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

[CityDancer]

Do you think she was killed for stumbling upon something illegal? And if illegal, why would the exchange be done so close to a large establishment as she didn’t tend to run very far? I would think they would be more inclined to kill a local versus a tourist who will leave in a few days. What is your suspicion?

Depends how far she may have ventured off the road and how vocal she may have been about what she saw, I mean even a well-intended joke or startled stare may have scared the wrong person(s) though being an intelligent lady she wouldn't have willingly made herself a target. I think she most likely was hit by a car, sadly.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

It seems like there will be lots to analyze. The burlap. Footprints?

How sophisticated are their crime labs? Is there something similar to US labs?

From @CityDancer's description of the area, I don't know if the rural area has that sophisticated of crime labs, but I think that the major urban and city areas may have pretty advanced technology. I can't speak to it though as a certainty, so I will let him or her answer.

ETA fixed a typo.

 

[CityDancer]

From the description of the area, what kind of illegal thing could she have came upon that would necessitate killing her and hiding her body in a bunker?

Well,
Drug-dealing shepherds set up Crete crime empire

 

[glassheater]

From @CityDancer's description of the area, I don't know if the rural area has that sophisticated of crime labs, but I think that the major urban and city areas may have pretty advanced technology. I can't speak to it though as a certainly, so I will let him or her answer.

I believe the forensics team came from Athens. There just isn’t that much crime to justify having a forensics team local in Crete.

 

[glassheater]

Well,
Drug-dealing shepherds set up Crete crime empire

Yikes. The villages mentioned here are in the mountainous part near Heraklion. I just don’t think she would of ventured far enough to stumble upon a drug farm. I don’t think an operation would of been set up that is easily accessible by foot. But nothing about this case makes sense so far. Until more details come out vehicular manslaughter is making the most sense to me.

 

[glassheater]

I am curious too if she were placed in the cave after the search began with airplanes and drones.

 

[CityDancer]

From @CityDancer's description of the area, I don't know if the rural area has that sophisticated of crime labs, but I think that the major urban and city areas may have pretty advanced technology. I can't speak to it though as a certainly, so I will let him or her answer.

There's a forensics lab in the Medical School in Crete (Laboratory of Toxicology) and the island is also home to an internationally-renowned research centre (Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas) so I'm sure they know what to do. If not they'll surely send the material to Athens, where even more technology would be available.

 

[CityDancer]

The autopsy is over, Dr Eaton was strangled..

(Google translated)
The death of American biologist Susanne Eaton is developing into a thriller as the forensic scientist speaks of a clear murder. In particular, asphyxiation is attributed to the death of the 60-year-old, according to the first evidence of forensic examination. According to information from the local media, the examination carried out by the Coroners of Crete in Rethymno, Beliviani and Ant. Papadomanolakis showed that this was a criminal act as it allegedly blocked her mouth and nose. According to the same information, the body does not carry any bullet or other trauma, and the forensic scientists have gone through a radiological examination. Coroner Papadomanalakis stressed that "it is a matter of certainty for a crime", while the assassination of a biologist is determined on the day of his disappearance. Authorities should now talk about "clean criminal action", but because the body was in a state of advanced sepsis, the investigation of the incident would continue with the coroners with histological and other examinations. As the cretalive wrote, Security Officers are looking at the 60-year-old US move as soon as it arrives in the tunnel, where it was found dead, a week after disappearing from the hotel where it had been dismantled. It remains unknown, however, if she arrived alone in the tunnel where her body was found or was murdered in another area and then moved there. With the help of Criminal Services specialists arriving in Chania from Athens, police officers are considering dropping the corpse to the point where it was found from a hole in the roof of the tunnel, which was built to ventilate the interior.

Ξεκάθαρη δολοφονία ο θάνατος της Αμερικανίδας βιολόγου στη Κρήτη - Τι έδειξε η ιατροδικαστική εξέταση

 

[Gardenista]

The autopsy is over, Dr Eaton was strangled..

(Google translated)
The death of American biologist Susanne Eaton is developing into a thriller as the forensic scientist speaks of a clear murder. In particular, asphyxiation is attributed to the death of the 60-year-old, according to the first evidence of forensic examination. According to information from the local media, the examination carried out by the Coroners of Crete in Rethymno, Beliviani and Ant. Papadomanolakis showed that this was a criminal act as it allegedly blocked her mouth and nose. According to the same information, the body does not carry any bullet or other trauma, and the forensic scientists have gone through a radiological examination. Coroner Papadomanalakis stressed that "it is a matter of certainty for a crime", while the assassination of a biologist is determined on the day of his disappearance. Authorities should now talk about "clean criminal action", but because the body was in a state of advanced sepsis, the investigation of the incident would continue with the coroners with histological and other examinations. As the cretalive wrote, Security Officers are looking at the 60-year-old US move as soon as it arrives in the tunnel, where it was found dead, a week after disappearing from the hotel where it had been dismantled. It remains unknown, however, if she arrived alone in the tunnel where her body was found or was murdered in another area and then moved there. With the help of Criminal Services specialists arriving in Chania from Athens, police officers are considering dropping the corpse to the point where it was found from a hole in the roof of the tunnel, which was built to ventilate the interior.

Ξεκάθαρη δολοφονία ο θάνατος της Αμερικανίδας βιολόγου στη Κρήτη - Τι έδειξε η ιατροδικαστική εξέταση

No SA makes me think serial killer or someone she knows.

ETA, see next post. SA not excluded.

 

[CityDancer]

And a more detailed article..

(Google translated)
A 60-year-old American biologist, Suzanne Eaton, has died as a wild assassin, unfortunately after the completion of the autopsy-crowning by the Coroners of Crete, Antonis Papadomanalaki and Stamati Belivani.
The well-known scientist who worshiped Crete and participated for the fifth time at an international conference at the Orthodox Academy's premises in Kolymbari, Chania, has struck a lot of blows on the side that the actor or the perpetrators may have caused them to halt. Her death was stifling and her killer probably closed her mouth and nose with his hands.
The possibility of rape remains open, but due to the decomposition, no safe conclusions could be drawn, so material was obtained to be tested in vitro. Results are expected in one week.
Material was also taken from various parts of the victim's body and from the clothes, in order to check if there is another DNA.
The authorities of the island since the accident of the unfortunate woman was suspected of being a criminal act. For this reason targeted admissions of suspected Greeks and aliens from the wider area are made, while DNA is taken by all of them to follow a crossing and any identification with the findings of the coroner.

Την δολοφόνησαν... | Αγγελική Νικολούλη

 

[otto]

Murder, with sexual assault to be determined in a week.
It seems like a good time to explore how many other women have been murdered with strangulation on the Island in the last few years.

 

[Gardenista]

Well-done by Greece being so open about this. I was worried it would get the silent treatment like we see in so many other countries due to worries about tourism.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

Well,
Drug-dealing shepherds set up Crete crime empire

OK, so in that article, there's a quote

"Police would not dare set foot here, even though the villagers were begging them to come. Yet the masterminds are still here - the police only caught the footsoldiers."

Is it still true that there is rarely any police presence and they don't come into the area?

Also, I noted:

Last week, the drug war that has earned the area the unlikely title of "the Greek Colombia" nearly saw its first fatality, as police staked out a drug plantation in fields near Malades, less than 10 miles outside the Cretan capital, Heraklion.

So there's a drug war/criminal empire raging in the city but there hadn't been a fatality at all at the time of this article revolving around said criminal element, so how likely is it that she came upon something like this? As I said, it's certainly possible, just not likely IMO.

That article is from 06/2008, in the past 11 years what has transpired with things? Have criminal empires/drug conspiracies continued to rise, or have things been quieted down? This is why I was curious about the frequency of violent crimes or homicides in the areas so I could try and think up some possible scenarios.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

No SA makes me think serial killer or someone she knows.

ETA, see next post. SA not excluded.

Agreed, or the random unhinged maniac, JMO.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

Murder, with sexual assault to be determined in a week.
It seems like a good time to explore how many other women have been murdered with strangulation on the Island in the last few years.

Great question, and what are the prevalence of SAs and how do those tie in with cases of strangulation of women?

 

[zecats]

Well-done by Greece being so open about this. I was worried it would get the silent treatment like we see in so many other countries due to worries about tourism.

Indeed. I read in one of their earlier statements that they WOULD update the press and the public when and as they were able. LE often say this and then don't follow through. They were true to their word and in essence also warned the public of a potential murderer in the area and need for info from possible witnesses.

Sorry to hear all this. I suspected as much, given the distance and difficulty in reaching the bunker. It's still sorrowful to have it confirmed.

 

[CLGM]

CLGM thank you for the link. This is the only Greek media where the "hole above the cave" hypothesis is stated as fact and I'm quite surprised. It definitely hasn't been confirmed nor mentioned by police authorities.

***I just listened to the interview. He expresses the certainty that it was a criminal act, and both of them speculate that either a car must have hit her or she must have seen something she wasn't supposed to see. He says she was a well-known lover of nature and very athletic, and that on both previous days she'd gone outside to walk/run as soon as the afternoon recess started. They found pics on her cellphone showing that on both previous days she'd walked toards Afrata beach (the exact opposite direction from where her body was found) and taken photos of nature. On the day she disappeared she didn't take her phone with her, probably believing she'd only be gone for a short while. He doesn't mention anything about her body being dropped through the hole in the ceiling of the cave.

In the translation of the article itself it says this, but maybe it's really just speculation on the part of the writer: "The woman's body was thrown from a hole on the surface of the ground at the center of the gallery, which shows beyond any doubt that the perpetrator or perpetrators knew the area very well."

 

[glassheater]

Indeed. I read in one of their earlier statements that they WOULD update the press and the public when and as they were able. LE often say this and then don't follow through. They were true to their word and in essence also warned the public of a potential murderer in the area and need for info from possible witnesses.

Sorry to hear all this. I suspected as much, given the distance and difficulty in reaching the bunker. It's still sorrowful to have it confirmed.

Indeed very sorrowful. A lot of work was put in covering the body. There are many random unpopulated places they could of left her but the perp(s) left her in an obscure bunker so she wouldn’t be easily found. This person probably knew there would be a massive search with planes and knows she wouldn’t spotted in a cave. Would a random deranged lunatic put this much thought into the disposal? Maybe. It would certainly of been easier to leave her body in an open field than transport it to a cave. It’s just sounding more and more like someone she may of known to me.

Edited for grammar.

 

[CityDancer]

Great question, and what are the prevalence of SAs and how do those tie in with cases of strangulation of women?

A quick Google search for women being strangled in Crete returns a few cases (fewer than 5) where a husband strangled his ex wife, a man strangled his ex gf, etc, so crimes of passion only. All said crimes have been solved and the culprit was caught almost immediately.

 

[zecats]

In the translation of the article itself it says this, but maybe it's really just speculation on the part of the writer: "The woman's body was thrown from a hole on the surface of the ground at the center of the gallery, which shows beyond any doubt that the perpetrator or perpetrators knew the area very well."

These tunnels and bunkers are photographed and reviewed on Trip Advisor. Also directions are give there as to the location and how to find the entrance. She just as likely could have been attacked by another tourist as a local. Or even someone attending the conference. This event is regularly occurring (annually?) and if it can be presumed the same attendees return each time, anyone would likely know about these bunkers. I wouldn't rule out anyone at this point. JMO