Acclaimed Greek Author Strangled to Death

Acclaimed Greek author Menis Koumandareas who was found murdered on Saturday morning in his home in the neighborhood of Kypseli in downtown Athens, was strangled to death, coroner Nikos Karakoukis, who examined his body during the post-mortem examination, said. Karakoukis found that before his assassination, Koumandareas struggled with his killer and bore bruises in his stomach and head.

According to the police investigation, there were no signs of forced entry at the apartment. The 83-year-old writer lived alone in an apartment on Zakynthou street in Kypseli. Police say there is evidence that the place had been selectively searched and suspect that the victim knew the perpetrator, who had the intention of robbing the house.

Authorities are looking for a man who they suspect met with Koumandareas Friday night. Earlier that night, the writer was with a friend at a nearby coffee shop and at some point he excused himself to run up to his apartment to take his medication. He left the coffee shop but never returned. His friend found the excuse strange because Koumandareas always carried his medication with him. After a while, he got worried and went up to the writer’s apartment to see if he was well. No one answered the door so he called some other people and a locksmith. When the locksmith opened the door, they found the dead body.

Koumandareas was born in Athens in 1931. He wrote numerous books and earned several awards for his work. He was an active proponent of the resistance against the 1967-1974 military junta. He received Greece’s prestigious National Writing Award for “The Glass Factory” in 1976 and for “Twice a Greek” in 2002. His most popular book was “The Jersey with Number Nine” in 1986 that was made into a film. He also was a prolific translator and one of the founding members of the Greek Authors’ Society.

Earlier this year, the writer published his 24^th novel. His funeral will take place tomorrow.