Life imprisonment for the robbers who killed an elderly woman in Sofades Karditsa

The sentence of life imprisonment was imposed yesterday by the Mixed Court of Appeal of Larissa for the murder of a 93-year-old woman in July 2016 in Sofades, Karditsa.

In particular, two Roma, a 35-year-old from Karditsa and a 36-year-old from Tyrnavos, were unanimously found guilty of premeditated homicide in a calm state of mind, who were sentenced (by majority) to an additional 15 years in prison for the other charge, robbery with accomplice .

Motivated by theft, the decision of the two Roma to enter the petite woman’s house, as they described the deceased in court yesterday, turned into a homicide with the victim being the helpless elderly woman.

A third defendant originally from Karditsa was acquitted of the same crimes.

All three young men had been sentenced at first instance to life imprisonment plus 20 years. The three defendants were arrested in July 2016 for the theft of 600 euros and the murder of a 93-year-old woman in Sofades Karditsa. Specifically, on July 22, 2016, the 93-year-old woman was found dead by her relatives in the single-family house where she lived in Sofades.

Murder and identification
The police found fingerprints and genetic material at the scene of the murder and, using the technological means at their disposal, identified the two perpetrators (both in their twenties at the time) who were wanted for theft. The two perpetrators were arrested the next day in Sofades and during the preliminary investigation they confessed that there was a third person with them who was also the mastermind of the robbery. The third, 19 years old at the time, was arrested in Nea Aghialo.

The two defendants testified, contrary to what they told the investigator and the trial court, that the third defendant was not with them on the day of the act and had nothing to do with the crimes they are accused of. When asked by the court why they lied in their original statement, they said they did so because the police were beating them and forcing them to “give” a third person.

The third defendant, who was finally acquitted, testified in court that on Friday, July 22, when the incident happened, they were with their family in Sofades and did various activities in the city from morning to night. Both the defendant’s wife and his father testified today as witnesses, however falling into several contradictions during their testimony.

So after initially acquitting their co-accused, the other two accused then admitted their actions. In particular, the first defendant testified that on that day, together with the second defendant, they had a cart and were looking for cans when they passed by the old woman’s house. After seeing the door ajar, his co-accused told him to stay outside and he went inside. After a while he entered the house himself and started looking for money when he sees his co-accused on top of the old woman who was lying dead. Then, in a state of shock as he testified, he helped carry the elderly woman under a bed, where her relatives found her a short time later.

Specifically, that day, the neighbor who was taking care of the elderly woman went to her house at 12.00 noon but there was no response and so she addressed the relatives of the 93-year-old. After a while, the granddaughter and her mother go home and find the house in disarray and the old woman under the bed, covered with a sheet. The death of the elderly woman, according to the forensic examination, had occurred after strangulation which was done with a sheet that was passed around her neck by the perpetrator. The 93-year-old also had injuries on her face and body.

“I wonder how I got the killer instinct”
The murder of the woman was confessed to by the second accused who entered the house first. “I wonder why I went straight to the grandmother to strangle her and not to take the money first,” testified the defendant and added that he saw the elderly woman open the refrigerator and “locked her with his hands.” Defendant said he did not use the sheet to strangle her and denied hitting her. “I wonder how the killer instinct came out of me” he answered the president of the court when she asked him what prompted him to do this act, adding that since he was 8 years old he had been delinquent by committing robberies but had never taken a life until then.

The defendant testified that with the help of the second defendant, they moved the elderly woman from the kitchen to the room and then he himself put the sheet around her neck. As soon as they completed their deed, they divided the money they found in the house and left for Karditsa. “I want to be punished because I deserve to go to Mount Athos when I am released,” testified the defendant, concluding his statement.

Innocent beyond reasonable doubt
The prosecutor then suggested the guilt of all three defendants, based on their initial statements and characterizing their current allegations as baseless. He also emphasized regarding the fingerprints that the fact that the fingerprints of the third accused were not found at the scene does not mean anything as he had a clean criminal record until that moment and thus could not be identified in any system.

Ultimately, the jury acquitted the third defendant beyond a reasonable doubt and found the other two defendants guilty, imposing on both, and having recognized the mitigating factor of being a teenager, a unanimous sentence of life imprisonment for manslaughter and a majority sentence of 15 years for the crime of robbery.

Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.