John Macris murder probe: Greek police arrest hitman as key witness emerges and wife lashes out
The wife of murdered Australian gangster John Macris, who was gunned down outside his home in Greece, has publicly blasted the hitman who police have arrested as a key witness emerged.
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Police allege a 31-year-old man arrested over the death of Australian gangster John Macris was a Bulgarian contract killer who flew back to his eastern European homeland the day after the hit.
Athens police confirmed the man, described as a Bulgarian of Turkish descent, was arrested outside a hotel in the seaside suburb of Glyfada on Tuesday night.
The man’s name has not been released, but Greek media reported he is from the Bulgarian city of Haskovo.
His brother, who is aged 33 not 25 as originally reported, is alleged to have been the lookout and getaway driver, is still being hunted by police.
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A weeping Ms Karyda appeared on Greek TV station Star on Friday night, saying she hoped justice would be served.
“Trash like these people (the accused) should not exist. These people are trash,’’ she said.
“How can I move on? My children are constantly asking for him. How can I move on? You think it’s easy? Every day I see my husband in front of me. My children ask for my husband every 10 minutes.’’
News website zougla.gr said the alleged hitman was arrested at the three-star Hotel Kreoli in Glyfada.
Police declined to say whether the man was also a person of interest in the car bomb attack on another Australian, bikie boss Amad Jay Malkoun, on March 1.
Former Sydney man Macris, 46, was shot multiple times as he stepped into his car outside his home in the neighbouring suburb of Voula on October 31.
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At a press conference on Friday morning local time, police said the man had appeared before a prosecutor, who charged him with Macris’ manslaughter.
The alleged hitman, whose name was not revealed, was granted an extension until next week to answer police questions, according to the Kathimerini newspaper.
Police say the man was found in possession of two fake driving licences.
Kathimerini also reported that the man had allegedly come back to Greece to carry out another contract killing.
Police said they had received testimony from a key witness about the case.
But they did not reveal any details of a possible motive for Macris’s death.
Proto Thema newspaper said police were tracking the alleged hit man’s phone to try to determine who he had met and who had paid for the hit on Macris.
The accused man’s lawyer, Apostolos Lytras, told Greek media his client denied the accusations.
“My client told me he has nothing to do with this assassination,’’ Mr Lytras said.
“We’re waiting for the authorities to hand us over the DVDs and the rest of the evidence.
“There’s no DNA or fingerprints at the scene of the crime. From what I’ve seen until now, the police only have indications against our client, but no evidence against him.”
He said the man’s parents had come to Greece to be with their son.
Proto Thema also clarified that the men had allegedly been in Greece for 19 days before the hit on Macris, arriving from the Bulgarian capital Sofia on October 12.
They left the day after, on November 1, returning to Sofia.
It was also claimed police who searched the man’s hotel room found a “forgotten receipt’’ from a men’s clothing store from the day before the assassination.
The items listed on the receipts were claimed to match the clothes worn by the man who gunned Macris down.
Police also said the two Bulgarian men had allegedly used four different cars and hotels during the period leading up to Macris’ slaying. The cars were rented in their real names.
Police said the accused killer had been deported from Canada in 2016 for presenting false identification, disobedience to the authorities and arms possession.
He will appear before the prosecutor again on April 10.
Brigadier Georgious Kanellos, director of the State Security Division, declared at the press conference that he was presenting the “solving of the case’’ involving the Macris shooting.
“After a thorough and month-long investigation by the Department of Crimes against Life and Personal Freedom, that has set up a special unit to find the motive of the murder, as well as to find the perpetrators, we managed to crack the case,’’ he said.
“The perpetrators are two foreign born brothers aged 31 and 33 years old.
“After investigations, the 31-year-old was found on 2.4.2019, inside a vehicle in Glyfada (a neighbouring suburb to Voula). Once he realised the police presence, he tried to run and fell on a police vehicle, while during his arrest he resisted fiercely.’’
Greek Open TV reported the man is 1.90cm tall, of a fit build, and that police alleged he was a contract killer who arrived in Greece with his brother 15 days before Macris was shot dead.
Open, and several other media outlets, also reported the brothers had followed Macris, before he was shot dead about 8pm.
Both men are then claimed to have got on a plane back to Bulgaria the same night.
The police arrest came after the older brother and alleged killer returned several days ago to Athens.
He was involved in a police pursuit, then a fistfight with police, which ended with him being arrested outside a hotel in Glyfada.
Macris’ glamorous reality TV star wife, Ukrainian Viktoria Karyda, still lives in the family home with the couple’s two young children, and spoke to journalists outside her door.
“I’m feeling really bad. How would I feel?’’ she said in Greek, according to a video published by the Proto Thema newspaper.
“I don’t want to say anything more. I’m glad this guy was caught. I wish the worst for him.
“You have to know that my kids aren’t doing good and I don’t want you coming outside our door because they get psychological problems from you here. I don’t want to say anything more. The police did its job well.’’
According to sources who spoke to Greek media, the killer was wearing black pants and a grey shirt, and first shot Macris from a distance, in order to prevent him drawing a weapon.
He was then shot another three times in the chest.
Before the police announcement, Karyda posted photos of herself on Instagram, on the Kathy Heyndels catwalk, a Greek brand.
— additional reporting: Nikolia Apostolou
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