Aigio double homicide: forensic evidence undermines Italian husband's self‑defence claim

In the town of Aigio, Greece, 54‑year‑old Eleni Papadopoulou and her 26‑year‑old son were found dead in their home. Their 65‑year‑old husband, an Italian national, had asserted that the mother and son had shot each other in a violent confrontation and that he later wounded himself with a kitchen knife.

Recent forensic examinations challenge that scenario. Blood traces from the mother were found on a flamberge‑type firearm and on a laptop, indicating she handled the items after she was already wounded. No gun‑powder residue was detected on her hands, contradicting the claim that she fired the weapon. The kitchen knife recovered under her body bore no fingerprints, and investigators believe it was carefully cleaned and moved from the kitchen to the bedroom. Additional bloodstain patterns suggest an attempt to alter the crime scene, pointing to possible third‑party involvement.

Authorities await further laboratory results on a blood‑stained garment belonging to the 65‑year‑old husband and on foreign DNA detected on his wife's nails. The findings have shifted the investigation away from the husband’s self‑defence narrative toward a potential staged crime.