Greece Greece - George Loizos, 32, & George Karalis, 28, Nea Makri, 2 June 1998

It was a grisly discovery following the gruesome double murder of Melbourne-born cousins George Karalis and George Loizos on the Aegean Sea.

It was pre-dawn when lone fisherman Andreas Chrisafogiorgos came across a ghost boat drifting northeast of Marathon, near the Port of Rafina...

It was when Mr Chrisafogiorgos motored closer that he realised the six-metre motor boat had two dead men tied to its stern.

One, who would be identified as Mr Karalis, 28, of Melbourne, was hanging from the roll bar by a rope pulled up under his chin...

Next to him, floating face down in the sea, was the mutilated body of his cousin Mr Loizos, a 32-year-old resident of Greece.

Partially clothed, he was tethered to the main outboard by a rope attached to his belt.

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June 2, 1998, and George Loizos decided to take his visiting cousin, George Karalis, for a late afternoon boat trip across the Evvia Straits. Nea Makri lies on the western flanks of the Evvia Straits. The seaside town of Porto Bufalu is less than an hour's boat ride away, a popular joy trip destination. The boys left late in the afternoon, but the mountains of Evvia were still clearly visible in the distance. They made good time to Porto Bufalu. They shared a coffee and an ouzo at the local taverna. Witnesses there described the two cousins as being in good spirits. The same witnesses waved to the two Georges as they headed off on their return to Nea Makri. It was just before 7pm, the sun was still well up in the sky and the seas were dead calm. At about 4:30am, a fisherman found the boys' boat drifting a short distance north-east of Nea Makri. He came closer to investigate...

NEWS REPORTER (Translation): Right at the back there, where you see the engine, George Loizos' body was found. He was tied up with a two-metre rope. He was tied at the belt and his chest was, literally, cut to pieces.

PANAYOTIS GIAMORELLES, INDEPENDENT CORONER (Translation): They had tied him up and thrown him in, with his shoes and socks. The propeller caught him when the outboard was started and it cut him to pieces. The body wasn't dismembered, it was whole, bit it had ten large wounds and it had now become...It was a horrible sight. Horrible and disgusting. It was the first time I'd seen a person so cut up...

The investigation during those crucial first hours was deeply flawed. Litres of blood was splattered throughout the boat and yet only one blood sample was taken. Not one fingerprint was sought. A palm print was taken, but the print was accidentally destroyed. Residue from a flare gun was found in the boat, but no samples were tested. The thickened glass windscreen was shattered, but no glass was found in the boat. Again, police showed little interest. To top off this litany of investigative omissions, within hours of the boat being returned to Rafina, the policeman heading the investigation, Nikos Ekonomakis, ordered that it be thoroughly cleaned.

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