Biologist killed in Crete: a murder in the waiting?
A man in Crete has admitted to the murder of a biologist from Dresden. He was 'aroused' when he saw the woman jogging, ran her over with his car, raped her three times and then hid her body in a drain. Susanne Eaton was a US citizen, and in Crete for a conference. For commentators the case has a tragic relevance.
She died because she was a woman
Suzanne Eaton's name has been added to the long list of women who are killed every day, writes Phileleftheros:
“She was a woman. And that's why she was killed. Because she had the misfortune to momentarily cross paths with a sick man. ... Many people refuse to accept the term femicide, although the term is constantly being backed up with evidence. Even in this case many people would say that it's an individual case and the man was sick. Every case is an individual case. And together they form an alarming backdrop. A woman lost her life, was brutally murdered, just because she was a woman in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
The Omertà of a small community
As with the serial murderer in Cyprus tolerance was shown towards the perpetrator in this case too, notes Christina Poulidou in Iefimerida:
“Suzanne's murderer - the beast - lived a normal life, but there were forebodings. Complaints that were not followed up, and strange behaviour - but everything disappeared in the Omertà of a small society. Ultimately the beast was locked up, because his victim was an exceptional person and as a result the investigations were thorough. By contrast the Cypriot beast was locked up far too late and his victims multiplied because of their social class: Filipino, Thai and Romanian domestic helpers.”