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

[otto]

This has crossed my mind as well. He may of covered her face to prevent her from screaming and suffocated her in the process. ( I feel terrible typing this out)

Except - she didn't die quickly, so she didn't die at the time of abduction.

 

[afitzy]

Burlap is under the olive trees to catch the olives that are picked/ fall during harvesting season.

ETA a photo

Great info! Thank you. Do you believe this burlap could be tied to someone that worked in the groves or is it such a common material in the area and readily available that it could have simply been purchased locally?

 

[glassheater]

Great info! Thank you. Do you believe this burlap could be tied to someone that worked in the groves or is it such a common material in the area and readily available that it could have simply been purchased locally?

I strongly believe it’s tied to someone that worked in the groves because they also knew about the obscure bunker in the middle of an olive grove. So they had farming material on hand and knowledge of the bunker. That, to me, points to an AG worker.

 

[glassheater]

Except - she didn't die quickly, so she didn't die at the time of abduction.

I agree. I didn’t say at time of abduction. I meant at some point.

 

[afitzy]

IMHO this line of argumentation is missing the point. To an onlooker she is just a white middle-aged woman with a "bland" appearance, jogging. Her links to Germany would only be known to very few, mostly her colleagues at the conference and the Academy. If it was a politically motivated attack then the first thing they'd do would be to leave pamphlets with a manifesto or call a newspaper and give their identity and their cause, or something. This is an attack by a solitary perp or couple of perps, I don't care how newspapers from Israel or other countries may be twisting the story to fit into their own agenda. Jews are never attacked here in Greece. During the War, Crete exhibited fierce and relentless anti-Nazi resistance. Look up "Cretan resistance".

Yes, but how does this view of perhaps the broader population tie into the press reports DM and others of a group of neo-nazis on Crete that make a living selling Nazi memorabilia and providing tours of the caves?

 

[afitzy]

I strongly believe it’s tied to someone that worked in the groves because they also knew about the obscure bunker in the middle of an olive grove. So they had farming material on hand and knowledge of the bunker. That, to me, points to an AG worker.

Is it too early in the season for the burlap to be on the ground now underneath the olive trees? Or, are the burlap tarps brought out closer to the harvest and so are kept in barns until needed?

Trying to figure out potentially how hard it would be to access the tarps if they were secured someplace on a farm and not yet down on the ground where they could be easily taken?

 

[otto]

@otto Here is the DM info on the location:
Officers now believe Dr Eaton 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.

Is your picture 4 about a mile outside of Afrata? Looks like its close to that. IDK

Additional info from DM:
"The witnesses are adamant she came into the picturesque former fishing village, which does not have street surveillance cameras and is surrounded by cliffs and olive fields, before turning back towards the academy".

"The retired gardener, who asked not to be identified, told DailyMail.com: 'I saw her and I recognized her from the photographs of her. I also told police correctly the pink and purple colors of her clothing".

'She was walking quite fast near a bridge and small church on the road out of the village. I was walking and she walked past me. I am sad about what has happened to her.'

"It is believed she met her killer or killers on the road out of Afrata and may have become exhausted in the 90-degree heat and through having walked four miles".

"She had walked north out of the academy and her body was found about six miles away south of the academy in a cave which had been a Nazi bunker during the Second World War".

"It is thought she was picked up from the road outside Afrata and suffocated and stabbed, before being dumped through a shaft into the cave at Xamoudochori".

Thanks! That's what I thought. Something happened 1 mile out of Afrata, which is 2 miles from the Orthodox Academy.

If she walked past him, and the car followed her from Afrata to the academy, then did he see the type or color of car?

The "little church" memorial is closer to Afrata than the academy, but it is still on the coast.

 

[Elainera]

Could it be possible that the motive was sexual assault, but that she fought so fiercely that the perp was taken aback, not expecting that, and he killed her in the process?

Yes I think that is possible.

IMHO this line of argumentation is missing the point. To an onlooker she is just a white middle-aged woman with a "bland" appearance, jogging. Her links to Germany would only be known to very few, mostly her colleagues at the conference and the Academy.

Just to clarify (again) I don't believe there is a Nazi-related motive here but believe that police nevertheless have to look at all angles.

And regarding her ties to Germany and Israel wouldn't be known to locals, I'm not so sure since she had been coming to Crete for 5 years. There might be many outside of the academy that knew her background quite well. jmo

 

[glassheater]

Is it too early in the season for the burlap to be on the ground now underneath the olive trees? Or, are the burlap tarps brought out closer to the harvest and so are kept in barns until needed?

Trying to figure out potentially how hard it would be to access the tarps if they were secured someplace on a farm and not yet down on the ground where they could be easily taken?

Too early. Not sure where they are kept. I suppose barns!

 

[afitzy]

Thanks! That's what I thought. Something happened 1 mile out of Afrata, which is 2 miles from the Orthodox Academy.

If she walked past him, and the car followed her from Afrata to the academy, then did he see the type or color of car?

The "little church" memorial is closer to Afrata than the academy, but it is still on the coast.

Yes, I think your map then is correct as last done! Do you agree?

 

[glassheater]

Yes I think that is possible.



Just to clarify (again) I don't believe there is a Nazi-related motive here but believe that police nevertheless have to look at all angles.

And regarding her ties to Germany and Israel wouldn't be known to locals, I'm not so sure since she had been coming to Crete for 5 years. There might be many outside of the academy that knew her background quite well. jmo

If for the unlikely chance this was Nazi related, then I think police should be looking very closely at all employees of the academy. They would be much more likely to know about her background and ties, especially as a repeat visitor.

 

[afitzy]

Thanks! That's what I thought. Something happened 1 mile out of Afrata, which is 2 miles from the Orthodox Academy.

If she walked past him, and the car followed her from Afrata to the academy, then did he see the type or color of car?

The "little church" memorial is closer to Afrata than the academy, but it is still on the coast.

@otto, but is the theory that the perp/s held onto the body until dark when they then drove to the cave for disposal? There is a lag time between when she was attacked and most likely killed and then disposed of at the cave? How do we account for this time in the timeline?

The other thing I had read was that the tire tracks at the top portion of the cave (where the pallet was located) indicate a car vs truck or van.

How possible do you think it is to identify vehicle type in that soil based on tire tracks?

Its hard to tell from the pictures what exactly the ground in that area is? Is ground loose and sandy or arid/dry and hard packed? Would a good tire print have been left that could be valuable to LE? Had a hard time figuring out the ground type from the pictures. If LE could get the tire print that could be a solid lead.

 

[indicolite22]

And regarding her ties to Germany and Israel wouldn't be known to locals, I'm not so sure since she had been coming to Crete for 5 years. There might be many outside of the academy that knew her background quite well. jmo

How would the locals know about her and her husband's work/heritage? Would they even know her full name? She was well known in academia, but she wasn't a celebrity. The Academy staff didn't know the level of her accomplishment. I don't see why they would take personal interest in their customers. Other locals too. To them she's just a tourist.

 

[Handsome Sailor]

Burlap would be used to transport the body into and out of the car. And as concealment while in the car. The missing ear bothers me more. It's almost ritualistic - souvenir or trophy? That's why we really have to think outside the box on this. Throw out all the old assumptions. Is the motive mere shabby and ceremonial violence?

 

[indicolite22]

Burlap would be used to transport the body into and out of the car. And as concealment while in the car. The missing ear bothers me more. It's almost ritualistic - souvenir or trophy? That's why we really have to think outside the box on this. Throw out all the old assumptions. Is the motive mere shabby and ceremonial violence?

Regarding the ear, I've seen other suggestions that it might have been torn off by the perp or eaten by animals after death. Wouldn't a knife cut look distinct?

 

[otto]

Yes, I think your map then is correct as last done! Do you agree?

I don't know. If the fisherman and the 85 year old were near the water and they saw her running, sitting on the bench, or walking, they may not have seen the car because of the angles.

 

[CityDancer]

Yes, but how does this view of perhaps the broader population tie into the press reports DM and others of a group of neo-nazis on Crete that make a living selling Nazi memorabilia and providing tours of the caves?

There is NO REASON whatsoever to suggest she'd be prime target for a NN group. This spreading of "rumours" is starting to look suspicious to me. Yes there are NN sympathizers all over Europe atm (and outside Europe too!). Why would they pick her? She doesn't even look "German" (whatever that means) and if spoken to, she would almost certainly reply in English with an American accent. To me it just doesn't make sense to suggest such a connection, hence my calling it out as suspicious and part of an agenda.

 

[Handsome Sailor]

Regarding the ear, I've seen other suggestions that it might have been torn off by the perp or eaten by animals after death. Wouldn't a knife cut look distinct?

What are your sources for the other suggestions?Star TV in Greece was very clear on this point:
the ear was cut off.

 

[Elainera]

How would the locals know about her and her husband's work/heritage? Would they even know her full name? She was well known in academia, but she wasn't a celebrity. The Academy staff didn't know the level of her accomplishment. I don't see why they would take personal interest in their customers. Other locals too. To them she's just a tourist.

Well she might have made friends there? Or sometimes chatted with locals when on her daily run? How can we simply exclude that, we don't know what type of person she was. There are many tourists who enjoy contact with local residents, the local culture, local food etc. I don't think it's impossible that some of the locals knew her by name and had chatted with her, especially since she had been to the exact location several times previously. jmo

 

[indicolite22]

If this was planned in advance, how would the perp(s) know where she would go running that day in which route she would take in each direction? Why didn't they grab her soon after she left the Academy? If she used running trails they wouldn't be able to approach her with a car and would have to carry her.