The sentence for the 47-year-old man who burned his elderly parents, on Easter Day 2020, in the apartment where they lived, on Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, in Thessaloniki, was changed from two years to 21 years in prison.

Judging the family tragedy in the second instance, the Mixed Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki recognized the 47-year-old as a mitigating factor for his previous legal life, with the consequence that he will break the lifelong bonds and be sentenced to 21 years in prison (with 20 suspended). The court had earlier rejected his defense’s pleas to recognize a reduced charge and mental retardation.

According to the case file, the 47-year-old – after a fight over a trivial matter – doused his 87-year-old father in gasoline and burned him alive, while his 81-year-old mother suffered serious burns from the fire, which ended a month later in her hospitalization.

Apologizing in court, the accused described as problematic (over time) the relationship with his father, a retired military man, whom he described as distant, with a demeaning attitude towards him and his brother. Asked to describe the day of the crime, he said: “His disrespect angered me. I kicked him in the neck. He said: “thank you my child”. I took it as irony. I blurted out. I went to the glove compartment and got the bottle of gasoline […] She screamed, “I’m on fire” […] I was sitting and looking at him. I was so confused I didn’t think to help. I went and alerted my brother who was sleeping at that time to do something.” As he added, he took care of his parents as they faced health problems (the father was bedridden).