Three critical pieces of evidence — the perpetrators’ escape route, surveillance footage of the home of Aphrodite Nestora, and DNA reportedly found in the ground-floor entrance (pylota) of the New Democracy politician’s Thessaloniki residence — led authorities to the arrests in the fatal attack that killed Vagia Nestora’s mother.
Connecting the Dots After Nine Days
Nine days after the coordinated triple attack in Thessaloniki, Greece’s anti-terrorism unit succeeded in piecing together investigative leads and identifying those allegedly involved in the assault on Aphrodite Nestora’s apartment building. Authorities arrested a 29-year-old known anti-authoritarian activist from Thessaloniki and a 26-year-old woman — believed to be the motorcycle riders who delivered and placed the incendiary devices at the entrance of the New Democracy MP’s residence.
The ‘Safe House’ and a Third Arrest
A third suspect — the owner of the apartment used as a hideout by the two suspects immediately after the attack — was also taken into custody. So far, he appears to have no involvement beyond providing the property to the pair.
Investigators are still working to identify and locate a third individual believed to have acted as a lookout during the attack on Nestora’s home. Regarding the other two attacks — one targeting former ND MP Savvas Anastasiadis and another against ND cadre Zisis Ioakeimovits — authorities assess that a separate group is likely responsible.
How Investigators Narrowed In
According to early findings, the two main suspects had begun surveilling Aphrodite Nestora’s residence in the 24 hours before the attack. Their movements were captured on nearby security cameras, allowing anti-terrorism officers to reconstruct not only their approach but also their precise escape route from the Nestora family’s apartment complex.
The distance between the attack site and the so-called ‘safe house’ — where the pair fled after the July 1 arson — is approximately 4.5 kilometers. Traveling by motorcycle, that route takes just under four minutes — a detail confirmed through traffic and timing analysis.
Arrests Across Greece
The 29-year-old suspect and the safe-house owner were both apprehended in Thessaloniki. The 26-year-old woman — who had previously been arrested and served a prison sentence — fled to Chania, where police located and arrested her.
Additional Detention
Shortly before this report, authorities brought in another woman residing in the same apartment building where the suspects briefly hid after the attack. Preliminary information suggests she has no direct operational link to the ND-targeted attacks, though investigators are examining whether she had prior knowledge of the suspects’ identities or activities.