Words: Ashley Rigg
Published: 1st October 2009
Developer jailed for life
A property developer has been jailed for life for murdering a tenant who refused to move out of one of his properties.
Thanos Papalexis, 37, ordered the death of his tenant Charalambos Christodoulides, 55 in 2000 after he refused to move out of a property in North West London which put a £2 million deal to sell the property in jeopardy.
Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting, said Mr Christodoulides had been tied to a chair, tortured and strangled. "This was an execution carried out for financial gain - you treated Charalambos as completely expendable…it appears that the victim was condemned to die for no better reason than he was not prepared to leave his home." said the QC.
The son of Greek shipping magnate, Papalexis was described as a playboy property developer who led the lifestyle of a millionaire in Florida, throwing expensive parties, hiring designer Gianni Versace's former home and holding a fundraiser for the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
Full story on
BBC.
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