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

[glassheater]

Maybe she didn't run all the way to Afrata. Maybe she turned back a mile before the village?

Eyewitness accounts told police she was in Afrata.

 

[otto]

Maybe she didn't run all the way to Afrata. Maybe she turned back a mile before the village?

"An 85-year-old gardener and an elderly fisherman have both independently told detectives they saw 59-year-old Dr. Eaton in the village of Afrata, which is three miles from the place she had been staying.

Officers now believe Dr. Eaton, who had two sons, disappeared a mile outside of Afrata as she made her way back to the Orthodox Academy of Crete where she was due to be a keynote conference speaker."
​

Greek police are close to a breakthrough in the case of murdered American biologist | Daily Mail Online

 

[otto]

So this is right during the siesta hour, which would mean that this already isolated road would have even less cars on the road at that time.

She was seen in the village of Afrata, so that could be where she was first noticed by the suspect.

 

[Patrick Jane]

Is it most likely the victim was running back towards the Academy at the time of the abduction?
Is it most likely that the perp drove up behind her? This would mean that he was heading away from Afrata and towards Kolymbari.

I know these are hard questions to answer but I'm just trying to figure out how you get the drop on a second degree Tae Kwon Do black belt.
Even armed with a knife, I think it's likely to me that the perp would have had to surprise her by driving up towards her out of her field of vision or if he was in her field of vision then he would have had to employ some artifice to catch her off guard.
And even if she ran away from him, he could still chase her with his car. What a horrible situation she was in.

 

[glassheater]

Is it most likely the victim was running back towards the Academy at the time of the abduction?
Is it most likely that the perp drove up behind her? This would mean that he was heading away from Afrata and towards Kolymbari.

I know these are hard questions to answer but I'm just trying to figure out how you get the drop on a second degree Tae Kwon Do black belt.
Even armed with a knife, I think it's likely to me that the perp would have had to surprise her by driving up towards her out of her field of vision or if he was in her field of vision then he would have had to employ some artifice to catch her off guard.
And even if she ran away from him, he could still chase her with his car. What a horrible situation she was in.

Definitely an element of surprise. She felt so safe in Crete she left her door to her room unlocked and went out without a phone. Two perps wouldn’t surprise me as LE suspects as much too. She may of also been tired. She was already on mile 4 and the terrain is very uphill/downhill

 

[otto]

Is it most likely the victim was running back towards the Academy at the time of the abduction?
Is it most likely that the perp drove up behind her? This would mean that he was heading away from Afrata and towards Kolymbari.

I know these are hard questions to answer but I'm just trying to figure out how you get the drop on a second degree Tae Kwon Do black belt.
Even armed with a knife, I think it's likely to me that the perp would have had to surprise her by driving up towards her out of her field of vision or if he was in her field of vision then he would have had to employ some artifice to catch her off guard.
And even if she ran away from him, he could still chase her with his car. What a horrible situation she was in.

He could have been leaving Afrata, or heading there and turned around to follow her. He may have pulled in front of her and, as you say, left her with no where to run.

Most often, women are hit hard in the head at the time of abduction. I only know this from following too many missing women discussions. Examples are Ted Bundy and Jesse Matthews. Ted Bundy talked about a student he abducted who kept reciting her Spanish language phrases after she was hit in the head. One of Jesse Matthews victims survived and described the attack. Suzanne's abductor had a knife, and she may have been injured at the time of the attack, making it impossible for her to defend herself. If she has defensive wounds on her hands and arms, then it's more likely the knife was used to abduct her.

 

[indicolite22]

I've read numerous books on WWII and the Battle of Crete, and I've been to Xamoudohori (the village with the bunkers) numerous times and have many relatives there, but I had no idea there were any bunkers there. I asked one of my relatives who is in her upper 70s and has lived in the village her entire life if she had heard of these bunkers, and she had no idea they were even there.

Is there more than one bunker in Xamoudohori? Being the only one would make it quicker to check what locals knew about it.

 

[indicolite22]

He could have been leaving Afrata, or heading there and turned around to follow her. He may have pulled in front of her and, as you say, left her with no where to run.

Whichever direction he was traveling, apparently he wasn't going there for a specific purpose, since he changed his plans. IMO he was on his way home and it's more likely that his home was not too far away from the bunker. It's also possible that he used to live there in the past. What first brought him to the bunker? Youthful exploration, interest in caves/WW2 history or perhaps agricultural work. In any case, he visited the bunker before and it could have been on his mind when he decided to snatch her.

 

[CityDancer]

My most recent comment was deleted for the presence of a screenshot, so I will phrase it differently and hopefully it will be ok. I wrote that the two explorers who went to the bunker site late at night may have been prompted by reading about the bunkers on the public Facebook search page for Dr. Eaton. Someone had publicly suggested that people search the bunkers. They provided links to the sites. Dr.Eaton's family saw the suggestion, and replied they would look into it. It's likely that the two people read about it there.

 

[afitzy]

Welcome! Are you aware of any stretch of the road between the academy and Afrata where there is a church and a bridge? Do you think that the witness could have being referring to one of the roadside memorial boxes when he mentioned a church?

@otto, I tried to overlay a "churches" search in google over your maps using google maps and it will put an icon on every church along the route. Not sure if this will help you. I am unable to post the overlay here for some reason. Are people thinking that the mini church/memorial on the roadside with the small bridge you posted is the correct spot or are you still looking for a different location?

 

[Patrick Jane]

Is there more than one bunker in Xamoudohori? Being the only one would make it quicker to check what locals knew about it.

I don't know the answer to that, but I did find CityDancer's post on that topic:

There's more than two German-era bunkers in the area. There is another one that is larger and more well-known and has been made into a museum of sorts. The one Dr Eaton was found in is not as well-known and is under collapse at certain points, so people avoid going in. It's usually "ghost hunters" who go in to film videos, or people wanting to do illegal stuff.

 

[Curiousobserver]

My most recent comment was deleted for the presence of a screenshot, so I will phrase it differently and hopefully it will be ok. I wrote that the two explorers who went to the bunker site late at night may have been prompted by reading about the bunkers on the public Facebook search page for Dr. Eaton. Someone had publicly suggested that people search the bunkers. They provided links to the sites. Dr.Eaton's family saw the suggestion, and replied they would look into it. It's likely that the two people read about it there.

Just confirming this. I saw the same posts on the very first day she was reported missing and the site was launched. A few people seemed to know exactly where you would hide someone.

 

[CityDancer]

I don't know the answer to that, but I did find CityDancer's post on that topic:

Yes, more than one apparently. Search for the Maleme bunkers (Maleme being right next to Xamoudochori), also Battlefield Archaeology: The abandoned WW2 German gun emplacements of Kolymbari, Crete – WW2Wrecks.com and also the Trip Advisor page for the War Shelter of Platanias (Platanias is the broader municipality that includes Kolymbari).

 

[indicolite22]

A few news articles I've read mentioned that the attacker disabling her first by hitting her, but I'm not sure if it was fact or just speculation. Automatic translations were too mangled. Here are two English references:

Speculation:
A police source told the Reuters news agency that she had died of asphyxiation after possibly being struck by several blows.

Greek police suspect foul play in death of US scientist who taught in Germany | DW | 10.07.2019

Stating as fact:
The scientist, who loved Crete and was participating at an international conference at the Orthodox Academy’s premises in Kolymbari, Chania for the fifth time, was struck a number of blows to the sides that the perpetrator(s) may have inflicted in order to immobilize her. Her death was caused by suffocation which indicates that her killer probably closed her mouth and nose with his hands.

American Biologist Suzanne Eaton was Brutally Murdered, Coroners Say | GreekReporter.com

Would her being punched or struck with an object be detected in the autopsy a week later? What about being struck by a car?

 

[Gardener1850]

He could have been leaving Afrata, or heading there and turned around to follow her. He may have pulled in front of her and, as you say, left her with no where to run.

Most often, women are hit hard in the head at the time of abduction. I only know this from following too many missing women discussions. Examples are Ted Bundy and Jesse Matthews. Ted Bundy talked about a student he abducted who kept reciting her Spanish language phrases after she was hit in the head. One of Jesse Matthews victims survived and described the attack. Suzanne's abductor had a knife, and she may have been injured at the time of the attack, making it impossible for her to defend herself. If she has defensive wounds on her hands and arms, then it's more likely the knife was used to abduct her.

Oh my, I just had a horrible thought. Perhaps he grabbed her by the ear and tore it off in the struggle? I believe she would have fought very hard for her life. Perhaps it was not any significant reason that her ear was missing but instead a sign of how hard she fought? And the knife wounds too could have been from her resistance.

MOO.

 

[otto]

@otto, I tried to overlay a "churches" search in google over your maps using google maps and it will put an icon on every church along the route. Not sure if this will help you. I am unable to post the overlay here for some reason. Are people thinking that the mini church/memorial on the roadside with the small bridge you posted is the correct spot or are you still looking for a different location?

Thanks. Someone else posted the small memorial along the road. That is near the area that I chose, but I was focused on actual churches, like the Greek Orthodox church turnoff that is right near what could be called a small bridge.

From Google Maps and Streetview:

 

[indicolite22]

My most recent comment was deleted for the presence of a screenshot, so I will phrase it differently and hopefully it will be ok. I wrote that the two explorers who went to the bunker site late at night may have been prompted by reading about the bunkers on the public Facebook search page for Dr. Eaton. Someone had publicly suggested that people search the bunkers. They provided links to the sites. Dr.Eaton's family saw the suggestion, and replied they would look into it. It's likely that the two people read about it there.

The two explorers must have already known about this bunker. I don't think the links gave away the location of this one or the instructions how to get there, only pictures of various bunkers.

 

[otto]

A few news articles I've read mentioned that the attacker disabling her first by hitting her, but I'm not sure if it was fact or just speculation. Automatic translations were too mangled. Here are two English references:

Speculation:
A police source told the Reuters news agency that she had died of asphyxiation after possibly being struck by several blows.

Greek police suspect foul play in death of US scientist who taught in Germany | DW | 10.07.2019

Stating as fact:
The scientist, who loved Crete and was participating at an international conference at the Orthodox Academy’s premises in Kolymbari, Chania for the fifth time, was struck a number of blows to the sides that the perpetrator(s) may have inflicted in order to immobilize her. Her death was caused by suffocation which indicates that her killer probably closed her mouth and nose with his hands.

American Biologist Suzanne Eaton was Brutally Murdered, Coroners Say | GreekReporter.com

Would her being punched or struck with an object be detected in the autopsy a week later? What about being struck by a car?

I think so. Injuries just prior to the time of death that would normally bruise would be discolored after death. That she was hit or punched at the time of abduction is similar to other abductions. The first objective seems to be to disable or disorient the victim. He wanted her alive for some time, as there are a number of cuts on her body, but none severe enough to cause death. I don't like the fact that she died of suffocation, most likely by having her mouth and nose covered. Dennis Raider did that to his victims several times - knocking them out, letting them come to, then torturing them some more, knocking them out some more. There are also reports that an ear was cut. There is so much about this that does not sound like a first time offender.

 

[Handsome Sailor]

"A slow death."

It sends chills up my spine.

 

[indicolite22]

I don't know the answer to that, but I did find CityDancer's post on that topic:

Thank you. I meant something nearby or local to the village. I knew that there were more bunkers in the larger area. I think the one that was turned into a museum is several kilometers away (or there could be multiple ones like that).