A man missing on the island of Rhodes since end of August was found dead on Tuesday morning. Police arrested two Greek men. The missing man was murdered by a local hotelier in possible cooperation with his son.
The 46-year-old contractor of Albanian origin, Tzani Topali, father of three minor children, who had been missing since August 28, was found dead shortly before 7:00 am on Tuesday, September 8, newspaper rodiaki.gr reported.
According to information obtained by the local newspaper, the victim’s body was found on the side of a road between of Psinthos and Afantos. The body was naked with only the underwear on.
The victim was strangulated with a rope.
All the signs and evidence that had been collected led to the conclusion that the man’s death was caused by a criminal act.
Police arrested a 53-year-old businessman, a hotelier, with whom the victim has a business partnership as he renovated his hotel a few years ago and the perpetrator owed him money.
Citing a statement by the Greek Police, local newspaper dimokratiki.gr reported that arrested is also the 20-year-old son of the hotelier who confessed to the crime saying that he helped his father to transfer the body.
The hotelier in the area of Kallithea told police that the victim visited him in the hotel on Sunday night to demand to be paid a debt of 75,000 euros. “He was drunk and aggressive,” he claimed.
The perpetrator said that he, his son and the victim got involved in a brawl, the victim beat his son and at one point he grabbed a rope in an effort to save his son.
Father and son loaded the body into a car, drove to a remote area, undressed it and left it on the side of the road.
On Sunday, August 28, the contractor left his home and seemed to have disappeared ever since. He did not return home neither was he answering his mobile.
On Wednesday, August 31, his wife and his brothers went to police and reported him as missing.
Investigations to locate him began and on September 1; the victim’s car was found at a distance of about 400 meters from his home. the car was open, the key was missing.
A thorough investigation was also carried out in the area around his home and in the area where the 46-year-old’s vehicle was found.
Firefighters and volunteer groups joined the Rhodes police investigation that used also specially trained dogs and drones.
