Loudias River: 54-Year-Old Found Bound with Wire and Chain After Murder Over… a Few Pigeons

The body of the 54-year-old man who had been murdered and thrown into the Loudias River by two men last Saturday was found on the riverbanks on Friday morning (15/5), outside Thessaloniki.

The body, which had washed ashore, was discovered by a passerby who immediately alerted the authorities.

Police forces were immediately mobilized, with authorities recovering the body and carrying out examinations for its official identification, which is currently not possible.

According to information from the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, the body was bound with wire and a chain. Earlier, voria.gr reported that the clothing on the body matches the description previously given for the unfortunate 54-year-old. The body was reportedly found around five kilometers away from the area where authorities had been searching over the past 24 hours — a location allegedly indicated by the perpetrators.

Murdered Over… Pigeons

It is recalled that the 54-year-old man was murdered last Saturday in Kymina by two men, who then submerged his body in the river after tying it to bricks. Authorities carried out searches for the body during the first 48 hours, but the efforts proved unsuccessful and were eventually called off.

A 44-year-old man, believed to be the main perpetrator, and a 43-year-old man accused of direct complicity have been charged over the killing. The 43-year-old was remanded in custody yesterday (14/5), while the 44-year-old requested and received a postponement to testify today (15/5).

During his testimony, the 43-year-old reportedly admitted he was present but denied any involvement in the murder. According to reports, he claimed that the 44-year-old believed the victim had stolen several pigeons from him and, during the heated confrontation, shot him in the head.

“I could never have imagined that over pigeons my co-defendant would go as far as taking a human life. I tried to stop him by taking away the gun, but he managed to snatch it back and fire. I froze and couldn’t do anything. I was forced to follow him, and that’s how we ended up throwing the body into the Loudias River,” he allegedly stated, while also admitting that he had used drugs with the 44-year-old beforehand.

Timeline of the Case

According to a statement by the Hellenic Police (EL.AS.), the crime was committed on Saturday night in the Malgara–Kymina area, outside Thessaloniki. As stated in the announcement, the 44-year-old, with the assistance of the 43-year-old, allegedly shot and fatally wounded the 54-year-old man. The two suspects then placed the victim’s body in the storage compartment of a vehicle before disposing of it in the Loudias River.

A coordinated operation followed, involving officers from the Homicide and Property Crimes Division, assisted by officers from the Delta Crime Investigation Unit, the Delta Police Department and the OPKE special forces unit, during which the two suspects were located and arrested.

Investigations led to the discovery and seizure of a bullet casing, while blood stains were also found. Searches carried out at residences resulted in the seizure of:

87.84 grams of methadone
11.30 grams of cocaine
10.67 grams of heroin
4.57 grams of cannabis
one electronic precision scale
€230 in cash

Authorities also located and seized the vehicle allegedly used in the crime, which was found to be fitted with fake license plates.

According to police, the 43-year-old was also wanted under an outstanding ruling by a Criminal Appeals Court to serve the remainder of a prison sentence of 7 years, 2 months and 5 days for attempted homicide and drug-related offenses.