A 41-year-old man stabbed his 39-year-old wife to death inside their central Kalamata home in the early hours of Monday morning.
The killing took place at an apartment on the corner of Vasileos Olgas and Kanari streets. It came to light when neighbours heard the woman screaming for help and called the police at around 2:00 am.
When officers arrived at the second-floor flat, other residents were waiting outside. They told police that the screams had stopped and nobody was answering the door. When the 41-year-old husband finally opened the door, he was covered in blood. Officers found the 39-year-old woman dead in the bedroom.
The couple’s two children, aged 10 and 6, were sleeping in the next room during the attack. Police moved the children to the paediatric clinic at Kalamata Hospital, where they are receiving care and psychological support.
Police arrested the husband, who confessed to the killing. Prosecutors are charging him with premeditated murder, domestic violence, and weapons offences.
Police sources said the suspect claimed during questioning that he suspected his wife of having an affair, though no evidence supports this. He also gave investigators his own version of events, blaming the victim for the violence. He claimed he woke up to find his wife standing over him with a knife, and that he killed her after wrestling the weapon away from her. Police reports note that after killing his wife, the man placed the knife in her hands.
The 41-year-old also claimed the couple quarrelled frequently. However, a friend of the victim said she was shocked by the murder and did not know the couple had any problems.
Kalamata detectives and traffic officers co-operated in the arrest. The suspect will appear before the Messinia public prosecutor, while Kalamata police continue to investigate the exact circumstances of the crime.