What authorities and locals suspected and her family feared was confirmed through the autopsy on Wednesday. Dr Suzanne Eaton, the US biologist, was a victim of a violent criminal act, she was murdered and her body was most likely hidden by the perpetrator/s in the old German bunker in Xamoudohori on the island of Crete.
Media report that the death was caused by suffocation, that the perpetrator/s closed “her upper respiratory ways, the nose and the mouth.” While local media report that the victim had not injuries caused by knife or bruises, private Star TV reported that she was stabbed and one of her ears was cut.
Speaking to media, coroner Antonis Papadomanolakis said that the death of Eaton “is definitely due to a criminal act.”
“The time of her death fits to the date of her disappearance,” the coroner confirmed to local media zarpanews adding that she was not killed short before she was found on Monday evening.
“All I can tell you due to the ongoing police investigation is that it is a criminal act … Death did not occur at the time when she was found, he said adding that he cannot know now when the woman died.
Papadomanolakis said that they conducted CT scan, complete radiology check-up, but due to decomposition in the victim’s body no further information could be provided.
“Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, I can not tell you more about the way and other details for which I have already informed the police and the chief…” he said.
Eaton’s body was found some 60 meters inside the old German bunker by citizens.
Local residents have told media that the bunker is not easy to access and that not everybody knows about it.
The bunker is about 100 meter away from the land road and the entrance is always covered by tree branches.
The suspicion has it that the perpetrator may be some local.
Authorities investigate also the possibility of an attempt of sexual assault.
The body of the 60-year-old woman was found in Xamoudohori, 10 km away from the location where she went missing in Kolymbari by Chania on July 2, 2019.
IS citizen Suzanne Eaton from Oakland was working as biologist at the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, Germany.
She was attending a conference at the premises of the Orthodox Academy. She was last seen on Tuesday afternoon and then she probably left her room for a running work out..When her missing was reported to authorities two days later, a big search operation was launched by land, sea and the air.
A Silver Alert for missing adults was issued.
Her family had an award of $50,000 for any information.
