Son arrested for murder of 87-year-old Eleni Papadopoulou found burnt in 2022 fire
Source: in-cyprus.com
Police have arrested the son of 87-year-old Eleni Papadopoulou, who was found incinerated in her home in January 2022, following a prosecutor’s finding that her death was a criminal act and not an accident. The son was arrested on Friday.
According to findings by Fire Brigade officers who investigated the apartment on Lykavittou Street, where the body was found, the victim’s body and the surrounding area had been saturated with a large quantity of flammable liquid before the fire began. Authorities noted that this method suggests intention and a criminal act.
Toxicology reports simultaneously revealed a sedative substance in the 87-year-old’s body, and the carbon monoxide level in her blood was measured at just 5%—a percentage consistent with a smoker and not with a person who died from smoke inhalation before being burnt.
The image authorities have formed is that the son of the widow of the well-known plastic surgeon and former PASOK minister, Yiannis Papadopoulos, first administered sleeping pills that caused her death. He then allegedly set the fire to cover his tracks and suggest an accidental death.
However, inconsistencies in his testimony, particularly regarding when he went to the house and last saw his mother, and the fact that the apartment showed no signs of forced entry, raised suspicions among the police handling the case.
Sources revealed that the arrested man had a financial motive to remove his mother, as he reportedly had debts exceeding €400,000. The same information suggests that Papadopoulou’s son wanted to sell the apartment in Kolonaki, which his mother opposed. The son had, in fact, already listed the apartment for sale, according to the same sources.
The arrest of the man was made on Friday morning following a warrant issued by the prosecutor, who was informed of the police investigation’s findings.
The original article: belongs to in-cyprus.com .
