Found Deceased Greece - Dr. Suzanne Eaton, 60, American, gone for a run, Crete, 2 Jul 2019 *ARREST*

[afitzy]

The laborer allegedly helped the murderer to transfer and hide the body in the bunker.

In the hands of police is reportedly also a foreign laborer who was working for the 27-year-old farmer. The laborer allegedly helped the murderer to transfer and hide the body in the bunker.

Police questioning son of a priest in murder of American biologist Suzanne Eaton in Greece

Has anyone seen a clear MSM quote about the alleged 'laborer' status? I have seen articles saying that there was no second party and then other articles that the 'laborer' is still in the mix with this horrific crime. MOO

 

[afitzy]

Based on what I've read it sounds like LE thinks (based on current evidence) he acted alone. MOO

my earlier post:

Thanks for you update on this particular issue! This particular issue has been quite confusing to follow as a non greek speaker as I've seen articles saying 'yes' there was a 2nd party and 'no' there was no 2nd party. I have been looking for an official english translation from the LE press conference but haven't seen one.

Many thanks to all the greek speakers on this thread as you are absolutely invaluable and very much appreciated.

 

[Kitsey]

At around 2:20-2:30 the reporter says "for the last five years he was living in Kissamos at his wife's paternal home" (my translation only).

100% not shocked

 

[indicolite22]

The laborer allegedly helped the murderer to transfer and hide the body in the bunker.

In the hands of police is reportedly also a foreign laborer who was working for the 27-year-old farmer. The laborer allegedly helped the murderer to transfer and hide the body in the bunker.

Police questioning son of a priest in murder of American biologist Suzanne Eaton in Greece

In the article at the link you posted there's no (longer) information on the laborer. Instead, a statement by Eleni Papathanassiou, a spokeswoman for Crete's police department that points to one perp:

The suspect claimed he put Eaton, who was apparently unconscious, in the trunk of his vehicle and drove to the bunker's ventilation drain, where he raped her and abandoned her there, Papathanassiou said. He then blocked the entrance to the drain with a wooden palette and drove to a nearby graveyard where he "carefully cleaned" the trunk of his car, according to Papathanassiou.

Same link as above: Man arrested in murder of American biologist in Greece as grisly new details emerge

It appears that he abducted her from the road, took her directly to the olive grove where he attacked her, dropped her into the cave and went to the cemetery to clean the car.

If it really happened in this sequence, wasn't it still daylight in the end?

 

[Zella]

Pictured: Local farmer, 27, accused of murdering American biologist on Greek island | Daily Mail Online

Dr. Eaton's family paid heartfelt tributes to her earlier in the week.

Her mother, son Max, brother Rob and her sister have broken their silence to remember the 59-year-old scientist who was suffocated and stabbed after going out walking.

Her mother Glynda said: ‘She was a devoted wife and mother, and dearly loved by her family.

‘From the day Suzanne was brought to me right after she was born - stuffed into a red Christmas stocking, December 23 - not drowsy and sleepy but with her head up, her eyes alert, that interest in everything around her has never changed.

‘It has been a joy to share her love of books and music, to observe the combination of a certain flamboyancy with a calm, thoughtful, steady personality.

‘Her accomplishments are many and varied: avid gardener, accomplished pianist, black belt in Taekwondo, and of course her contributions to developmental biology.’

One of her two sons Max added that he would always ‘cherish’ her memory.

He added: ‘My mother was a remarkable woman.

---

This just made me well up.

View attachment 193669

Me too. She really did sound like such a multi-talented, intelligent woman.

I can't even imagine how devastated her family is right now, but I'm glad that the perp has been apprehended and sounds like a lot of evidence against him.

 

[Gardener1850]

If whatever is on the trunk of the car is affixed, it may make the car distinctive.

It’s somewhat similar to this photo of the back of this Greek police vehicle:
View attachment 193665

Those are called spoilers: Spoiler (car) - Wikipedia

A spoiler is usually added by people who like to drive fast and/or show off their car (at least in the US). Good point that this makes his vehicle stand out. MOO.

 

[indicolite22]

According to the article at the link, he first confessed to his wife after she started questioning him.

His father in law says that the family is in shock, since his son in law appeared normal.

His father is in denial and won't believe his son did it until the preliminary investigation is over.

Suzanne Eaton: Ο δολοφόνος ομολόγησε πρώτα στη γυναίκα του - Η τραγική ειρωνεία στο φοβερό έγκλημα.

 

[Elainera]

It appears that he abducted her from the road, took her directly to the olive grove where he attacked her, dropped her into the cave and went to the cemetery to clean the car.

If it really happened in this sequence, wasn't it still daylight in the end?

If she was knocked unconscious, then put in the trunk, raped at the bunker location and then killed, when did she fight him? She must have come to at one point.

I cannot even imagine the horror she must have felt

Although I have followed many cases here on WS for some reason this case really gets to me on a much deeper level. I don't know why.

 

[glassheater]

According to the article at the link, he first confessed to his wife after she started questioning him.

His father in law says that the family is in shock, since his son in law appeared normal.

His father is in denial and won't believe his son did it until the preliminary investigation is over.

Suzanne Eaton: Ο δολοφόνος ομολόγησε πρώτα στη γυναίκα του - Η τραγική ειρωνεία στο φοβερό έγκλημα.

At least his wife doesn’t seem completely in denial. Most likely, he’s victimized her in some way. JMO

 

[indicolite22]

Not sure it this has been posted already. Transcript of the police press conference:

ΕΛ.ΑΣ: Βίασε και σκότωσε τη Σούζαν Ίτον - Σοκάρουν οι αποκαλύψεις - Χανιά - Νέα Κρήτη

ETA: From the above on her injuries (automatic translation, BBM):

As before the hypothesis of necropsy - a necropsy carried out was determined as the time of death at noon on July 2, 2019, while findings were found that referred to a suffocating death. At the same time, the corpse was found to have multiple fractures of face and face and injuries to the hands.

 

[Snoopster]

Not sure it this has been posted already. Transcript of the police press conference:

ΕΛ.ΑΣ: Βίασε και σκότωσε τη Σούζαν Ίτον - Σοκάρουν οι αποκαλύψεις - Χανιά - Νέα Κρήτη

ETA: From the above on her injuries (automatic translation, BBM):

As before the hypothesis of necropsy - a necropsy carried out was determined as the time of death at noon on July 2, 2019, while findings were found that referred to a suffocating death. At the same time, the corpse was found to have multiple fractures of face and face and injuries to the hands.

I had seen that bolded wording in the transcript, however multiple reporters reported that they said fractures of the ribs and face....

I think the transcript has a typo.

 

[Patrick Jane]

I had seen that bolded wording in the transcript, however multiple reporters reported that they said fractures of the ribs and face....

I think the transcript has a typo.

You're correct about the ribs.

It's not a typo, it's inaccuracies with the online translation. Here's the original Greek:

Παράλληλα το πτώμα έφερε πολλαπλά κατάγματα πλευρών και προσώπου καθώς και κακώσεις στα χέρια.

At the same time the corpse showed multiple fractures to the ribs and face as well as lesions to the hands.

(my translation only)

And here's confirmation from an American MSM article:

Papathanasiou said forensic evidence showed that Eaton died from suffocation but also had multiple broken bones in her ribs and face as well as injuries to both hands.

American scientist found dead in Greece had multiple broken bones, found in ventilation drain

 

[Patrick Jane]

BBM. There's no doubt that the surveillance video of his car was key.

(my opinion only)

Tonight I saw on a local Cretan news channel (CRETA) the news summary of the case. It's impossible for me to link this source as they don't have it posted on YT. So I've tagged this post as MOO.

They said because there is only one road going out of where she was abducted (in other words, the road out through Kolymbari) LE gathered all the CCTV from Kolymbari (hotels, private businesses, etc.) with a view of the road and then they gathered all CCTV from the Maleme/Xamoudohori region to the bunkers. From that they narrowed the possible cars seen in BOTH regions to 4-5 cars. From that info they found the owners of those vehicles and brought them in for questioning.

and from there he lied as you mention in this post:

Apparently the police first became suspicious when he lied to them about not being in the bunker area recently, while his car was caught on video. Not a good idea to lie to the police. Automatic translation:

When he found himself in front of the police, young Haniotis, a son of a priest and father of two young children, reportedly fell into the first major contradiction. While his car was recorded to move to the area on the day of the disappearance (and murder of Suzanne), he claimed to have visited the area about a month. This response hit a "bell" to the police officers who realized something was hiding.

Δολοφόνος της Σούζαν Ιτον : Θα έκανα τα ίδια σε όποιον ή όποια έβρισκα μπροστά μου - ΤΑ ΝΕΑ

 

[Elainera]

(my opinion only)

Tonight I saw on a local Cretan news channel (CRETA) the news summary of the case. It's impossible for me to link this source as they don't have it posted on YT. So I've tagged this post as MOO.

They said because there is only one road going out of where she was abducted (in other words, the road out through Kolymbari) LE gathered all the CCTV from Kolymbari (hotels, private businesses, etc.) with a view of the road and then they gathered all CCTV from the Maleme/Xamoudohori region to the bunkers. From that they narrowed the possible cars seen in BOTH regions to 4-5 cars. From that info they found the owners of those vehicles and brought them in for questioning.

and from there he lied as you mention in this post:

That's great police work! Fortunately it is allowed in Greece to have cctv facing the road, in some other European countries it isn't.

 

[CityDancer]

LE's Q&A w/ the media (in Greek), posted to YT by flashnews. Audio quality isn't that good.

The most important points from the police Q&A, in the order heard in the video:

• SE was raped before being thrown into the pit. They don't know if she was alive at that point or not as they're still awaiting some lab results.
  
• They believe he went straight from the point of abduction to the bunker i.e. there was no secondary place (in the thread we had called it "place B") where he took her.
  
• He didn't wait until nightfall to get rid of the body.
  
• The crime is not thought to have been specifically pre-meditated and SE was chosen at random. The perp went out searching for someone (anyone) to have sex with and/or commit a sexual crime. He had never seen SE before.
  
• He noticed SE, waited until he found a spot where no other cars passing, then hit her with his car. Then he reversed and knocked her over again then took her into his trunk and carried her to the bunker. She was unconscious at that point.
  
• He's not thought to have had an accomplice.
• The police were first guided by security camera footage during the initial stage of their investigation, then his alibi and answers were found to be weak. The police are not willing to discuss how they made use of cellphone data.
• They are investigating the possibility of past attacks and whether the perp may be implicated in a human skull that was discovered during the search for SE, near the coast. The police spokesperson says he considers it unlikely to be related to the perp as the skull bore no signs of attack or injury.
• The perp confessed to being angry at his whole life, that his life was not going well, and that he was looking for a sexual outlet, not caring if he would have to harm someone in the process. He admitted to watching *advertiser censored*, and that *advertiser censored* would fuel his fantasies.
• The police believe that SE did not fight back because she had no time to fight back, as she was hit in an instant.
• The perp knocked her down from behind as she (& him) were moving up from the coast road towards the Evelpidon Monument.
• She has parallel injuries on her arms, but they are probably not caused by a knife but by the metal bits on the car. She has head and rib injuries. But she most probably died of asphyxiation caused by the way she landed as she fell into the pit. The perp insists he threw her into the pit unconscious. The coroner's findings seem to be consistent with "positional asphyxiation" i.e. because of how and where she fell.
  
• The car is being transferred to the forensics labs in Athens to be further examined.
• They are still waiting for some more lab results.

 

[Zella]

Her injuries sound really horrific.

As before the hypothesis of necropsy - a necropsy carried out was determined as the time of death at noon on July 2, 2019,

SBM

I thought she was seen alive later than noon on July 2. Are they now thinking those reports were false sightings?

 

[Elainera]

But she most probably died of asphyxiation caused by the way she landed as she fell into the pit. The perp insists he threw her into the pit unconscious. The coroner's findings seem to be consistent with "positional asphyxiation" i.e. because of how and where she fell.

WHAT??!

He threw her down there still alive? I can't even wrap my head around this.

So she didn't fight and he didn't suffocate her. Most of what we theorized was wrong. I hope she never regained consciousness.

 

[indicolite22]

(my opinion only)

Tonight I saw on a local Cretan news channel (CRETA) the news summary of the case. It's impossible for me to link this source as they don't have it posted on YT. So I've tagged this post as MOO.

They said because there is only one road going out of where she was abducted (in other words, the road out through Kolymbari) LE gathered all the CCTV from Kolymbari (hotels, private businesses, etc.) with a view of the road and then they gathered all CCTV from the Maleme/Xamoudohori region to the bunkers. From that they narrowed the possible cars seen in BOTH regions to 4-5 cars. From that info they found the owners of those vehicles and brought them in for questioning.

and from there he lied as you mention in this post:

That is great police work. Since they have the perpetrator's car on video (and additionally his phone pings), they have probably figured out the time frame of this crime. Previously two hours of interest (after dark) were mentioned in regard to tracing the mobile signal from the bunker region. Police would know for sure, but is it still believed that the perpetrator was there at night? He abducted her after 5pm (based on the 5pm sighting) and let's say that sun sets after 8:30, which would be about three hours later. That seems like a lot of time.

ETA: I wrote this before reading the Q&A recap.

 

[Elainera]

Her injuries sound really horrific.


SBM

I thought she was seen alive later than noon on July 2. Are they now thinking those reports were false sightings?

She was seen playing the piano at 3pm. I doubt those were false sightings but maybe the time was off.

 

[CityDancer]

WHAT??!

He threw her down there still alive? I can't even wrap my head around this.

So she didn't fight and he didn't suffocate her. Most of what we theorized was wrong. I hope she never regained consciousness.

That's what the perp says, but the coroner also seems to be in favour of that scenario...

The police are adamant about her not fighting back, you can even see that at 10:31 in the video, when the LE guy in black is asked if SE fought back at all, and he quickly dismisses it "no, no".