The 55-year-old accused of concealing his father’s body in a freezer for approximately two and a half years will appear before the examining magistrate in Sparta on Friday, August 7. The suspect appeared before the magistrate in the morning and requested — and was granted — additional time to prepare his defense. He subsequently left the Sparta courthouse and was transferred back to the local police station, where he remains in custody. According to evidence gathered so far, the suspect reportedly admitted that his father had died of natural causes, and that he kept the body in the freezer in order to continue collecting his father’s pension — as well as a widow’s pension his mother had been entitled to receive. The total amount, as he is alleged to have stated, came to approximately €1,600 per month.
Why toxicology results will be delayed
Authorities have yet to complete their investigation. Forensic pathologists are expected to examine the body for any injuries or other findings that could shed light on the circumstances of the elderly man’s death. Toxicology tests will also be carried out, though the process will take time as the body must first be thawed before analysis can begin.
The sister’s allegations
The suspect’s sister is also reported to have provided authorities with significant information. According to what has been made public, she claimed that their father suffered from dementia and that her brother had refused to place him in a care facility. She also stated that her contact with both her father and brother had been severely limited, alleging that her brother had prevented her from visiting regularly.
A “fortress” hotel
Investigators are also examining how the 55-year-old managed to keep his grim secret hidden for so long. The hotel basement where the freezer was located had reportedly been converted into a restricted-access area, and according to sources, security cameras and other protective measures had been installed. Notably, the freezer was not operational — a detail that, according to investigators, helped the case remain concealed.
The case has sent shockwaves through the local community of Mystras, as authorities continue their investigation to clarify all aspects of the disturbing affair.
Timeline of events
The horrifying case in Mystras began to unravel when officers from the Sparta Criminal Investigation Department acted on specific intelligence and discovered that the 90-year-old had never been officially registered as deceased. When police went looking for the elderly man, the 55-year-old attempted to buy time by falsely claiming his father was in Athens. The truth, however, emerged almost immediately. The 90-year-old’s daughter, who lives in the capital, flatly contradicted her brother’s account, revealing that she had not seen her father in years.
Police moved swiftly. The 55-year-old was called in for questioning and escorted back to the family property. In the presence of a judicial investigator and a forensic pathologist, officers entered the shuttered hotel. Descending into the darkened basement, they opened a large commercial freezer — and found the frozen body of the 90-year-old father inside. The suspect broke down and confessed that he had kept his father’s body in the freezer for two and a half years in order to continue collecting both his father’s pension and his late mother’s widow’s pension, to which the 90-year-old had been entitled.
