Murdered Greek Priest Was Victim of Love Triangle

A 51-year-old Greek priest shot to death as he sat in his car alongside a road in the Peloponnese while his wife got out to urinate was killed by her lover in a set-up to get rid of her husband, police said, adding that it was disguised to look like a robbery.

One of two alleged shooters, and the 43-year-old wife of Father Athanasios Avgeropoulos, a father of three children, were arrested on Sept. 4, the day after the murder in Zacharo in the region of Ilia.

Initial reports said that Avgeropoulos, who was from Pyra in Fokida, had received numerous threats by telephone from an unknown man. He was shot by two men riding a motorcycle after withdrawing an undisclosed amount of cash from an ATM machine at a rest stop nearby.

After questioning his wife, police said they found inconsistencies that led them to suspect she was involved and she admitted she was having an affair with a 30-year-old man suspected of being one of the perpetrators, newsbeast.gr reported. No names were revealed.

The woman told police she was 300-400 meters away when she heard the shooting and turned back to the car immediately, where she found her husband’s body covered in blood. Local police officers rushed to the scene but the wife was said to be shocked and unable to give details other than she saw two men escape on a black motorbike.

Police said they suspected the woman because her story didn’t add up, including how far away from the car she said she was, that they had withdrawn a large sum of money although they were close to her birthplace, a small village in the area, and that the suspects did not take the bag that held the money when they escaped.

Despite her claims of being in shock, they said she gave some precise details, including the exact time of the shooting and when she said she fell unconscious. Police also said they were suspicious because the victim was shot eight times, revealing a personal motivation. The couple’s children were taken to the police department to be questioned about what they knew.