With shocking cynicism, the 43-year-old tenant from Skopje, accused of murdering 45-year-old Stavroula in Crete, described in his defense how he would return to the victim’s side to takeher life. As he claimed, after he struck her, gagged her, and believed her to be dead, he returned with a knife when he heard that she had regained consciousness, and later returned again holding a log when he heard her calling for help, before proceeding to hide the body and attempt to cover up the crime.

The defendant from Skopje also described what he did with the woman’s body.

Referring to the day of the crime, he said that on May 30, Stavroula informed him by phone that she would be visiting his home. As he testified, she arrived around 4:20 p.m.

The defendant claimed that he offered her a beer, of which she took only a few sips, and then began inspecting the rooms in the house. According to him, the woman was taking photos of the kitchen cabinets and complaining about rust and wear and tear.

As he reported, her behavior annoyed him, and a heated argument ensued. It got to the point where he claimed that Stavroula attacked him and fell, hitting her head.

“I saw blood flowing. She started screaming, and then I lost my head. I hit her on the head with the bottle and thought I’d get in trouble over some crazy woman,” he said.

The defendant described how the woman began to lose consciousness, at which point he took some tape from a drawer in the house and tried to tape her mouth shut.

“I wrapped the tape around her mouth twice. She was trying to pull it off with her hands. I kept at it and wrapped the tape around her mouth one more time. She stopped moving,” he said.

As he claimed, he thought she was dead and went to the kitchen to calm down. A few minutes later, however, he heard the woman regaining consciousness.

“I heard her wake up. Angry, I went back into the room with a kitchen knife. She was lying on her side. I approached her and stabbed her twice in the heart,” he reportedly testified.

According to his account, he then returned to the kitchen, washed the knife, and threw it away, though he couldn’t remember where. A short time later, as he reported, he heard Stavroula screaming again.

“I heard her say, ‘Help, can anyone hear me?’” he testified.

Then, according to his testimony, he took a log from the fireplace and struck her twice on the head while she was lying on the floor.

“She didn’t speak again after that,” he said.

The defendant estimated that the events took place between 5:00 p.m. and 5:15 p.m., noting that the bloodstains found at the scene were caused by the woman’s injuries.

He then testified that he saw two bank cards next to her, along with the PIN. He claimed that he went to an ATM in Mournies, where he withdrew money.

“I did it because I wanted it to look like a robbery,” he reportedly said.

Describing what happened next, he said he returned home, where there was blood everywhere. He went to the storage room, grabbed some bags and ties, bound Stavroula’s hands and feet, carried her body to the balcony, and placed it inside the bags.

“I started mopping, constantly changing the water. I added air freshener and bleach, but there was so much blood,” he said.

According to his statement, he cleaned the house, gathered up the broken glass and the log, and at 9:00 p.m. made a video call with his wife. After the call ended, he continued cleaning.

As he said, at around 10:00 p.m., he drove out in his car and threw away his wife’s cell phone and bank cards, and then withdrew more money.

He then returned home and continued cleaning until midnight.

“I couldn’t sleep. I smoked a joint and was thinking about where to take the body without getting caught by the police,” he testified.

Eventually, he said, he decided to take the body to a field where he was working. Around 6:00 a.m., he went to the spot, dug for about 20 minutes, and used a construction wheelbarrow to transport the body.

“I covered it with plenty of soil, and at 8:00 a.m. I returned home, where I cleaned up the last traces of blood,” he reportedly stated.

Concluding his statement, he attributed part of the blame to his occasional cannabis use.

“I believe that because I’m an occasional cannabis user and I had smoked a joint that day, that’s why all this happened. I never intended to do anything wrong,” he reportedly claimed.

In his defense, the 43-year-old also claimed that he had been in a relationship with Stavroula for years that was marked by frequent tensions and disagreements, as she would periodically visit his home to inspect it and, as he claimed, constantly made remarks about the condition of the property. At the same time, he claimed that they had also had sexual relations, even stating that Stavroula had threatened to tell his wife that he had raped her.

Source: Protothema.gr