Police arrest 53-year-old man in Rodopi after fatal stabbing of estranged wife

Attack in Dialampi

On Wednesday afternoon, 26 August 2026, a 53-year-old man fatally stabbed his 44-year-old estranged wife at their home in the village of Dialampi, located in the municipality of Iasmos in Rodopi, northeastern Greece. The victim, who had been working seasonal shifts on the island of Thasos during the summer, temporarily returned to the family residence to celebrate the 16th birthday of their daughter. During the gathering, the man attacked the woman with a knife, inflicting fatal injuries to her neck and body before turning the weapon on himself and ingesting toxic fluid.

Emergency response and arrest

The couple's 16-year-old daughter contacted emergency services at 13:15 to report that her father had stabbed her mother in the neck. The family's 19-year-old son transported his mother to the Sismanogleio General Hospital in Komotini, where physicians confirmed her death upon arrival. Police officers secured the crime scene inside the residence in Dialampi and confiscated two knives.

The suspect inflicted stab wounds to his own abdomen and consumed agricultural pesticide or fuel in a suicide attempt. Emergency medical teams from EKAB transported him to Sismanogleio General Hospital, where surgeons placed him in the surgical clinic. Following medical treatment and extubation, authorities placed him under guard and formally executed his arrest. The Komotini Crime Prosecution and Investigation Department filed criminal charges against him for intentional homicide, domestic violence, and weapons violations.

History of domestic violence

The couple relocated from Albania to Greece 20 years earlier and raised three children, including an adult daughter who resides outside the Rodopi region. According to police records, the household had a history of domestic violence complaints. In Heraklion, Crete, where the family lived previously, authorities arrested the suspect in 2022 following a domestic threat complaint filed by the victim.

Medical records indicate the suspect had a documented psychiatric history and received prescribed medication under a psychiatric monitoring schedule of two consultations per month. The victim had previously requested his admission to an inpatient psychiatric facility, but that institutionalization did not take place.

Pending divorce filing

The victim had arranged to submit formal divorce papers on Thursday, 27 August 2026, prior to returning to Thasos to complete her seasonal work contract.

Her legal representative, Evangelia Kola, detailed the circumstances preceding the attack.

The couple had many problems for several years, and there were other incidents of domestic violence, such as in Heraklion, Crete in 2020. Then the couple lived there permanently. Now the woman worked in another area for the summer. She returned for their daughter's birthday and believed things might be better with her return. That is why she tried to delay their divorce. But she saw that things were difficult, she called me to meet and proceed with it. We had arranged to meet tomorrow, but unfortunately we did not make it in time. The perpetrator has a psychiatric history. He has been hospitalized in the past and was seen twice a month by a psychiatrist, while taking medication. Our first concern right now is to see what will happen to the children who are shocked.

Next procedural steps

Prosecutors in Komotini are overseeing the criminal case while the suspect remains hospitalized under police custody without life-threatening injuries. Forensic examiners in Komotini are conducting an autopsy to document the fatal wounds.