Family waits for trial in Greece after death of son
Mother suspects beating was racially motivated
ATHENS, Greece – On July 7, 2017, Bakari Henderson, 22, a Texan who had just graduated from college, was beaten to death on the Greek island of Zakinthos after a dispute in a bar. One year later, his family in Austin awaits justice.
Eight defendants in the case are slated to stand trial Sept. 21. European privacy laws protect them from being publicly identified.
Henderson’s mother said he was targeted because of his race. “I hate to assume,” Jill Henderson said from her home, “but it felt like it started as anti-American and then escalated into a hate crime because he was AfricanAmerican.
“But, of course, we have to hear what they (the defendants) say about it,” she said.
Henderson, a graduate of the University of Arizona, died in the Greek resort town of Laganas, popular with Serbian and British tourists. According to an indictment obtained by USA TODAY, Henderson became embroiled in an altercation in a bar when a Serbian woman took a selfie with him.
A male patron approached the woman and said, “There are so many Serbs in this bar. Why are you talking to a black guy,” according to the indictment. It says the man threw a glass at a table in front of the Serbian woman. When Henderson talked back, the man slapped him. Henderson reacted by punching him and hitting him with a beer bottle.
Exiting the bar, Henderson called out to the man and the man’s friends: “Come here, come.” The group reacted by throwing objects at him, then followed him and assaulted him with 33 blows, including kicks and punches to his head, neck and torso, according to the indictment. One attacker, a 34year-old male, hit Henderson with brass knuckles, the indictment says.
The Greek coroner concluded that Henderson died from brain injuries when struck by an object.
Henderson, whose college majors were finance and entrepreneurship, was on the island for a photo shoot to launch a line of casual sportswear. He had been scheduled to board a plane for Spain to shoot a promotional video for his clothing line.
Henderson’s family plans to travel to the southern Greek city of Patras, where the trial will take place. The jury will be composed of three judges and four citizens. The defendants face charges of first-degree murder, which carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Andreas Patsis, a Greek lawyer retained by the Henderson family, said the trial should reveal the motive behind the killing. “There are already hints of strong anti-Americanism sentiment among the Serbians involved,” Patsis said. “Despite how there was no provocation, the Serbs attacked Bakari and focused only on him, who was an African-American.”
Thanasis Tartis, a lawyer representing the defendant accused of using brass knuckles, said his client admits punching Henderson three or four times but not hard enough to kill him. “The indictment accepts that my client was using his left arm, his weak arm, to hit the young man, because his right arm was broken in a cast,” Tartis said. “So my client couldn’t have had enough strength with his weak arm to cause life-threatening injuries.”
On Zakinthos island, another tourist season has begun, drawing bargain-hunting tourists with $300 weeklong packages and happy hour drinks for as little as $1.25.
Giannis Aridakis-Kefallinos, owner of the Ocean Inn bar, said things have changed in Laganas after Henderson’s death. “There’s more policing,” he said. “Instead of bouncers, there are more licensed security guards.”
In Austin, Henderson’s family created a foundation in his honor “to help families similar to ours that lost loved ones in a tragic situation,” Jill Henderson said last month.