The private detective who identified a potential suspect in the death of a mum on Crete 15 years ago has said it was her diary which held clues to her killing.
Haris Fluskounis was called in by the family of Jean Hanlon, 53, from Dumfries, who have always believed their mum was murdered after her body was found in Heraklion harbour in 2009.
We told last week how Police in Greece are preparing to interrogate and charge the suspect, who can’t be named, in relation to the death of Jean, accused of stalking her after she turned down his advances.
Haris, who is based in Athens, re-examined evidence after taking up the cold case and in June handed a 29-page dossier to Greek prosecutors.
Haris has now told how he used details of the late mum’s diary to identify the man. He said: “Jean Hanlon’s case has reached a turning point for the first time in 15 years. The diary was the backbone of the investigation because it revealed a timeline of a relationship.
“The victim was attempting to flee from a man who constantly pursued her and with whom she had a brief connection. When the relationship reaches its conclusion, as was the victim’s desire, the alleged perpetrator begins stalking Jean and attempts to convince her to reconcile.
“The perpetrator’s persistence escalates up until two days before Jean Hanlon was murdered.”
Charges are expected to come after a police interrogation, which was originally set for last week, but has been postponed to this month. Haris’s study of the case file took three months during which he tracked down and interviewed people named in Jean’s diary.
He said: “The suspected culprit, whom I saw three times at the end of my research, had deceived authorities for 15 years. It doesn’t matter how many years a case has remained unsolved, evidence can always be uncovered.”
Jean had moved to the village of Kato Gouves four years before her death to start a new life after a divorce.
Jean’s son Michael Porter, 39, says after 15 years, the family remain hopeful for justice. He said: “Haris has asked the questions that needed to be asked and helped get the answers. We are and forever will be grateful to him.”
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