ULSTER WOMAN IS MURDERED IN GREEK FLAT

Partner is held after victim’s body lay in Athens flat for three weeks

THE body of a murdered woman from Northern Ireland lay in a central Athens flat for almost a month before it was found, it emerged last night.

The 48-year-old woman — who has not yet been named — had been living in the Greek capital for a number of years.

She had been working at various bars and had been living with a 52-year-old Greek man.

Some local reports said the couple were married.

However, neighbours have claimed the pair argued frequently.

The woman’s body was discovered by local police on Sunday, June 1 in the flat they shared in the Ambelokipi area of central Athens.

It is believed her body had been there for a number of weeks before it was discovered.

Police had been called by local residents who complained of a strange smell coming from the flat.

The Greek man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his Irish partner.

In a statement, Greek 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.

The Irish Times has reported that 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 outlets that they had complained about a smell from that flat but they were told by the man living there that he had plumbing problems.

A Greek newspaper reported that when police officers entered the flat complex, they found the women’s body on the bed in a first floor flat.

A man in the flat shouted to the police not to kill him.

The woman’s wounds are said to be consistent with being struck by a sharp-edged object.

A toxicology report was being prepared last night.

It has been reported that the man stayed close to the body throughout the time after the death, even though it had started decomposing.

The manager of the apartment complex said the couple had been living in the rented flat for two years. The suspect is reported to have faced a prosecutor on Wednesday and didn’t release any of his personal details.

The 52-year-old is known to have psychological problems, according to an Athens newspaper, and had displayed aggressive be- havior in the past, but the report noted that no one had believed that it would reach this point.

A spokesman for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs released a statement last night saying that consular assistance is being provided to the Irish woman's family.