In January 1959, small Leonidio in Arcadia found itself at the center of one of the most notorious criminal cases in post-war Greece.
21-year-old Metaxia Gquvusi, who was five months pregnant, was found dead in a cistern in the yard of her mother-in-law’s house..
At first they tried to present everything as suicide, but too many things in this version did not add up.
Briefly about the main thing
- Metaxia Gquvusi was killed in the evening January 5, 1959;
- her body was found the next morning in a deep water tank;
- they tried to stage the murder as a suicide;
- investigators found a fake note, signs of violence and a rope;
- charges were brought against the mother-in-law, Stavroula Gquvusi, and the deceased’s husband, Dimitris, who was called Mitros;
- both were sentenced to death;
- Stavrula was executed August 26, 1960;
- she became the first woman in Greece against whom the death sentence for an ordinary criminal offense was carried out.
Table of contents
- Morning of Epiphany in Leonidio
- The note that gave away the dramatization
- Why was Metaxia killed?
- Trial and death sentence
- Historical execution
- A week later, their son was executed
- Why is this case left in history?
Morning of Epiphany in Leonidio
In the morning January 6, 1959on the feast of Epiphany, the alarm was raised in the house of the Gquvusi family: young Metaxia had disappeared.
Near the open tank in the yard they found her clothes, shoes, medicines and a short note, from which it followed that the girl allegedly decided to commit suicide because of money problems.
However, after the body was lifted from the water, the version of suicide began to crumble.
Wrapped around the body long thick rope. There were injuries to the neck and legs, and a medical examination showed the cause of death to be drowning. According to doctors, death occurred on the evening of January 5.
A detailed study of the case, based, among other things, on newspaper publications from 1959–1960, was preserved by the historical portal Leonidion.gr.
The note that gave away the dramatization
One of the first serious pieces of evidence was the so-called suicide note.
The investigation concluded that it was written not Metaxia: Someone tried to imitate her handwriting.
Other circumstances did not add up either. The yard was closed at a time when the girl supposedly had to get to the tank on her own, and the things left near the water looked too neatly laid out.
Suspicion increasingly focused on the family of the deceased. Stavroula and her son Dimitris initially denied involvement, then their testimony began to contradict each other.
As a result, the investigation restored the following picture: Metaxia was attacked in the house, tied up, taken out into the yard and thrown into a cistern. After this, a mock suicide was prepared – with a note, clothes and medicine near the water.
However, the rope used to bind the victim ended up with the body. Instead of hiding the crime, it became one of the most important pieces of evidence.
Why was Metaxia killed?
The young woman’s relationship with her mother-in-law had long been difficult. According to the case materials, Stavrula opposed her son’s marriage and spread rumors about her daughter-in-law.
The conflict especially intensified after Metaxia’s new pregnancy. She was approximately fifth month.
During the investigation, there were allegations that the mother-in-law questioned the paternity of the unborn child and sought to end the marriage.
In the press of that era, the crime was often explained by the concept of family “honor.” The economic version was also discussed – property and inherited interests of the family.
Today, such cases are viewed much more broadly: as an example of the position of women within an extremely patriarchal family model and violence, which in mid-20th century society often tried to justify on issues of “honor” and reputation.
Trial and death sentence
A few months later the case came before the jury in Kyparissia.
The prosecution argued that the murder was committed deliberately, after which an attempt was organized to cover up the crime under the guise of suicide.
The court found Stavroula and Dimitris guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced both death penalty.
Stavroula was sent to the Averof women’s prison in Athens, her son to a prison in Corfu.
Stavrula’s request for pardon was considered by the Pardons Council, but it was rejected.
Historical execution
This is where it is necessary to correct a common mistake in modern publications.
Stavroula Gquvusi was not the first woman in Greek history to be sentenced to death.
For example, back in the early 1930s, women involved in the famous Athanasopoulos case received death sentences, but their sentences were later commuted.
The uniqueness of Gquvusi’s case lies in another: she became the first woman in Greece to be executed for an ordinary criminal offense.
Early in the morning August 26, 1960 she was taken from Averof prison to the area of Agios Ioannis Theologos on Imitos.
There was already a firing squad there. According to newspaper reports of the time, she confessed and received communion before her execution, and refused to wear a blindfold.
The sentence was carried out. After this, the body was handed over to municipal services for burial.
A week later, their son was executed
Dimitris Gkuvusi’s death sentence was also not overturned.
About a week after the execution of his mother, he was shot in Corfu along with other convicts.
One of the most characteristic features of the process was that mother and son, at different stages, continued to shift the main responsibility to each other.
But for the court this was no longer of fundamental importance: both were recognized as participants in the deliberate murder of a young pregnant woman.
Why is this case left in history?
The Leonidio crime shocked Greece not only for its brutality.
Several painful themes of post-war society came together in one case: domestic violence, the situation of young women, pregnancy, ideas of “honour”, property interests and the death penalty.
The trial occupied a special place in the history of Greek justice precisely because of the subsequent execution of the woman’s death sentence.
The death penalty remained part of Greek law for a long time. The country’s last executions were carried out in 1972, and capital punishment for ordinary criminal offenses was finally abolished in 1993.
The Athens News previously reported on the history of capital punishment in an article “The death penalty in ancient Greece and methods of its execution”.
And we wrote about how the most severe punishment of the Greek criminal system works today in the article “What is happening with life imprisonment in Greece and why it is not really life imprisonment”.
Editorial commentary from the Athens News. In modern retellings, the case is often called the story of “the first woman in Greece sentenced to death.” This is not accurate. Women have been sentenced to death before. The historical feature of the case of Stavroula Gquvusi was that in her case the sentence for an ordinary criminal offense was actually carried out.
Archival information was used in preparing the material Leonidion.gr and publication Pronews.
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