John Macris’ wife Viktoria Karyda models again as police investigation continues

The glamorous wife of murdered Australian gangster John Macris has returned to the catwalk six months after he was shot dead in Greece, as police continue to question his alleged hitman.

Exclusive: The glamorous wife of slain Australian gangster John Macris has returned to the catwalk, six months after her husband was shot dead outside their home in Greece.

Reality TV star and former Playboy model Viktoria Karyda hit the catwalk on March 31 for high-end Greek designer Kathy Heyndels, the same designer she was modelling for the night Macris was shot dead on October 31.

Ms Karyda, 33, had paused her modelling career to comfort her two young children after their father, former Sydney man Macris, 46, was killed.

She has testified three times to police prosecutors, who are building a case against an alleged professional Bulgarian hitman, Yuliyanov J. Raychev Serafim, 31, who was charged on April 4 with killing Macris.

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Viktoria Karyda hit the catwalk on March 31 for Greek designer Kathy Heyndels. Picture: Nikos Christofakis for News Corp Australia

Professional Bulgarian hitman, Yuliyanov J. Raychev Serafim, 31, who was charged on April 4 with killing John Macris in Greece. Picture: Nikos Christofakis for News Corp Australia

No motive has been identified for the hit on Macris, who was shot four times as he got into his car outside his home in the southern Athens suburb of Voula to attend an office opening party in neighbouring Glyfada.

Viktoria Karida and John Macris at their 2016 wedding on the Greek island of Mykonos.

Police have also made no public link between his murder, and the car-bomb attack on another Australian crime figure, former bikie boss Jay Malkoun, who was seriously wounded outside the gym both men used in Glyfada, just down the road from the office Macris was heading to.

Ms Karyda has hired a new lawyer, Charalabos Lykoudis, to assist the prosecution against her husband’s killer, according to Greek newspaper Proto Thema.

Former Playboy model Viktoria Karyda when she hit the catwalk on March 31. Picture: Nikos Christofakis for News Corp Australia

Under Greek law, family members of victims are entitled to hire their own lawyers to assist the police prosecutions.

Ms Karyda had also briefed a lawyer months ago to ensure her children’s inheritance rights were protected. Macris has an older child to an earlier relationship in Sydney.

The accused man Serafim, who police allege flew into Athens with his older brother to carry out the hit on Macris, continues to deny any involvement, and said that he visits Greece regularly on holidays.

News Corp has identified an apparent phone number listed in his name in Glyfada, which remains switched off.

Professional Bulgarian hitman, Yuliyanov J. Raychev Serafim, 31, who was charged on April 4 with killing John Macris in Greece. Picture: Nikos Christofakis for News Corp Australia

Star Channel in Athens has reported more than 50 people have given depositions to the police about the case.

Serafim, who has Bulgarian and Turkish heritage, is also believed to own two tattoo shops in Canada.

He has hired prominent lawyer, 85-year-old Alexandros Lykourezos, to represent him.

Mr Lykourezos is most famous for defending Bosnian-Serbian leader General Ratko Mladic, aka the Butcher of Bosnia, at the International Court of Human Rights in The Hague. Mladic was convicted of crimes against humanity and genocide, including for the deaths of more than 7000 Muslim Bosnian men and boys in the Srebrenica Massacre.

Executed gangster John Macris’ life with TV model wife

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Before the trial, Mr Lykourezos told The New York Times: ‘’I like him. ‘I consider him a friend.’’

Last year, Lykourezos became a media sensation when he started doing interviews alongside his partner, actress Natasa Kalogridi, 30 years his junior.

The 55-year-old actress also flooded the internet with photos of them together, while paparazzi waited at every corner. The couple split after a few months.

The case against Serafim is likely to take years to get to court. If it is not resolved within 18 months he is entitled to be released from prison. No date has been set for an open court hearing.

Originally published as John Macris’ wife Viktoria Karyda models again as police investigation continues