April 19, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

A man in Thessaloniki burned his parents alive

The 45-year-old man was sentenced Thursday to two life sentences and seven years in prison by a court in Thessaloniki for burning his 87-year-old father and 81-year-old mother.

The incident took place last year on Easter Sunday in an apartment in Thessaloniki where the perpetrator lived with his parents and 46-year-old brother. The man, having quarreled with his parents, doused them with gasoline and set them on fire. His father died immediately, and his mother died after a month of torture in the burn department of a local hospital. The court unanimously found the monster guilty of premeditated murder and arson, without taking into account any extenuating circumstances.

Chronicle of the crime

The incident took place on Easter Day, April 19, 2020, in an apartment building on Vasilissis Olgas Street in Thessaloniki. The victims were an 87-year-old man, bedridden, a retired Greek army officer, and an 81-year-old woman who suffered severe burns from the fire, she was taken to hospital and died a month later.

The offender, who has psychological problems, stated in his explanations that he had committed his act in connection with a quarrel. “I had no contact with my father. He was detached and indifferent. He used verbal violence, he did not support my wishes. He laughed at us, he underestimated us. As a child, I was locked at home. Outside of school, I never hung out with anyone. My mother was overprotective of me. When I was little, I was literally attached to her. They argued because my mother asked for different things, but he did not give them.

He started shouting, “I’m on fire.” I sat and watched …

Talking about what preceded the fateful day, the man said: “That day I woke up at 6.30. I heard a noise from the bed where my father slept and saw him pulling the hair out of his beard and throwing it on the blanket. I started shouting: “Who will clean it up?” He didn’t answer. I remember he got angry and I started screaming more. My mother was silent. I also told him about the years he was leaving: “You left us for 4 years.” He replied “not for 4, but for 1.5 years,” and I got angry. I climbed on top of him and kicked him in the jaw. The father ironically replied: “Thank you, my child. It worried me, thank you, ”the convict added.

Regarding the moment of the murder, he described: “I went to the closet where I had a bottle of gasoline. The candle lit the fire from the candle. I poured it with gasoline, at first a little, and set it on fire. The bottle fell out of my hand and caught fire too. He started shouting, “I’m on fire.” I sat and watched. Mother tried to wipe off the gasoline with her hand, but the blanket caught fire and fell under the bed. I was so confused that I didn’t think to help her. Then I woke up my brother to do something. I told him, “I set my father on fire.” He manually extinguished the fire in his mother’s hair and led her out onto the balcony. At some point, I thought to jump from the balcony, but I was afraid of heights. I left the house and left the scene. I didn’t want to help my mom because I was angry with her too. I was saddened to learn that he had died. I also regret my father today. I was afraid of him as a child and older. I was very excited about the situation. This tired me out. I don’t know why I got to this point. It was a bad moment, ”the man said at the end of his explanation to the court.

Addicted to video games

The testimony of the 46-year-old brother of the accused is also shocking, who told in court about the problematic relationship between family members and how he himself survived the incident.

“I jumped out of bed and went to look. When I went to the room, my father was shouting because he was on fire. My brother had aphasia, he was sitting right in the smoke. He was angry with everyone except himself. He told my father:“ Why don’t you say thank you? “I squatted and tried to breathe. I went up to my mother, patted her hair to put out the fire, and pulled her away from the bed. Alexis said,” I’m going to my room. ” Epanomi is 6 hours away, ”said the murderer’s brother.

“I was shocked by his reaction. Even today I can’t believe it. It was an explosion of accumulated psychological problems. He had psychological problems from a young age. He never had problems with his mother. He did not threaten. Father did not love us. When it didn’t belong to him, he acted aggressively and dismissively. He did not communicate with us when we were children. He blamed us for everything. He was ironic. He tore my soul to pieces. He never helped us. My father was “He never encouraged us. There was an atmosphere of fear in the house. We were always afraid of my father. When my parents argued, we held on to my mother more tightly.”

“We were good students and we both went to veterinary medicine. We dropped out of school because we became addicted to electronic games that we played at home via a PC. I could play all day. Our parents supported us with two pensions. Mom was obsessed, she suffered from manic depression. She always had problems with her father’s behavior. My brother has been sick for many years. He suffered from depression. What happened was unintentional. This is the result of accumulated psychological problems, ”added the brother of the accused.

“I’ve seen him 2-3 times.”

The family’s neighbor also testified as a witness. “I have lived in this house for 16 years. For 10 years I was the head of the house and did not know that there were four people living in the next apartment. During all these years, I accidentally saw the accused in the corridor 2-3 times. I heard the noise of scandals between father and mother. “They didn’t communicate with anyone in the building,” he said in court.





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