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

[Patrick Jane]

• 
  
• In an article published 14 hours ago, it was reported that the Police now feel that more than one perpetrator was involved. (https://www.n-tv.de/mediathek/videos/panorama/Rechtsmediziner-spricht-ueber-Todesumstaende-der-Dresdner-Forscherin-article21143721.html)

If there is more than one perp, then a possible kidnapping is back on the table IMO.

There have been cases of kidnapping for ransom in Greece.* (see note below)

But, of course, two perps could also be SA and/or sadistic killing.

JMO

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[afitzy]

ABC News Report including video from inside cave:
Crucial evidence may identify killer of American professor murdered in Greece: Police

Quotes from article:
"Officials have not determined whether Eaton was murdered at the bunker or if she was killed somewhere else and her body left there. [BBM] Her death resulted from a "criminal act," Papadomanolakis said, and her cause of death was asphyxiation.

Investigators are aware of a claim by one potential eyewitness who said she saw "someone from far away" on the day Eaton disappeared [BBM], according to the police source. Authorities have not yet determined whether that information is related to the case.

First I have read about a potential eyewitness.

 

[Patrick Jane]

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My relatives work in tourism on another island in Greece. They usually get a break in the middle of the day anywhere from 2-5. So they usually leave around 4:30-5 to head back to work. However, and Patrick Jane can clarify this since they are familiar with Crete, it seems Kolimvari and Afrata isn’t as tourist oriented as in, not many hotels in the area. But I would imagine there would be people also heading to the beach. I find that locals who don’t work in the afternoons, evenings tend to prefer going to the beach around 4:30-5pm. Regardless, I highly suspect traffic would be higher around 4:30-5 than at 3.

I need to explain a bit about the roads here.
Some people have mentioned the "main road", but I think this is confusing and not correct. When locals speak of the "main road" they are referring to the Old National Road. This is the heavily traveled road.
Also I'll explain those towns. Kolimbari has large hotels, is a fishing village, and is a very popular for fish taverns. I was there last week and can tell you that there was traffic into and out of Kolimbari even during the siesta hours because Greeks eat late lunches and may leave the taverns during the siesta hours, and also there is tourist activity.
Because it is up high, you can see the Academy from many points in Kolimbari. But from the Academy and beyond towards Afrata I'd consider that road as not regularly traveled and isolated. I've never gone that way. And the road to Afrata is not visible from Kolimbari.
So to summarize, many people travel to Kolimbari, but not many at all go to Afrata.

 

[Patrick Jane]

I'm not sure. He could have her bound and gagged in the back seat.

IMO This would only work if the windows were heavily tinted.
Otherwise, the second the perp(s) drove into Kolimbari and then to the Old National Road he risked being spotted by pedestrians or onlookers. In Greece there are many of those, and I don't think the perp would risk it.
This is why I think she would have had to have been in the trunk (if it was a sedan) and why I was open to the idea of something like a van or truck being used in the abduction.
It could also be the case (I believe it was @otto who suggested this) that she could have been kept on the Afrata side until dark.
JMO

 

[Patrick Jane]

To travel to the bunker from Kolimbari/Afrata one possible road to travel is the Old National Road.
There is also a New National Road which may also have been traveled.
JMO

 

[Handsome Sailor]

Abducting her on a public road would have been extremely risky. In the height of summer, with cars, pedestrians, bicyclists, sunbathers, boaters. No. I will propose a ruse of some sort to get her into the car. A confidence trick of some sort. The work of ensuring compliance then began in earnest en route to a remote location

 

[Elainera]

IMO This would only work if the windows were heavily tinted.
Otherwise, the second the perp(s) drove into Kolimbari and then to the Old National Road he risked being spotted by pedestrians or onlookers. In Greece there are many of those, and I don't think the perp would risk it.
This is why I think she would have had to have been in the trunk (if it was a sedan) and why I was open to the idea of something like a van or truck being used in the abduction.
It could also be the case (I believe it was @otto who suggested this) that she could have been kept on the Afrata side until dark.
JMO

Or, they threw the burlap on her so she wouldn't be visible.

 

[Elainera]

Some here have said her self defence training might not have helped her, she might have frozen. But it was repeatedly reported that she fought back evidenced by defensive wounds on her body. I don't think she froze at all but did everything right, she did everything she could. But there was a knife, and possibly two or even more men. She was overpowered, simple as that. MOO.

 

[Handsome Sailor]

Her lodgings innkeeper described her as a trusting soul, indeed she left room with valuables routinely unlocked. And, according to innkeeper, Suzanne "loved Greece." Was this her vulnerability? And speaking of the inn, I hope Polis have built alibis for all the employees, every last man jack of them.

 

[tmar]

I am fluent in German so I looked what the German media is saying about Dr. Eaton’s tragic death. A lot or all of this is probably already known to all of you. I have been at work so was not able to stay totally up on the forum.

• “Her death struggle must have lasted minutes” (https://www.bild.de/bild-plus/regional/dresden/dresden-aktuell/biologin-auf-kreta-erstickt-todeskampf-muss-minuten-gedauert-haben-63256924,view=conversionToLogin.bild.html)
  
  
• The police are talking to several suspects in Dr. Eaton’s murder. As per an article dated yesterday, 10 people have been questioned. (https://www.bild.de/news/ausland/news-ausland/suzanne-eaton-mehrere-verdaechtige-im-fall-der-ermordeten-forscherin-63275634.bild.html); https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2019/07/13/suzanne-eaton-murder-investigation-police-greece/\
  
  
• “It was one or more than one perpetrator that attacked Dr. Eaton” (https://www.bild.de/news/ausland/news-ausland/suzanne-eaton-mehrere-verdaechtige-im-fall-der-ermordeten-forscherin-63275634.bild.html)
  
  
• In an article published 14 hours ago, it was reported that the Police now feel that more than one perpetrator was involved. (https://www.n-tv.de/mediathek/videos/panorama/Rechtsmediziner-spricht-ueber-Todesumstaende-der-Dresdner-Forscherin-article21143721.html)
  
  
• Media sources report that foreign DNA was found on Dr. Eaton’s clothes, body, and under her nails. (https://www.n-tv.de/panorama/Soko-Kreta-sieht-Hinweise-auf-Vergewaltigung-article21140265.html; https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2019/07/13/suzanne-eaton-murder-investigation-police-greece/
  
  
• Law enforcement is certain that the perpetrator is a local due to remoteness of cave (no one other than locals would likely know about it). (https://www.bild.de/news/ausland/news-ausland/suzanne-eaton-verraet-ein-handy-signal-den-killer-63267028.bild.html)
  
  
• “Dr. Eaten had severe rip injuries, the killer held her mouth and nose closed, and stabbed and cut her with a knife. Furthermore, there are signs that she was tied up.” (https://www.bild.de/news/ausland/news-ausland/suzanne-eaton-verraet-ein-handy-signal-den-killer-63267028.bild.html)
  
  
• There is evidence that some of Dr. Eaton’s injuries were inflicted before death and others after death. (https://www.rtl.de/cms/tote-forscherin-auf-kreta-rechtsmediziner-erklaert-wie-suzanne-eaton-gestorben-ist-4371110.html)
  
  
• There is evidence that a cell phone connected to a tower where Dr. Eaton’s body was found. This is being investigated and may lead to the perpetrator/perpetrators. (https://www.focus.de/panorama/welt/leiche-am-montag-gefunden-tod-von-forscherin-auf-kreta-handy-am-leichenfundort-eingeloggt_id_10923055.html)

Thank you NoSI, as your summaries here have been very helpful.
The phone connected to a tower, and DNA findings should nab the murderer/murderers.
MOO.

 

[indicolite22]

Some here have said her self defence training might not have helped her, she might have frozen. But it was repeatedly reported that she fought back evidenced by defensive wounds on her body. I don't think she froze at all but did everything right, she did everything she could. But there was a knife, and possibly two or even more men. She was overpowered, simple as that. MOO.

She still could have frozen initially when she was captured, but fought back later when attacked.

 

[CityDancer]

Some here have said her self defence training might not have helped her, she might have frozen. But it was repeatedly reported that she fought back evidenced by defensive wounds on her body. I don't think she froze at all but did everything right, she did everything she could. But there was a knife, and possibly two or even more men. She was overpowered, simple as that. MOO.

The exhaustion from having run longer than usual, with no water, in the heat (dehydration affects alertness and may cause disorientation), probably hungry, with her guard down because a car parked at that specific spot didn't look suspicious, getting surprised from behind as she jogged past him. All these combined together brought her at a significant disadvantage. Such conditions are sadly very different to being in an air-conditioned dojo, well-rested, well-hydrated and mentally prepped, about to take your martial arts exams.

Still, she fought.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I thought I was following this thread but wasn't, so I've missed a load of posts... is the current theory that Suzanne was abducted in a vehicle while out on her run?

 

[Kitsey]

My husband is telling me that he read in a Greek news article (I don’t have a link, so I’ll tag this MOO) that police are checking the cell phones that hit on towers near Afrata

 

[Curiousobserver]

I thought I was following this thread but wasn't, so I've missed a load of posts... is the current theory that Suzanne was abducted in a vehicle while out on her run?

Witnesses have said they saw her in a nearby town called Afrata which is consistent with her having gone for an afternoon walk/run. The road to/from that area is isolated for much of its course. One of the witnesses reported her being near a bridge/church and that is believed to be near to the place where she was attacked/abducted. There are Greek news reports, not confirmed by LE, that she was tracked to the point of the bridge but no further.

Αρχική σελίδα - zarpanews.gr

 

[Handsome Sailor]

We are mesmerized by the travel brochures. Breath-taking vistas of the deep blue Aegean. White washed villas clinging to the sides of cliffs. Ancient amphitheaters. So seductive. But danger lurks everywhere.

 

[Cryptic]

She still could have frozen initially when she was captured, but fought back later when attacked.

Maybe she knew her attacker?

Though an attack by a stranger is statistically more likely, she had attended five conferences at that location. If she is single, perhaps she got to know a local man as a friend. The friend then becomes obsessive as the relationship is not going further than that.

Either by chance, or by design, he sees her on her daily run. He then stops his car, has a conversation with her, then uses a pretense for her to go with him instead of continuing the run. As she knows him, she is not immediately concerned and gets into the car.

 

[Patrick Jane]

From a local Greek source:

φαίνεται ότι οι αστυνομικοί πιθανότατα έχουν καταλήξει σε συγκεκριμένα άτομα, κατά πληροφορίες νεαρής ηλικίας

Χανιά | Σε οριακό σημείο οι έρευνες των Αστυνομικών Αρχών για την εξιχνίαση της Αμερικανίδας βιολόγου - zarpanews.gr

The online translators aren't rendering a good translation of this.

This is my translation only. @CityDancer might have a better translation.

"It appears that the police have probably concluded upon specific people, according to information, (of) young age"

 

[indicolite22]

Maybe she knew her attacker?

Though an attack by a stranger is statistically more likely, she had attended five conferences at that location. If she is single, perhaps she got to know a local man as a friend. The friend then becomes obsessive as the relationship is not going further than that.

Either by chance, or by design, he sees her on her daily run. He then stops his car, has a conversation with her, then uses a pretense for her to go with him instead of continuing the run. As she knows him, she is not immediately concerned and gets into the car.

She isn't single. It's possible (though perhaps not very probable) that it was someone that she met before, but I doubt they were a friend.

 

[angelina1]

From a local Greek source:

φαίνεται ότι οι αστυνομικοί πιθανότατα έχουν καταλήξει σε συγκεκριμένα άτομα, κατά πληροφορίες νεαρής ηλικίας

Χανιά | Σε οριακό σημείο οι έρευνες των Αστυνομικών Αρχών για την εξιχνίαση της Αμερικανίδας βιολόγου - zarpanews.gr

The online translators aren't rendering a good translation of this.

This is my translation only. @CityDancer might have a better translation.

"It appears that the police have probably concluded upon specific people, according to information, (of) young age"

I would transale it "It appears that the police have probably identified specific people, according to the newest information"