Greek man beheads girlfriend

ATHENS: A 31-year-old man killed his girlfriend on the Greek island of Santorini, beheaded her, then fled in a patrol car, officials said. During the ensuing chase, the suspect was shot five times by police and ran over two women doctors who were riding a motorcycle before being caught.

The suspect, Athanassios Arvanitis, a cook at a local restaurant, is undergoing surgery at an island hospital, said Chrysanthos Roussos, head of the Santorini district on the island.

Neighbours said that, following a heated argument on Sunday, Arvanitis beheaded his girlfriend’s dog with a butcher knife, then killed and beheaded the woman. The victim, 25-year-old Adamantia Karkali, worked as a teacher at a local village.

Initially, Arvanitis roamed the village of Vourvoulos exhibiting the woman’s head, neighbors said. Townspeople said they locked themselves in their homes and called the police. When a policeman tried to handcuff him, the suspect knifed the officer and flung the victim’s head into a patrol car.

Arvanitis then made off in a second patrol car and ran over the motorcycle before he was caught. One of the two doctors suffered multiple fractures, Roussos said.