Man arrested over murder of Irish woman in Greece

Police in Greece yesterday announced the arrest of a 52- year-old Greek national on suspicion of murdering his Irish partner and keeping her body in his Athens home for days.

The man is alleged to have killed the 48-year-old woman, who is believed to be from Northern Ireland originally, following an argument at the apartment they rented together in the central Athens neighbourhood of Ambelokipi.

Police have not released the name of the victim. The Irish Embassy in Athens confirmed it was aware of the case and was providing consular assistance to the woman's family.

Found on bed

In a statement, police said they found the woman on a bed in the apartment after the suspect contacted them on Saturday. The man, who told officers at the scene he did not kill the woman, was arrested that night.

A police source said that the woman was dead for three weeks and that she had been killed during a violent argument in the home.

Neighbours told local media that they had complained about a smell from that flat but were told by man that he had plumbing problems.

Prosecutor

The suspect, who has not been identified, appeared before a prosecutor yesterday, police said, without releasing any of his personal details.

A postmortem and toxicology test will be conducted.

The woman is believed to have lived in Athens for a number of years.

Greek media reports said the suspect was known to have suffered from psychological problems and was known to be violent.