Greece: Man arrested over murder of American Biologist

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - A 27-year-old man has confessed murdering the 59 year old American biologist Suzanne Eaton who had been reported missing since July 2 in the island of Crete.

Eaton's body was found near an abandoned WW2 bunker in the area of Chania, in Crete on July 8.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Crete Police Director Kostas Lagoudakis said that the 27 year old suspect broke down and confessed his crime when confronted with evidence.

According to the police statement, the suspect claimed that he was “motivated by sexual satisfaction” and spotted Eaton during the afternoon of July 2, while she was jogging.

He hit her twice with his car to stop her, according to Eleni Papathanassiou, a spokeswoman for Crete's police department. Eaton tried to resist, according to the suspect's confession, he then blocked her mouth and nose with his hands and after leaving her unconscious, he put her body in the trunk of his vehicle and took her to the opening of a ventilation shaft where he raped her and then tossed her body into the shaft where it was later found.

Eaton was on the island to participate in a scientific conference at the Orthodox Academy of Crete and had been missing since July 2.

Her body was found by a local resident in Platania, Rethymno area, about 10 km from the area where authorities had focused their search.