The estranged husband of a 40-year-old woman stabbed to death on Wednesday and left in the middle of the road – and soon discovered by her daughter – was arrested on Thursday and charged with homicide, the latest instance of domestic violence turning deadly in the country.
According to initial reports on Thursday, the victim had previously filed domestic violence charges against her 50-year-old spouse on three separate occasions over the past 11 years, with the first time in April 2013. However, she reportedly missed the recent court appearance this month and had also declined to seek offered protection in a shelter for battered women. Police had also advised her to download a “panic button” on her cell phone.
Video footage that emerged a day after the heinous attack in the west Athens district of Menidi shows a man hiding in between parked cars and suddenly ambushing and stabbing the victim in the abdominal area after a brief exchange. He was spotted and arrested at a construction site in Fyli district.
The last time the woman – identified as a foreign national – filed charges was on May 7 last week, two days after Orthodox Easter, although a first instance trial was postponed, allowing the alleged perpetrator to be freed.
