Athens Man Arrested for Homicide After Hiding Decomposed Bodies of Mother and Sister

Greek police arrested a 54-year-old man in the Athens suburb of Zografou on March 30, 2026, after officers discovered the bodies of his 91-year-old mother and 56-year-old sister sealed inside a room of the family apartment on Kousidi Street, both in an advanced state of decomposition. A prosecutor ordered the arrest on charges of homicide by serial offense, though the man denied killing the women and claimed they had died of natural causes approximately three months earlier. The suspect told police he placed both bodies in the room and sealed the door because he did not want their deaths to become known, adding that he feared losing the family home. Relatives had not seen or heard from the two women for roughly two to three months and had filed a complaint with police expressing fears that the son may have harmed them.

Police turned away twice before breaking down the door The discovery came after a sequence of failed attempts by both relatives and officers to gain access to the apartment. According to information reported by Skai, relatives first approached the Zografou Police Department on March 26, expressing fears that something had happened to the two women. Two brothers of the elderly mother separately came forward on March 27, testifying at local departments that they had lost contact with the women for months. Officers conducted external inspections of the apartment on March 28 and 29, ringing the bell but receiving no response. On March 29, the son opened the door but refused to allow police inside, claiming his mother and sister lived at a different address on Rodon Street. Officers checked that address and found it to be an abandoned building. Realizing the son had lied, police returned to the Kousidi Street apartment, and in the presence of a prosecutor, broke down the door late that night.

„All the spaces were in a normal condition, except for one room, whose door was sealed with putty. We immediately informed the prosecutor, who ordered the conduct of a home search and the summons of the son to the Department. After breaking the sealed door, we found the two missing women in an advanced state of decomposition.” — Police officers via Skai

Suspect cites cancer, old age — prosecutor unconvinced The 54-year-old offered a detailed account of the deaths to investigators, claiming his sister died first from cancer and that his mother followed two days later. He maintained that both deaths were from natural causes and that he acted alone in concealing them, sealing the room with building materials to contain the smell. Neighbors and local witnesses described a family marked by health difficulties: the sister was known in the neighborhood to have been dealing with cancer, the mother was elderly and slow-moving, and the son was described as having psychological problems and rarely leaving the apartment except for brief shopping trips. One neighbor told iefimerida.gr that a persistent unpleasant smell had been noticed in the building roughly a month and a half before the discovery. The prosecutor was not persuaded by the suspect's account and proceeded with the arrest order. Reports from multiple outlets indicated the man is said to be facing psychological problems and was being examined at the time of his detention.

„My mother and my sister died on their own. I put them in the room because I did not want it to become known that they had died. I sealed the door because of the smell.” — 54-year-old suspect via Skai

Autopsy on March 31 to settle the cause of death A forensic examiner who conducted an initial examination was unable to determine the exact cause of death from the state of the bodies, but placed the time of death at more than one month before discovery. The suspect's claim of three months aligns broadly with the period during which relatives lost contact with the women, though the forensic finding of over one month introduces a discrepancy that the full autopsy is expected to address. The autopsy-necropsy was scheduled for March 31, 2026, and investigators expect it to clarify whether the deaths resulted from natural causes or a criminal act. The case drew significant attention in Greece, with neighbors and local business owners describing the family as long-term residents of the building who had lived there for many years and were known to have ongoing health and social difficulties. The outcome of the forensic examination will be central to determining whether the homicide charges against the 54-year-old are sustained.

Chronology of the Zografou case: — ; — ; — ; — ; — ; — ; —

Greece has recorded a number of cases in which deaths of elderly or vulnerable family members went unreported for extended periods, often linked to financial motivations such as continued collection of pension payments. Greek law requires deaths to be reported to civil registry authorities promptly, and concealment of a death can itself constitute a criminal offense independent of any homicide charge. The Hellenic Police, known by its acronym ELAS, is the national police force responsible for criminal investigations across Greece, including in the Athens metropolitan area.