Dimitris Vakrinos
| Dimitris Vakrinos | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1962 Pirris, Gortynia, Arcadia, Greece |
| Died |
May 12, 1997 (aged 34–35) Korydallos Prison, Greece |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Details | |
| Victims | 5 |
Span of crimes | 1987–1995 |
| Country | Greece |
| State(s) | Athens |
Date apprehended | April 6, 1997 |
Dimitris Vakrinos (Greek: Δημήτρης Βακρινός; born in 1962 in Pirris - died on May 12, 1997 in Korydallos Prison) was a Greek taxi driver and serial killer, who confessed to the murder of five people for minor quarrels and the attempted murders of seven others between 1987 to 1996.
He was arrested in April 1997, and was jailed in the Korydallos Prison. On May 12, 1997, Vakrinos was found hanging by the neck from shoelaces tied to a shower head in the showers of the prison ward.[1]
Early life
Dimitris Vakrinos grew up in the provincial environment of a small village, the second son of the poor five-member family of Panagiotis (who had the nicknamed 'Vrouvas' because of his alcohol problems) and Georgia Vakrinou. His parents were farmers, while he was a moderate student. According to testimonies from fellow villagers, Vakrinos was not very social. His father often abused him, especially while under the influence of alcohol. In 1975, at the age of 13, Vakrinos found himself in Athens, where he was a guest in the house of a friendly family and worked in a tavern in Hassia. He then trained as a welder at a technical school and was hired at the Elefsis Shipyard, where he worked until 1992. Then he began work as a taxi driver.
Personal life
Vakrinos married in 1990 and got divorced only 14 months later, resulting in his ex-wife kicking him out of their home in Keratsini. He decided to take revenge on her by setting fire to his father-in-law's cottage on Salamis Island, claiming the house originally belonged to his family. In August 1996 he remarried and moved to Moschato. He did not have any children.
His relationship with his mother and his three sisters was considered normal, as opposed to his relationship with his alcoholic father, which was later characterized as abusive.
Crimes
On August 6, 1987, when he was 25-years old, the first criminal activity committed by Vakrinos was recorded, but the vast majority of his crimes took place from 1993 to 1996.
Murders
- August 6, 1987: Panayiotis Gaglias, 43. He killed him with an iron bar as he slept in the Vakrinos' house in Petroupoli, the latter having posted a letter to host him. The cause of the murder according to the perpetrator was that Vakrinos had stolen a shotgun from Gaglias and then the latter threatened to notify the police. In order that not to happen, Vakrinos killed him. He then moved and threw the body onto the 19th kilometer of the Argos - Tripolis highway, where it was located eight days later.
- November 19, 1993: Anastasia Simitzi, 28. Vakrinos took Simitzi in his taxi as a customer. He suggested that she should go to a nightclub, to which she agreed. Later, when Simitzi returned and asked to be taken home, Vakrinos instead suggested she have sex with him. Simitzi refused, and Vakrinos took her to a deserted area near Mandra, where he doused her in petrol and burned her alive. Her charred corpse was found the following day.
- January 9, 1994: Theodoros Andreadis, 35. Andreadis was a fellow taxi driver who quarreled with Vakrinos a few months earlier for a priority in the taxi rank in Elefsis. To take revenge, Vakrinos posed as a client, entering the taxi victim of the victim who, months after the incident, did not recognized him, and Vakrinos asked him to take him to Corinth. In the first kilometer of Isthmos - Loutrakiou he killed Andreadis with a pistol after Vakrinos asked him to stop, stealing his watch afterwards. He then drove the taxi to Elefsina, where he burned it. The corpse was found a few hours later.
- December 21, 1995: Kostas and Antonis Spyropoulos, 21 and 20. Kostas Spyropoulos had bought a used car a long time ago from Vakrinos, who tried to steal it back from the brothers' house in Acharnes. The theft was realised and both brothers started chasing after Vakrinos. When Vakrinos stopped at a gas station, not realizing he was tailed, the two siblings approached him asking for an explanation for the theft. Using two pistols, Vakrinos killed them on the spot.
Attempted murders
- March 14, 1993: Vakrinos attempted to murder two friends, Andrea Svyrus (18) and Theodoros Bitoulas (16). The reason was that the two friends made fun out of a couple during their evening walk. Vakrinos, who was nearby, felt that their behaviour was unacceptable and shot at them many times. The two boys were seriously injured.
- December 10, 1995: Vakrinos attempted to murder two friends, George Caucas and Vassilis Doula, both 23. That night, Vakrinos broke into a woman's car and attempted to steal several items from it, as the car's former owner had spoiled a consensus. When the two friends, who were random passer-bys, tried to stop him, Vakrinos began shooting at them. Doula was slightly injured, but Caucas severely injured, remaining disabled for the rest of his life.
- December 20, 1995: Planning a homicide against an unidentified taxi driver with whom he had quarreled in Moschato for taxi priority, Vakrinos kept a phone bill and planned on stopping his car. His plans to do that failed however, forcing him to give up and stealing another car the next day, leaving to the deaths of the Spyropoulos brothers.
- May 31, 1996: The attempted murder of Nikos Agiannidis and police officers Grigoris Mammos (31) and Christos Georgantopoulos (24). Vakrinos visited Agiannidis' house on Thivon Avenue in order to take care of personal disputes with Agiannidis' son. He did not open the door and called the police, forcing Vakrinos to hide in a basement in the nearby flats. When the officers arrived and the man came out, he began shooting at them. Two of the three were slightly injured, while the third hid and prevented injuring themselves.
Other criminal offenses
- February 13, 1992: He was kicked out of his father-in-law's cottage on Salamis Island for slander.
- December 5, 1993: Attempted to rob a gas station at Thebes Avenue.
- December 4, 1995: Robbery at a supermarket in Nikaia.
- December 15, 1995: Robbery at a supermarket in Aigaleo.
- March 20, 1996: Robbery at a supermarket in Aigaleo.
- June 1996: Robbery at a supermarket in Nikaia.
The attempted robbery at the gas station was done for the purpose of revenge, as he once argued with an employee over a minor offense. He did not manage to steal anything because the cash register did not open, even though Vakrinos shot at it several times with his pistol.
Offender profile
According to police and psychological estimates, Vakrinos was described as a serial killer, with a clear psychopathological background, which is mainly related to his childhood and is associated with sexual oppression, reduced self-esteem and general clustering behaviour.
His avenging fury, which he only slightly showed, seemed to be a result of excessive affection, but also of his physique, since he was a short, impossible and almost stingy man. Consequently, because he could not react accordingly to any challenges and insults, he always responded with weapons to any obstacles.
References
- ↑ Panagiota Bitsika (13 April 1997). "Electronic edition of 'To Vima'".
External links
- Panos Sobolos, "The crimes that shook Greece", Pataki Publications, Athens 2014, pages 244-264, ISBN 978-960-16-5596-3