Penelope, 25, a marine biologist at the start of her career, has been killed in Igoumenitsa. Police say her 27-year-old ex-partner stabbed her.
She held a biology degree from the University of Patras and had just begun work in the field she chose. She lived and worked in Thesprotia. From July 2025 she held a post at a fish farm in Sagiada. Her thesis examined fish species in the Ionian Sea. She kept studying oceanography and marine monitoring.
The couple had ended the relationship about a month earlier. She stayed in Thesprotia. He lived in Athens. Reports say he travelled to Igoumenitsa to see her. He later told police they had a money dispute and that she owed him €1,900. Investigators treat that as his claim only. They have not established it as the motive.
A passer-by found Penelope bleeding and called police. The 27-year-old did not surrender. Investigators say he hid in nearby bushes, then rang the emergency line about five minutes after the first alert.
He reportedly said four hooded men had tried to rob them and had hurt him and “my girlfriend.” Officers found him close by with injuries that investigators describe as self-inflicted. In hospital his account of the four attackers fell apart under questioning.
He then confessed that he killed her. He led police to the knife, which they seized. He said they had argued and that he “blacked out,” and he repeated the €1,900 claim. He remains in hospital under police guard. The inquiry into the circumstances and motive continues.
Penelope had finished her degree, found work by the sea and had a career ahead of her.
Source: Parapolitika / newsroom, 21 September 2026.
