A 28-year-old Egyptian national has been arrested over the murder of criminal lawyer Stavros Georgiou. He faces charges over the killing of the 73-year-old lawyer, which took place on Monday night in central Athens.

Together on a night out

According to witness accounts, Georgiou and the 28-year-old Egyptian national were in the same company on Monday evening. At some point they left together, and the lawyer offered to drive the man, now the suspect, home in his car.

They stopped off at Georgiou’s office, where the two are said to have argued over a reason that remains unknown, after which the suspect allegedly beat him to death. A clue that led police to the arrest was that the suspect was found with a broken arm.

Footage from hours before lawyer found dead

A video obtained by the authorities is also likely to have played a significant role in the investigation. It was recorded on 20 July, hours before Georgiou was found murdered in his office, naked and lying in a pool of blood.

The footage shows two people walking along a street near the office. One is wearing light-coloured clothing. The pair initially walk close together but, still on the move, at one point drift apart. Investigators believe the two figures are likely to be the lawyer and the Egyptian suspect.

Victim beaten, suffered multiple head injuries

From the moment they arrived at the scene, police suspected Georgiou had been savagely beaten, an assessment later confirmed by the post-mortem. Forensic examiners Nikos Kalogrias and Symeon Mesogitis found multiple injuries to the head and chest consistent with a blunt object.

The tragedy came to light after Georgiou’s two minor daughters, unable to reach him by phone, went to look for him at his office.

No contact for hours

Georgiou had been unreachable for several hours, causing growing alarm within his family. His 16-year-old twin daughters had been trying to call him repeatedly but received no answer.

As the hours passed with no word from him, the girls went to his office and rang the bell persistently, but no one answered. A resident of the building heard them and alerted the caretaker, who opened up the premises, where the tragic outcome was discovered.