Officially, Greek Ambassador to Brazil Killed by Wife's Lover
Officially, Greek Ambassador to Brazil Killed by Wife's Lover
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RIO DE JANEIRO - Police contend if Greece's ambassador to Brazil was killed by his wife's lover who a military police officer and the widow is being questioned in the crime.
As reported Brazil's state-run Agencia Brasil news agency on Saturday, Chief Evaristo Pontes, a police investigator in the Baixada Fluminense state, said that Sergio Gomes Moreira Filho claimed, he killed the ambassador in self-defense and then recruited his cousin to help dispose of the body.
Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis (59) had been missing since Monday, Pontes said. A burned car with Amiridis' charred body inside was found in Nova Iguaçu, a town outside Rio de Janeiro, on Thursday, he said.
"He (Moreira) says he got into a physical fight with the ambassador, and he had no choice other than to hit the ambassador and kill him. He says he was in desperation and didn't know what to do, given what had happened, so he asked a cousin for help and they went to make the ambassador's body disappear," Pontes said.
Besides Moreira, the ambassador's widow, Francoise De Souza Oliveira, and the officer's cousin, Eduardo Moreira de Melo, are also being questioned, Pontes said.
Pontes said investigators think Oliveira ordered the killing. No charges have been filed.
"She only told us that her lover, let's call him that, the military policeman, was the author of the crime, executed this crime against her husband. She denies taking part," Pontes said.
Agencia Brasil reported the officer killed Amiridis inside the ambassador's home in Nova Iguaçu. The officer and his cousin wrapped the body in carpet and put it inside a car, Agencia Brasil reported.
Pontes said the cousin told police Moreira offered "to pay him 80,000 reals (about $24,574) 30 days after the crime, a period after which they thought there wouldn't be any more problems."
"All are under temporary arrest for 30 days for the ambassador's death. As we said before, this was a tragic, cowardly act," Pontes said.
Amiridis had lived in Brasilia, the capital, since being appointed ambassador in January but usually spent holidays in the house outside Rio, where he was consul-general from 2001 to 2004.
Brazilian President, Michel Temer's office issued this statement: "In this moment of pain and sorrow, I offer, on behalf of the Brazilians, my condolences and solidarity to the government and people of Greece, in particular to the families and people close to Ambassador Amiridis."
The statement says Brazilian authorities will investigate the incident thoroughly.
"The Brazilian government reaffirms its willingness to collaborate actively with the Greek side, as it has done from the beginning," the statement said.
Greece's Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing its "deepest sorrow" at the death of Amiridis.
"The late diplomat served at the Permanent Mission of Greece to the EU, at the General Consulates in Rio de Janeiro and Rotterdam and at the Greek Embassy in Belgrade during the first phase of the war in Yugoslavia," the statement said.
As reported Brazil's state-run Agencia Brasil news agency on Saturday, Chief Evaristo Pontes, a police investigator in the Baixada Fluminense state, said that Sergio Gomes Moreira Filho claimed, he killed the ambassador in self-defense and then recruited his cousin to help dispose of the body.
Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis (59) had been missing since Monday, Pontes said. A burned car with Amiridis' charred body inside was found in Nova Iguaçu, a town outside Rio de Janeiro, on Thursday, he said.
"He (Moreira) says he got into a physical fight with the ambassador, and he had no choice other than to hit the ambassador and kill him. He says he was in desperation and didn't know what to do, given what had happened, so he asked a cousin for help and they went to make the ambassador's body disappear," Pontes said.
Besides Moreira, the ambassador's widow, Francoise De Souza Oliveira, and the officer's cousin, Eduardo Moreira de Melo, are also being questioned, Pontes said.
Pontes said investigators think Oliveira ordered the killing. No charges have been filed.
"She only told us that her lover, let's call him that, the military policeman, was the author of the crime, executed this crime against her husband. She denies taking part," Pontes said.
Agencia Brasil reported the officer killed Amiridis inside the ambassador's home in Nova Iguaçu. The officer and his cousin wrapped the body in carpet and put it inside a car, Agencia Brasil reported.
Pontes said the cousin told police Moreira offered "to pay him 80,000 reals (about $24,574) 30 days after the crime, a period after which they thought there wouldn't be any more problems."
"All are under temporary arrest for 30 days for the ambassador's death. As we said before, this was a tragic, cowardly act," Pontes said.
Amiridis had lived in Brasilia, the capital, since being appointed ambassador in January but usually spent holidays in the house outside Rio, where he was consul-general from 2001 to 2004.
Brazilian President, Michel Temer's office issued this statement: "In this moment of pain and sorrow, I offer, on behalf of the Brazilians, my condolences and solidarity to the government and people of Greece, in particular to the families and people close to Ambassador Amiridis."
The statement says Brazilian authorities will investigate the incident thoroughly.
"The Brazilian government reaffirms its willingness to collaborate actively with the Greek side, as it has done from the beginning," the statement said.
Greece's Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing its "deepest sorrow" at the death of Amiridis.
"The late diplomat served at the Permanent Mission of Greece to the EU, at the General Consulates in Rio de Janeiro and Rotterdam and at the Greek Embassy in Belgrade during the first phase of the war in Yugoslavia," the statement said.
(rnz)
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