The identity of the 43-year-old Polish professor who was brutally murdered in Agia Paraskevi, Greece, has been revealed through a shocking and mysterious sequence of events. The victim, a university lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, had traveled to Greece from his permanent residence in New Jersey for court hearings regarding visitation rights with his twin children, aged 10, whom he had with his Greek ex-wife.
Tragically, the professor was shot dead just hours before he was due to meet his children under the legal framework governing parental access, which is currently granted to their mother. His ex-wife discovered his absence when he failed to show up to collect the children, prompting her to check online news reports about the murder in Agia Paraskevi. She then reported him missing at the Athens Criminal Investigations Department (GADA), where she was shown photographs and identified her former husband as the victim.
She spent over eight hours giving testimony to homicide detectives, insisting that she had no knowledge of the possible motives or identity of the masked killer. To further support her statement, she even handed over her mobile phone for forensic examination.
The couple met around ten years ago when the Greek economist went to the U.S. for postgraduate studies. Their relationship began via Facebook and quickly evolved into an expedited marriage. They soon welcomed twin children, but the union eventually deteriorated due to the man’s alcohol addiction and violent outbursts toward both his wife and children. There were alarming incidents, including one occasion where he left the children unattended for two days after heavy drinking.
The professor’s erratic behavior also included an unusual vacation choice — a trip to North Korea. Eventually, the relationship turned toxic, leading to the woman’s dramatic escape six years ago back to Greece with her children.
On June 27, the Polish academic returned to Athens and stayed in a rented Airbnb apartment in Kolonaki. His purpose was not only to see his children but also to attend several court sessions concerning child visitation rights. On the fateful Friday, he and his ex-wife took the twins to a child psychologist for around two and a half hours before he returned to Kolonaki. He later headed to Agia Paraskevi to meet the children again, but never made it.
At 16:15, while walking on Eirinis Street, he was approached by an unknown masked man who fired five bullets from an Eastern-type pistol (either Makarov or Tokarev) and fled the scene, leaving behind a trail of questions.