EKAB rescuer stabbed to death in Ano Syros: couple says she tried to rob them, rent dispute also investigated

A 41-year-old rescuer with Greece's national ambulance service (EKAB) died on Thursday, 23 July 2026, after being stabbed in the back during a violent confrontation in the Ano Syros district of Syros island. The woman, a mother of two, was on a summer assignment on the island when she visited a house occupied by a couple in their 30s. What began as a verbal dispute escalated into a physical attack that left her with a fatal knife wound to the shoulder blade. She managed to flee a short distance before collapsing; paramedics rushed her to Syros Hospital, where doctors were unable to save her.

Conflicting narratives emerge

Two sharply different accounts of the motive have surfaced. The detained couple insists the victim arrived at their home with her face covered, wearing surgical gloves and carrying a knife, and that she tied the 30-year-old female tenant to a chair in an attempted robbery. The husband says he returned during the struggle, disarmed her, and stabbed her in self-defence. Broken pieces of a wooden chair found outside the house are being examined as part of the investigation.

A colleague from EKAB Syros is dead from a murderous act with a knife. The shocking thing is that the woman is a fellow rescuer from the EKAB Syros sector. She was stabbed by a man off duty, nothing to do with work. A great pity.

In contrast, several media reports citing police sources suggest the victim went to the property to collect three months of unpaid rent that the tenants allegedly owed her. According to this version, the argument over the arrears turned physical, and the male tenant stabbed her. The victim was still wearing her EKAB uniform when she was brought to the hospital.

The attack and its aftermath

Witnesses told authorities that after the stabbing, the couple pursued the wounded woman along the street, throwing objects at her until she collapsed. The attack occurred around 17:20, and the victim was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after arrival. The exact sequence of events remains under investigation, with police collecting testimonies and forensic evidence to determine which version is accurate.

Victim's background

Colleagues and union officials identified the victim as a rescuer with EKAB Attica who was on leave or a temporary summer posting in Syros, her place of origin. She was a mother of two children. Michalis Giannakos, president of the public hospital workers' union POEDIN, described the staff at Syros Hospital as devastated, noting that the victim arrived in her service uniform and gloves.

Investigation ongoing

The Syros Security Police have taken the couple into custody and are treating the case as a homicide. Officers are cross-referencing the couple's self-defence claim with physical evidence, including the knife, the broken chair, and any witness accounts. The contradictions between the robbery narrative and the unpaid-rent theory remain unresolved, and authorities have not yet announced formal charges.