A lucky OPAP lottery ticket handed over for redemption by the owner of an agency in Paleo Faliro helped the police track down the killer.

The 39-year-old Turk, who has already confessed to his actions but presented his version of events on the night of the previous Sunday, stole not only the money from the cash register but also the lucky ticket that was there. However, the ticket had already been scanned and verified as a winner, and its rightful owner, according to information so far, had handed it to the agent for redemption. Knowing the ticket’s code, the police informed OPAP to notify them if anyone presented the specific winning ticket at another agency to claim the prize.

Indeed, when the suspect visited a store in downtown Athens, an alarm was triggered. Homicide officers acted swiftly and managed to locate him, aided by footage from security cameras near the original agency.

On him, police found €7,000, which reportedly came from the 61-year-old victim’s earnings on Sunday night, as well as from redeeming the winning ticket.

The 61-Year-Old Was Stabbed Thirty Times by the Perpetrator
The 39-year-old, who is in Greece under asylum-seeker status and had no prior criminal record, was taken to the Athens Police Headquarters. During his interrogation, he admitted to killing the 61-year-old and leaving him dead in the store’s restroom. However, he claimed he had not entered the agency intending to rob it but as a customer.

In his account, he argued with the 61-year-old, and during the altercation, the victim allegedly attacked him with a knife. He said he disarmed the victim and, according to his version, grabbed a bat the victim kept in the store for self-defense. He used both weapons to strike and kill him.

It should be noted that the forensic report revealed the victim had suffered approximately thirty stab wounds, many of them on his back, indicating that the 39-year-old continued to attack even after the victim was down and unable to defend his life.