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

[Elainera]

Suzanne has her own Wikipedia page.

Suzanne Eaton - Wikipedia

 

[Kitsey]

What could point to unintentional killing? I don't believe extraction of information was a motive here, but even then it could end up in victim's death afterwards. I'm not sure how one could suspect kidnapping for ransom without additional clues.

Something about the way the coroner says it was not an immediate means of death like a gunshot...made me think that simply killing her was not the main mission of the assailants. I can’t imagine why he made that statement.

 

[Snoopster]

I was wondering what that means. Could it be that it looked like there were several attempts to kill her? A knife was used, a rope was mentioned - did they find rope marks around her neck? - but eventually she was killed by someone's hands over her nose and mouth.

It's so sad to think how she must have fought. In the end the guy was too strong for her, or maybe there were more than one.

Moo

Do we know for certain that she was killed by someone's hands over her nose and mouth? I think they said her nose and mouth were covered/blocked, but I'm not sure if we know by what. (I may have missed where LE said the specific mechanism though.)

The scenario I have running through my head is that the perp grabbed her and she fought back (hence the knife wounds). He was able to subdue her, covered her mouth with duct tape or other material, tied her hands and feet and threw her in the trunk. He left the area with a plan to do something to her somewhere else a bit later, when he had the time and place for privacy. Maybe he created an alibi by showing up somewhere else while she was incapacitated.

He could then have killed her by simply holding her nose closed or putting another piece of tape over her nose. Or he could have suffocated her by putting a plastic bag over her head.

All of this is pure wild speculation on my part. I just have the feeling it was only one perp.

 

[Gardener1850]

I'm confused on the coroner's "slow death" comment.
I seem to remember him (I believe this was in a Greek source) saying that her death was not instantaneous, which, to me, did not rule out the possibility of a struggle, followed by suffocation.
Is it possible she was suffocated at the scene of the struggle? Or shortly thereafter?
Some here are speculating that she might have been kept alive for hours. I'm wondering what that is based on.

Suffocation or strangulation takes around 4-6 minutes before the person dies. And that's if the victim does not struggle free and catch a breath. I think most of us are assuming that the murderer would not risk staying at the side of the road that long. Someone could drive by or walk by and see him. Because her manner of death was not instant it suggests she might have been taken to another location where the murderer could be alone with her. She might have been kept for hours but I think it's likely that it was over quickly once he got her back to his lair-- wherever that is. She was likely dead before she was even missed at the conference. MOO (My opinion only).

 

[indicolite22]

Something about the way the coroner says it was not an immediate means of death like a gunshot...made me think that simply killing her was not the main mission of the assailants. I can’t imagine why he made that statement.

A gunshot, a knife to the heart, a fatal blow to the head... It's possible that this perp did not want to create and deal with a bloody scene. One of the obvious missions would be sexual assault, but since this has not been confirmed nor excluded yet, they need to keep more options open.

 

[glassheater]

Suffocation or strangulation takes around 4-6 minutes before the person dies. And that's if the victim does not struggle free and catch a breath. I think most of us are assuming that the murderer would not risk staying at the side of the road that long. Someone could drive by or walk by and see him. Because her manner of death was not instant it suggests she might have been taken to another location where the murderer could be alone with her. She might have been kept for hours but I think it's likely that it was over quickly once he got her back to his lair-- wherever that is. She was likely dead before she was even missed at the conference. MOO (My opinion only).

This would also fit with the coroner’s timeline as well.

 

[CocoChanel]

MOD NOTE:

Unless you provide an MSM link for a statement you make in a post, you must state that it is your OPINION. Otherwise it gets read as a statement of fact without proof and it will be removed if reported. This case is already confusing in that it happened on foreign soil, with challenges translating local new reports. When posters make statements as facts if they are merely speculation and opinion, it will only confuse all of us more. PLEASE ABIDE BY THE TOS AND BE EXPLICIT ABOUT YOUR MSM LINKS OR CLEARLY STATE THAT IT IS YOUR OPINION/GUESS/BELIEF and nothing beyond that without proof in MSM.

CocoChanel
Moderator

 

[Gardener1850]

I don't care who made the claim, it's unsubstantiated. Also note the Daily Beast are calling her a "superstar scientist" to amp up the suggestion she may have been taken out bec. of that. That is century-old journalism and sorry but I have to call BS when I see it. She was a great mind indeed. But to a Cretan farmer (even, to a Cretan farmer with neoNazi ideology) a "superstar scientist" is Hawking or Einstein. Not a lady working at MaxPlanck on the developmental genetics of the Drosophila fruitfly. The police are correct to search every angle, but I'm certain the spokesperson's statement is being quoted snipped, or out of context.

I agree with you, CityDancer. Plus, I consider Daily Beast a tabloid at best. It is worse than the Daily Mail. Not a very reliable media source and they often sensationalize things for the clicks. Wikipedia even calls the Daily Beast "an American news and opinion website": The Daily Beast - Wikipedia
Their "articles" can be more opinion than facts. We should be careful if what they say is not also coming from other, more reliable sources.

MOO.

 

[Gardener1850]

More cases of women who went missing on Crete:
Mystery Surrounds Missing Bulgarian Women in Crete | GreekReporter.com
Pregnant Bulgarian national missing in Crete, her Greek partner committed suicide - Keep Talking Greece
A 22-year-old girl from Bulgaria missing on the island of Crete

This woman was found deceased under suspicious circumstances after going missing: My mum was found dead in the sea without hair & eyes following a date

I'll be making threads for all of these women too if they don't already have them.

ETA Threads:

Catherine Mowatt: Greece - Greece - Catherine Mowatt, 37, British citizen Missing on Island of Crete, 30 June 2019

Krasimira Kirilova: Greece - Greece - Krasimira Kirilova, 22, Island of Crete, 12 May 2015 *Boyfriend Also Missing*

Ilieva Desislava: Greece - Greece - Ilieva Desislava, 37, Pregnant, Island of Crete, 2 May 2018 *Married Boyfriend Found Dead*

Antonina Zoeva: Greece - Greece - Antonina Zoeva, 38, Island of Crete, May 2018

Alexandra Bijeva, found deceased: Found Deceased - Greece - Alexandra Bijeva, Island of Crete, May 2018

Jean Hanlon, found Deceased: Found Deceased - Greece - Jean Hanlon, 53, Scottish Citizen, Island of Crete, 9 March 2009

I agree with your last point. If he did this before, who else is missing from the area? Where did he put them? I think he might have other offences, but this was likely his first murder. It's also possible that he used to live somewhere else and only came in close contact with the bunker after moving to the area.

If rape was involved, he probably thought that she would never be found in the bunker or that the evidence would be gone by then.

BBM. See my post quoted above for the other women missing or found deceased under suspicious circumstances on Crete. Catherine Mowatt was found safe. All of the women are foreigners. Some of the Bulgarian women's cases had a suspect who knew the victim. I'm not sold on a serial killer theory yet. But one thing I do find interesting is that Jean Hanlon and Alexandra Bijeva were both found in the ocean. Krasimira Kirilova, Ilieva Desislava, and Antonina Zoeva have not been found. Maybe they were placed in the ocean also and floated out to sea instead of onto shore? IF this is a serial killer at work would he change up where he left the bodies? I'm not sure. Maybe he would after two were found in the water? Maybe there should be a search of all caves and bunkers on the island for the other women who are still missing?

MOO.

 

[afitzy]

I wanted to put this link into the thread of newspapers in Greece to facilitate search of local articles on this case. Wiki made an attempt to detail political affiliation of the various news outlets as well which IMO is helpful for non Greek citizens to understand this issue:
List of newspapers in Greece - Wikipedia

Note: News | ekathimerini.com has an english news option via its website.

 

[indicolite22]

BBM. See my post quoted above for the other women missing or found deceased under suspicious circumstances on Crete. Catherine Mowatt was found safe. All of the women are foreigners. Some of the Bulgarian women's cases had a suspect who knew the victim. I'm not sold on a serial killer theory yet. But one thing I do find interesting is that Jean Hanlon and Alexandra Bijeva were both found in the ocean. Krasimira Kirilova, Ilieva Desislava, and Antonina Zoeva have not been found. Maybe they were placed in the ocean also and floated out to sea instead of onto shore? IF this is a serial killer at work would he change up where he left the bodies? I'm not sure. Maybe he would after two were found in the water? Maybe there should be a search of all caves and bunkers on the island for the other women who are still missing?

MOO.

I just checked and found that Krasimira Kirilova has been found safe in Bulgaria a year after her disappearance (I updated her thread). If we consider Desislava Ilieva and Antonina Zoeva's cases domestic-related, that leaves noone else missing and two women (Alexandra Bijeva and Jean Hanlon) found in the sea. I'm not sure if there are enough similarities with Suzanne Eaton's case. It seems like a different MO.

 

[Gardener1850]

I just checked and found that Krasimira Kirilova has been found safe in Bulgaria a year after her disappearance (I updated her thread). If we consider Desislava Ilieva and Antonina Zoeva's cases domestic-related, that leaves noone else missing and two women (Alexandra Bijeva and Jean Hanlon) found in the sea. I'm not sure if there are enough similarities with Suzanne Eaton's case. It seems lika a different MO.

Thank you for finding that update! I agree, there are not enough similarities for me to conclude serial killer. Also, although Suzanne was placed in a remote cave that seems like a good hiding place, she was found. The killer left behind evidence such as tire tracks and the burlap and possibly used a cell phone in the area. This seems like a first time killer to me. I hope that the police do not only focus on people with criminal backgrounds. Like in the cases of Molly Tibbets and Jayme Closs, the perp may be someone who has not been caught at a major crime yet. He may have gotten away with smaller crimes and therefore he was over-confident that he could do whatever he wanted without getting caught. MOO.

 

[CityDancer]

It seems we're not allowed to post YouTube videos but I found a video from the news bulletin of a Cretan TV station, that clarifies things a little bit. Anyone who wants to search for it it's titled "Η ΤΕΛΕΥΤΑΙΑ ΔΙΑΔΡΟΜΗ ΤΗΣ ΣΟΥΖΑΝ ΙΤΟΝ" (i.e. Suzanne Eaton's last route). It's from an official TV station.

We're told she was seen at Afrata (she went all the way up to the village at Afrata, walked right through the village and came out the other end to walk back to the OAC) and was seen by an elderly lady (who heard her dog barking) at 5 p.m. We see the church mentioned as she was walking back. It is, in fact, a "little church" ("ekklisaki") of the type commonly found by the side of the road to signify someone lost their life there. At 1:41 the lady speaking says that her brother saw Dr.Eaton walk by the "little church" and the old man speaking right after her says that his relative saw her there (they are both referring to the same man). At 2:01 the reporter says that Dr.Eaton did reach that bridge (we're not told who saw her there) and that her signs disappear right at the bridge. She hints that that is the very last spot where police dogs were able to trace any sign of her. She says a car must have picked her up or abducted her from that spot.

The reporter says that police know she hadn't received any threatening messages online or on her cellphone, and that her family say she had no enemies.

Regarding the autopsy, the reporter does mention the rumours (stab wounds, ear cut off either by the perp or by a rodent) but says that the autopsy report is being closely guarded as secrecy must be preserved at this point. The coroner at the end confirms that they want to keep their findings secret for the time being.

The OAC group photo at 4:27 is Dr.Eaton's last photo, taken the day before she vanished.

 

[Elainera]

@CityDancer if it's an official TV station you can link the video here.

 

[CityDancer]

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[indicolite22]

We're told she was seen at Afrata (she went all the way up to the village at Afrata, walked right through the village and came out the other end to walk back to the OAC) and was seen by an elderly lady (who heard her dog barking) at 5 p.m.

The time given by the eyewitness is new information I think. They better check the CCTV footage at the monastery.

We see the church mentioned as she was walking back. It is, in fact, a "little church" ("ekklisaki") of the type commonly found by the side of the road to signify someone lost their life there. At 1:41 the lady speaking says that her brother saw Dr.Eaton walk by the "little church" and the old man speaking right after her says that his relative saw her there (they are both referring to the same man).

It's the same white and blue little-church that we discussed earlier in the thread.

At 2:01 the reporter says that Dr.Eaton did reach that bridge (we're not told who saw her there) and that her signs disappear right at the bridge. She hints that that is the very last spot where police dogs were able to trace any sign of her. She says a car must have picked her up or abducted her from that spot.

Is the part about the police dogs having traced Suzanne to the bridge stated as fact in the video (perhaps leaked info) or is it a guess by the reporter?

 

[otto]

It seems we're not allowed to post YouTube videos but I found a video from the news bulletin of a Cretan TV station, that clarifies things a little bit. Anyone who wants to search for it it's titled "Η ΤΕΛΕΥΤΑΙΑ ΔΙΑΔΡΟΜΗ ΤΗΣ ΣΟΥΖΑΝ ΙΤΟΝ" (i.e. Suzanne Eaton's last route). It's from an official TV station.

We're told she was seen at Afrata (she went all the way up to the village at Afrata, walked right through the village and came out the other end to walk back to the OAC) and was seen by an elderly lady (who heard her dog barking) at 5 p.m. We see the church mentioned as she was walking back. It is, in fact, a "little church" ("ekklisaki") of the type commonly found by the side of the road to signify someone lost their life there. At 1:41 the lady speaking says that her brother saw Dr.Eaton walk by the "little church" and the old man speaking right after her says that his relative saw her there (they are both referring to the same man). At 2:01 the reporter says that Dr.Eaton did reach that bridge (we're not told who saw her there) and that her signs disappear right at the bridge. She hints that that is the very last spot where police dogs were able to trace any sign of her. She says a car must have picked her up or abducted her from that spot.

The reporter says that police know she hadn't received any threatening messages online or on her cellphone, and that her family say she had no enemies.

Regarding the autopsy, the reporter does mention the rumours (stab wounds, ear cut off either by the perp or by a rodent) but says that the autopsy report is being closely guarded as secrecy must be preserved at this point. The coroner at the end confirms that they want to keep their findings secret for the time being.

The OAC group photo at 4:27 is Dr.Eaton's last photo, taken the day before she vanished.

I don't really understand how she walked through Afrata, came out the other end, and she was on the road back to the academy.

Reposting this - the little church memorial and little bridge are mapped here:

 

[indicolite22]

Distance between the little church and the bridge is less than 300m or a 3 minute walk, according to Google Maps. This means that she was abducted very soon after the eyewitness saw her. They could have seen the abductor's car, too. There probably wasn't other traffic on the road, since nobody saw the attack.

 

[CityDancer]

Is the part about the police dogs having traced Suzanne to the bridge stated as fact in the video (perhaps leaked info) or is it a guess by the reporter?

Stated as leaked info. "No matter how many times specially-trained police dogs came to the spot, they were unable to trace her any further".

There's also a more recent video

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with a lot of information overlapping with that in the previous video. The coroner again refuses to comment on any aspect of how she died such as whether she was asphyxiated. "Material was found behind her fingernails and hairs (not belonging to her) were also found on her. It is speculated that her death was not instantaneous and that she fought with the perp". Rest of the info has been mentioned already from other sources, how the police are searching extensively etc.

 

[CityDancer]

I don't really understand how she walked through Afrata, came out the other end, and she was on the road back to the academy.

Reposting this - the little church memorial and little bridge are mapped here:

View attachment 193411

It's not stated very clearly on the video. Perhaps she walked through the village and started walking in the direction of the Afrata beach then she turned around to return to the OAC, so she may have walked through the village twice. What's important is that we know for a fact that she was on her way back to Kolymbari.

 

[otto]

Distance between the little church and the bridge is less than 300m or a 3 minute walk, according to Google Maps. This means that she was abducted very soon after the eyewitness saw her. They could have seen the abductor's car, too. There probably wasn't other traffic on the road, since nobody saw the attack.

This is the little bridge, and the road on the right goes to the Greek Orthodox Church. Someone could have seen her jogging, and waited for her at the turnoff.