The murder of 75-year-old George Kariotis in Rhodes, for which his son has already been sentenced to life in prison, is back in the spotlight as authorities have moved to arrest a new suspect.

According to dimokratiki.gr yesterday, Friday, a 41-year-old man was arrested as an accomplice for the homicide committed in June 2022.

The arrest came after an extensive police investigation conducted by the Rhodes Crime Investigation and Detection Sub-Division, which used scientific data and testimonies to establish a case file.

According to the same source, DNA of the 41-year-old was found on the towel and the loop used for the murder.

It is recalled that in March 2023, the 42-year-old son of the victim, Evangelos Koulianos, was arrested, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Joint Jury Court of Kos, without mitigating circumstances.

The testimony that led to new investigations

This was preceded, in December 2024, by the testimony of a 47-year-old woman at the Prosecutor’s Office of Rhodes, who allegedly said that the perpetrator of the murder was not the son of Kariotis but another 41-year-old man with whom she had a personal relationship (this is the person who was eventually arrested).

According to her testimony, the 41-year-old man revealed to her in August 2024 that he was the one who killed Kariotis by entering his house with a drug-addicted woman from Thessaloniki. He reportedly described the crime scene in detail, saying he grabbed the victim by the neck and covered his mouth with a towel, using woolen gloves to leave no trace.

The 47-year-old woman claimed that 30,000 euros were taken from the 75-year-old’s home and that the perpetrator later killed his female accomplice as well, throwing her body into the sea with a stone tied around her neck so that she would never be found.

It should be noted, however, that the investigation revealed that the 47-year-old woman and the man in question are accused in a case of theft from a house where she was working as a domestic worker.

The position of convicted Coulianos

Koulianos, from the beginning of the proceedings, has denied any involvement and in an interview from prison in 2024, he argued that he was wrongfully convicted. He said he had identified the real perpetrator, but his claims were not taken into account.

Following the arrest of the 41-year-old, the prosecution is now required to evaluate all new facts and decide on the further course of the case