of rage and that the drugs he had taken rendered him unable to control his actions. The Georgian claims that the actor had deeply offended him. Koroneia action A Thessaloniki prosecutor yesterday brought criminal charges against the directors of 20 manufacturers in northern Greece that are alleged to have been systematically polluting Lake Koroneia by dumping unprocessed toxic waste in its waters. The prosecutor lodged the charges against the companies after receiving a report compiled by regional health inspectors who have for several months been examining the link between local manufacturers and toxins in Lake Koroneia. The European Commission in June sent a letter of warning to Greece, the last step before legal action, over the escalating pollution of Lake Koroneia. Worksite accident A laborer was in hospital yesterday in a critical condition after falling onto a steel construction rod on a worksite in Dionysos, northeastern Attica. The laborer, who was not identified, fell 2 meters onto the rod, landing on his neck, according to his colleagues. Arson attack A homemade incendiary device planted by unidentified arsonists outside the premises of the Greek-Italian Chamber of Commerce in Thessaloniki damaged the facade of the building when it detonated but caused no injuries, police said. The device had been made from a gas canister, usually favored in attacks claimed by self-styled anarchists. Migrants intercepted A group of 43 would-be migrants and two suspected smugglers were detained on the island of Evia yesterday following an inspection on an Austrian-flagged sailing boat off the island’s eastern shore, coast guard officials said. The ethnic origin of the migrants was not determined while their suspected smugglers were said to be Ukrainian.
