Greek police have uncovered the murder of a missing 72-year-old man in Skydra, Pella, after finding his blood-stained motorbike abandoned in a field. The discovery unraveled a violent crime that shocked the small village of Dafni, where both victim and suspect lived.

Pella, a rural region in northern Greece known as the birthplace of Alexander the Great, is typically associated with farmland and history. But in mid-August, it became the scene of a brutal killing between two elderly neighbors.

The 72-year-old victim was last seen on August 16, when he left his home to shop. His daughter reported him missing the next day. Police launched a search, during which suspicion quickly fell on a 75-year-old villager with whom the victim had longstanding disputes over farmland.

Investigators were led to him after finding the victim’s abandoned motorcycle stained with blood in a nearby field. Initially, the suspect attempted to mislead authorities, but contradictions in his testimony exposed him. He eventually confessed to the crime and indicated where he had hidden the body.

According to his statement, he confronted the victim after allegedly seeing him in his field “for the umpteenth time,” suspecting theft of fruit. He admitted he “lost control” and shot the man with a legally owned hunting rifle.

Police said the suspect then tied the body to his vehicle, dragged it for roughly 700 meters, and abandoned it in a dumpsite outside the village, covering it with rubble and garbage. When officers retrieved the remains on August 25, the body was already in an advanced state of decomposition.

Authorities searched the suspect’s home, seizing the shotgun, two cartridges, clothing, shoes, and other items for forensic testing. They also confiscated €1,770 in cash.

The 75-year-old has been charged with homicide and weapons violations and has been referred to the Prosecutor of Edessa.

In an official statement, Greek police confirmed that the murder was solved after a coordinated investigation involving multiple departments in Pella and northern Greece.

The killing has left residents of Dafni deeply shaken. Both men were well known in the small farming community, where neighbors described the crime as unimaginable.