Just hours before she was murdered by her 27-year-old ex-partner in Igoumenitsa, 25-year-old Penelope made one final social media post that today carries devastating weight: “If you ignore a problem, it doesn’t stop existing. Right?” The posts she had shared following their breakup, along with testimonies from people who knew her, are now coming to light as the investigation into the femicide — which took place on Sunday, September 20, 2026 — continues. The 27-year-old suspect, who has confessed and remains hospitalized under guard, was granted a postponement and is set to give his formal statement on Thursday.
Read also: Mother of Kyriaki Griva on Penelope’s murder in Igoumenitsa: “They all follow the same pattern — manipulative and controlling behavior” (Video)
Femicide in Igoumenitsa: Penelope’s last social media posts
Penelope and the 27-year-old had broken up approximately one month before the murder. According to reports, he had been threatening her, while her colleagues noted that the 25-year-old was deeply distressed following the breakup. On August 21, she had written on social media: “The same person who fascinated me, the same person let me down.” Four days later, on August 25, she posted: “You can’t even trust yourself.” Just six days before her murder, she shared another message: “The decision you never made is the one that never changes.” And on the very day she was killed, she wrote: “If you ignore a problem, it doesn’t stop existing. Right?”
15 stab wounds and the suspect’s formal statement
The 25-year-old was murdered at a kiosk near a cycling path in Igoumenitsa, where she had been living and working. According to the details that have emerged, she sustained 15 stab wounds inflicted by the self-confessed perpetrator. Initially, the suspect attempted to attribute the crime to an attack by unknown assailants, claiming that both he and Penelope had been attacked by hooded individuals. On the morning of Tuesday, September 22, a prosecutor and investigating judge visited the hospital where he remains under guard, and the 27-year-old requested and was granted a postponement to give his formal statement on Thursday. He has been charged with premeditated homicide, illegal possession and use of a weapon, as well as drug possession, while continuing to maintain that he had no intention of killing the 25-year-old.
“She was one of a kind” — she was preparing to move to Athens
Penelope had relocated to Igoumenitsa for professional reasons approximately a year and a half earlier. However, according to information that has come to light, she had been preparing to leave for Athens in the coming days to begin her postgraduate studies. “One of a kind. What can I say? An incredibly good person. He would come and stay for a short while, then leave. We never heard them arguing or anything. But in the end, they broke up,” her landlady told Live News. A colleague of hers added: “She had studied biology and had come to work for the Athens Metro. She was a wonderful girl — educated, working for the Athens Metro. She had so much ahead of her, and we’re still trying to process what happened.”
Witness accounts of shouting and her uncle’s response
A neighbor of the 27-year-old offered a different perspective on what she had heard, telling Live News: “There was commotion. He was causing a scene. We could hear shouting, arguing — that kind of thing. They were fighting, but we couldn’t see what was going on inside. He was shouting. Sometimes there was shouting, but I don’t know who he was arguing with.” Penelope’s uncle, meanwhile, dismissed any suggestion of a financial dispute, stating: “These are terrible things. There needs to be an end to this, but unfortunately… There was no financial issue between them whatsoever, and there is no such possibility. It’s all lies.” Authorities are continuing their investigation into the circumstances and motive behind the killing.
