Suspects in murder, rape of university student in Rhodes reject charges
Two men accused of gang-raping and murdering a university student on the southeastern Aegean island of Rhodes in November last year, partly denied the charges on the first day of the trial.
The 22-year-old suspect rejected the rape accusation, claiming that the victim, 21-year-old Eleni Topaloudi, consented to having sex. He also said he does not accept the murder charge and that he was only an accessory to the killing.
The second suspect, a 20-year-old Albanian national, rejected both charges. The 20-year-old is also a suspect in a second trial over the rape of a 19-year-old disabled woman, also in Rhodes.
The trial started with the deposition of the victim’s father, who said that the parents of the accused should also be in the dock for failing to act when they were told that their sons exhibited aggressive behavior.
The same feeling was echoed by Topaloudi’s mother, who also blamed the families of the accused, and especially that of the older suspect, claiming that his grandmother may have even helped him cover up the murder. “Because that’s what they always did. They used their money to cover up this monster’s delinquent behaviour,” she told the court.
The body of Topaloudi was found in the sea by the coast guard on November 28. Evidence collected during the initial investigation led to the arrest of two suspects, aged 21 and 19.
Presenting information on the case during the inquiry, the coast guard said Topaloudi was first punched in the face and then hit on the head with an iron. She was then transported at a beach and thrown into the sea.
