Disappearance and ransom demand
Marios Papageorgiou, 26, disappeared on August 9, 2012 after leaving the seaside resort of Diakofto in the northern Peloponnese. In the early hours of the following day, his mother received a call demanding €620,000 for his release. According to eKathimerini's later account of the case, a close family acquaintance who would become the principal defendant advised her not to contact the authorities. She eventually reported the kidnapping, and investigators began examining the people around the family.
Evidence of a killing
Papageorgiou was never found. The investigation nevertheless produced evidence that prosecutors said showed he had died. Reporting from the appellate proceedings describes a large quantity of his blood discovered in the trunk of his car. That forensic evidence became central to a prosecution that treated the disappearance not only as a kidnapping for ransom but as a homicide.
Convictions and appeal
The principal defendant, an older family acquaintance whose name was not used in eKathimerini's English-language reports, was convicted of kidnapping and murder and received a life sentence. Other defendants were convicted for roles connected to the abduction. On July 3, 2019, an Athens appeals court unanimously upheld the life conviction for the principal defendant. The judgment therefore established criminal responsibility for Papageorgiou's death even though his remains had not been located.
The unanswered question
The location of Papageorgiou's body remains an unresolved part of the case. In December 2021, his mother testified during a new judicial inquiry into the possible involvement of additional people. eKathimerini reported that authorities were investigating nine others after evidence emerged during the appeal. Her central request remained the same: information that could allow the family to recover her son's remains and understand what happened after the kidnapping.
Sources and further reading
Case context
This case is classified as solved or adjudicated for the purpose of the Crime by Region archive because a murder conviction was upheld on appeal. The continuing failure to recover Papageorgiou's body remains a major unresolved question and is presented separately from the established judicial outcome.