Nine out of ten crimes in Greece are eventually solved. But there is always that one in ten that is still looking for its killer. These crimes are discussed by the head of the Homicide Division Fotis Ntouitsis, forensic pathologist Grigoris Leon, journalist Panos Sombolos and private investigator Giorgos Tsoukalis.
It was a little after one in the morning; I was drinking whisky and reading the story of Gavriela Ousakova, the legendary Athens prostitute. Ousakova, who was born in Russia in 1916 and came to Greece with her family in 1929, wrote in the subtitle of her autobiography: “I became a prostitute because I was born that way.” She was found strangled in 1991 at her home on Markou Evgenikou Street in Lycabettus, at the age of 75, while still working as a prostitute. Her killer was never found. I wondered whether her killer was still alive or had died, whether he had confessed his secret to anyone, and what Ousakova’s last thoughts might have been shortly before she died.
Police deputy director Ntouitsis says that Greece is a safe country and that crime is dealt with satisfactorily compared with other European countries, while almost nine out of ten crimes against human life are eventually solved. Nine out of ten is a high rate, above the European average. On the other hand, at least one in ten remains unsolved. In 2015 there were about 45 homicides in Attica, and almost as many in 2014. I got up to pour another whisky and heard a strange noise outside. I stood behind the closed balcony door and looked around in the dark.
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