Double suicide in Nea Heraklion (Νέο Ηράκλειο) – brother and sister, Vasilis and Kalliopi, decided to commit suicide together.
In the suicide notes they left behind, they wrote that they were leaving voluntarily, unable to bear the death of their mother. A forensic medical examination confirmed a double suicide. Young people climbed onto the roof of their three-story house on Olympias Street, sat on the sofa opposite each other and passed away. According to the preliminary investigation, the 29-year-old sister shot her 34-year-old brother and then herself. The police exclude any interference by unauthorized persons. The case is being investigated by the Heraklion Security Department. The notes written by the brother and sister before their death were sent to the graphologist.
A large friendly family lived in a three-story house. The mother, after a long battle with cancer, passed away seven months ago. Retired father. Of the three children, only one of the brothers worked, the sister and the second brother were unemployed. The third brother lives in the same apartment building and took care of the family. After the tragedy, it was he who turned to the police.
All relatives, acquaintances and neighbors are shocked, they describe the family, originally from Grevena, as friendly, calm and prosperous. Apparently, a psychological state played a role, which was influenced by a combination of several factors – the death of the mother, and unemployment, and a pandemic, writes protothema.gr. Anna Kandaraki, Psychologist-Psychotherapist, Doctor of Medical School of the University of Athens, explains:
“The loss of the mother brought to light the difficulties that must have existed in the family in the past. It is important to understand that the psychological stability of each person is individual, everyone cope with difficulties in different ways. Through a new blow, through a crisis, through deep losses, all the pain came to the surface and pushed the person to these actions. As the evidence suggests, the loss was impossible to cope with as it was their mother, and this shows that they had serious mental problems. There were deep mental cracks, which, with the loss of a loved one, finally burst. In this state, people lose their individual identity. In this case, we do not know where the sister ends and where the brother begins – they have become one. “
Dimitris Bukuras, a clinical psychologist-psychotherapist, says that this is about group suicide, when people of different ages experience the same frustration and pain:
“To get to the point of leaving life, and in fact, as it is written, the girl shot her brother and then committed suicide, which means that they were both desperate, disappointed and did not show any pleasure in life, so death is for them was an atonement and a means to avoid a mistaken situation. Based on the assumption that this is indeed suicide because this is the way things are, we have some evidence that they were weak and due to unemployment, experienced and disillusioned with life, they reached a point where they had no hope. And this opens the door to suicide. Being two people together and brothers means that these two people had great fellowship, but great fellowship in what way? In desperation? Because it brought them there. And the question is, why did the woman take on this role? Was she stronger than her brother? Was it possible to kill her brother and be killed? These are questions that cannot be answered. The picture presented is unusual and therefore we cannot infer whether it was caused by predisposing depression or illness. All the facts, the death of their mother, unemployment and poverty, disappointed them and led to this. And what we can also say is that the atmosphere in our society today due to the pandemic is destructive and melancholic, because everyone is afraid and lives in fear of the crown. It affects all people, especially those who have the same sensitivity as these two people when they lost their mother. “
The investigation of all the circumstances leading to the tragedy continues.
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