New details are emerging about the brutal crime in Nea Smyrni that took place on Sunday morning (23/08), when a man and a woman were found dead at the entrance of an apartment building on Gregoriou Kydonion Street. All evidence points to a femicide, with the 48-year-old perpetrator of Albanian origin taking his own life after committing the act. According to the latest information, the man who died by suicide was the victim’s former partner.
Nea Smyrni: He lay in wait and shot her dead
As details emerge, the man had been lying in wait outside the apartment building where the 45-year-old woman lived with her daughter. The moment he saw her exit the building, the 48-year-old opened fire, fatally shooting the woman before taking his own life. The entire incident was captured on security cameras, which show the two engaged in an argument before the man drew his weapon and shot the woman fatally in the face, then turned the gun on himself.
It was established during the initial on-scene investigation that the man sustained a gunshot wound to the head, while the woman had been shot multiple times in the body and face.
According to neighbors, at least three gunshots were heard before police arrived at the scene. During the investigation, the weapon was found beneath the man’s body. Authorities are now working to establish the motive behind his actions. “Suddenly we heard three very loud noises — we didn’t know at first whether they were gunshots, but they were extremely loud. I counted three. Not in quick succession; there was a gap of three, four, five seconds between each one,” a local resident recounted.
The perpetrator’s profile
The perpetrator, who also took his own life, had been living in Athens since 2020, according to his social media profile. He had a past relationship with the victim, and was married with one child. On his social media accounts, he had posted photos of himself practicing martial arts, as well as an image of himself holding a firearm. It is not yet known whether the weapon seen in the photo is the same one found at the scene of the killing.
