Blood traces of missing woman found in tenant's home; suspect arrested in Chania

The disappearance

Stavroula Leventaki, 45, has been missing from Chania, Crete, since 30 May. The last confirmed sighting placed her at the house she rented to a tenant from North Macedonia. According to police reconstruction, she had earlier met a worker to pay him and was carrying a bag of eggs when she entered the tenant’s home around 16:45. Her phone’s Viber went offline that same afternoon. No footage shows her leaving the property through the main entrance.

Her brother reported her missing on 7 June, a week after she vanished. He had been hospitalised until 2 June and told investigators he did not have regular contact with his sister.

“I was in a post-operative period and hadn’t seen her for about 10 days.”

Suspect flees

The tenant, who had been questioned three times by police, disappeared on the afternoon of 18 June shortly after his last formal statement. He drove his car to the Agia area, roughly 5–6 km from his home, left the vehicle there with his mobile phone switched on, an apparent attempt to mislead tracking, and fled on foot.

Authorities issued alerts to airports, ports and border crossings. The man had previously told media he had only a brief meeting with Leventaki to collect rent, claiming she was “calm” and left after a few minutes.

“I wish nothing has happened so we can all calm down, because it has turned us upside down.”

Blood evidence

Acting on a prosecutor’s warrant, forensic teams searched the tenant’s apartment on Friday. They found blood stains in two locations inside the dwelling. Laboratory analysis confirmed that blood on the television set matched the missing woman’s DNA. Officers also seized the tenant’s mop to test for chemical traces indicating an attempt to clean the scene.

Police now seriously consider homicide as the likely explanation and believe Leventaki may have died within hours of her disappearance.

Arrest and next steps

Late on Friday evening (19 June), officers from the Chania Security Police located the tenant hiding alone in a car near his home. He was arrested under an automatic procedure for possession and cultivation of cannabis after narcotics were found on him, providing legal grounds for immediate detention. He remains the key suspect as investigators await full forensic results and continue gathering witness statements.