Trial of fishermen accused in Sifis Valyrakis murder, adjourned to September 30

The proceedings of the 2 fishermen accused of murdering erstwhile PASOK curate Sifis Valyrakis opened contiguous astatine the Mixed Jury Court of Athens but was rapidly adjourned until September 30. The case, repeatedly postponed successful the past, continues to gully attraction for some its gravity and the contention surrounding it.

At the outset, lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou, representing the Valyrakis family, reaffirmed their enactment for the prosecution against widow Mina Papatheodorou and her sons Ioannis and Alexandros Valyrakis.

“The Valyrakis household calls for the exemplary punishment of the accused and afloat clarification of the case. There has been a titanic effort to screen it up,” she told the court.

Both defendants, however, denied involvement.

“We are being falsely accused. We weren’t adjacent determination — we were tied up astatine the port, astatine home, having lunch. There were nary witnesses,” the archetypal suspect stated.
“We’re innocent. We weren’t there,” added the second.

The 2 men are charged with manslaughter with intent, committed jointly and successful a calm authorities of mind, for the decease of Valyrakis successful January 2021 disconnected Eretria.

On the time of the incident, Valyrakis’s widow reported to the Eretria Port Authority that her hubby had acceptable retired unsocial astir noon successful his inflatable vessel without his mobile phone. About 45 minutes later, the vas was discovered abandoned connected the rocky enactment of Agia Triada island. Later that evening, astatine 20:20, authorities recovered Valyrakis’s assemblage connected the eastbound seashore of Pezonisi, Eretria.

A forensic study determined the origin of decease arsenic severe cranial and cervical injuries from a blunt cutting object, followed by drowning. Forensic experts testified that each injuries had been inflicted portion Valyrakis was inactive alive.