‘Crime of passion’: Wife of Greek envoy to Brazil got her policeman lover to kill him, probe says
The Greek Ambassador to Brazil was murdered by his wife’s lover, a 29-year-old police officer who has confessed to killing the diplomat at his home and then burning the body in his car to cover up the crime, Brazilian investigators say.
Brazilian investigator Evaristo Magalhaes told reporters on Friday that Françoise Amiridis, 40, arranged the Rio de Janeiro murder of her 59-year-old husband, Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis. The murder is said to have been carried out by police officer Sergio Moreira, who had an affair with Françoise, with some assistance from his cousin, who was promised a reward worth $25,000.
“This was a tragic, cowardly act, but we worked tirelessly to crack this case as soon as possible. It was a crime of passion,” Magalhaes said, as quoted by Reuters.
Both the woman and the officer are now in custody, and the officer’s cousin has also been detained. Amiridis’s wife and Moreira reportedly arranged the murder days in advance.
Investigators found blood on a couch in the Greek envoy’s home in Nova Iguaçu, where he is said to have been stabbed. The policeman’s cousin then helped carry out the body, which they placed in the envoy’s car. They subsequently set the car on fire in a troubled Rio neighborhood with the body inside it. The exact cause of death has not been yet established.
The charred body of Amiridis was discovered on Thursday evening in the car, which was parked under a high overpass. The envoy was last seen on Monday night, while his wife, with whom he has a 10-year-old daughter, reported him missing on Wednesday.
Brazilian President Michel Temer has sent a letter of condolence to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, saying that the ambassador’s killing had caused him “profound sadness.”
