Police reopen probe into death of Scots mother in Greece 15 years ago after 'massive' breakthrough

Police in Greece are to reopen an investigation into the death of a Scots mother more than 15 years after her body was found.

Jean Hanlon died in suspicious circumstances in Crete in 2009 and yesterday her family hailed the re-examination of the case as a ‘massive’ breakthrough.

The decision by the public prosecutor in Heraklion, the capital of the island, to reopen the file came after a private investigator hired by Ms Hanlon’s son compiled a detailed report on the case.

The 29-page dossier drew on evidence from the 53-year-old’s diary and names a man believed to have been with her on the night she disappeared.

The new police inquiry will be the fourth time detectives, who have already concluded that foul play was involved, have attempted to solve the mystery of what happened to her.

Greek media reported that the case has been assigned to a public prosecutor’s office after a request ‘to reopen the file and to investigate specific aspects’.

Yesterday Ms Hanlon’s son Michael Porter, who along with his brothers Robert and David has been campaigning for justice, said: ‘There is no way that they can shut this down again.

‘I am actually 100 per cent hopeful that this is the time that we get our mum justice and that she is finally laid to rest.’

Ms Hanlon, a former hospital secretary, moved from Dumfries to Crete to work in the tourism industry in the coastal village of Kato Gouves.

She vanished after a night out in March 2009 when she had told friends she was planning to meet a man in a cafe.

A chilling last text message she sent read simply: ‘Help.’ Her body was found four days later in the water at the port of Heraklion, and police at first said she had drowned.

A second post mortem carried out after her family demanded answers showed she had suffered a broken neck and ribs, a punctured lung and facial injuries, and probably died before she entered the water.

Two men – one Greek and the other Belgian – were questioned then released, and the investigation was closed in 2012.

Further probes in 2019 and 2021 also ended without providing answers for the family.

But Mr Porter refused to give up and hired private investigator Haris Veramon. He believes he now knows the identity of the person who killed his mother.

His lawyer in Greece told him on Wednesday that the case was being reinvestigated.

He added: ‘The past 15 years has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs.

‘You get to a certain point like now where the case is reopened when you have got all new-found hope and strength and then you get chopped back down.

‘However, the massive difference in this is that we have hired the private investigator who has put in and filed this detailed report.’

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘We continue to support the family of a British woman who died in Greece in 2009 and are in contact with the local authorities in Greece.’

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