The Second Degree Criminal Court imposed a life sentence on the 50-year-old butcher who killed and buried the 59-year-old farmer Dimitris Graikos, in November 2016, in Eastern Thessaloniki, with his body being found two and a half years later.

After a multi-day evidentiary process, the Mixed Jury Court of Appeal of Thessaloniki confirmed the first-trial sentence, earlier ruling the accused unanimously guilty of manslaughter with intent in a calm state of mind, without recognizing any mitigating circumstances.

After the court’s verdict, the 50-year-old returned to prison.

“I couldn’t imagine that one blow could kill a person so easily” the perpetrator apologized, claiming that he committed the act in the heat of the moment, as – as he said – there was a fight between them due to a financial debt owed to him by the victim, following professional collusion. He also asked for forgiveness from the family of the unfortunate breeder for hiding his death for so long.

The Prosecutor of the Headquarters had also asked for his guilt, who stated that the accused acted with homicidal intent.

The history of the case

The crime remained a “puzzle” for two and a half years for the prosecuting authorities. The 59-year-old farmer had disappeared at the beginning of November 2016, when he was last seen at the Chalastra slaughterhouse, from where he allegedly left in his farm car. Since then, traces of him have been lost, while months of fruitless searches have followed.

The case file was going to be filed under the “unknown perpetrators” file, but the Appellate attorney did not approve the filingrequesting a new investigation. The mystery is solved finally, when with the assistance of scientists from the Laboratory of Applied Geophysics of the AUTH who – following the instructions of the Thessaloniki Security Police – “swept” with special machines the area around the defendant’s livestock unit. Initially, the victim’s farm car was found buried and then, in another place, his body, which bore injuries from repeated blows.