The heartbroken son of Jean Hanlon, who died in suspicious circumstances in Crete 15 years ago expects a key suspect to be charged by Greek police today.
Michael Porter, who has always insisted his mother was murdered, said the development would be a ‘massive turning point’ in his campaign for justice.
He said he was ‘disgusted’ it had taken so many years to come to this point saying a ‘lot was riding on this’.
The 39-year-old said the family now might finally get closure to the long-running saga after hiring a private investigator to help with the case.
The PI discovered a potential suspect and shared the discovery with police.
Mr Porter said: ‘We are in the best position we’ve ever been in our life. This is a massive turning point, something we’ve never seen been before’.
The investigator, Haris Veramon, compiled a 29-page file about Ms Hanlon’s last movements after she named a man in her diary she was planning to meet that night.
She went missing in 2009 after moving to the holiday island from Dumfries to work in the coastal village of Kato Gouves.
Jean Hanlon’s body was found in the harbour of Heraklion on Crete in 2009
Jean Hanlon’s sons, from left, Michael, Robert and David, believe she was murdered
Ms Hanlon (pictured with son Michael) was 40 when she went to Crete on her first holiday abroad and fell in love with the lifestyle and the people
The 53-year-old vanished after a night out after telling friends she was meeting a man in a cafe with a chilling last text message saying simply: ‘Help.’
Four days later, her body was found in the water at the port of Heraklion, the island’s capital, with police first believing she had drowned.
At the demands of her distraught family, a second post-mortem examination was carried out which showed she had suffered a broken neck and ribs, a punctured lung and facial injuries, and probably died before she entered the water.
In 2012, two men were questioned then released.
Further probes in 2019 and 2021 also ended without providing answers for the family, although the police had acknowledged foul play was involved.
However, detectives reopened the case again in June and now Mr Porter and his brothers, Robert, 49, and David, 45, have been assured by Greek police that the suspect will be questioned today and potentially charged.
Mr Porter, of Bromley, said: ‘It’s weird, I don’t how it would feel until it happens.
‘When you’ve been fighting for justice this long…’
The port of Heraklion where Jean Hanlon’s body was discovered
Jean Hanlon with her young sons in Dumfries
He continued: ‘It would be a massive achievement to get mum the justice she deserves. It would be a massive relief in our life too.
‘We know that mum is gone and not coming back but this would give her closure and would give us comfort and release too.’
Mr Porter said his family had also hired a separate criminologist who provided characteristics of a suspect that matched the investigation by the private eye.
He added: ‘There is a lot riding on this. It’s unusual for cases in Greece to be reopened once or twice, let alone four times.
‘There have been suspects before but never with so much evidence. If they don’t charge this suspect then there is nowhere to go from here.
‘They would likely close the case and that is not something we want.’
After Greek police announced they were re-investigating the cold case, he said: ‘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 case is that we have hired the private investigator who has put in and filed this detailed report.’
In March 2009, after sending a friend a text that read ‘HELP’, Ms Hanlon’s body was discovered in capital Heraklion’s harbour without hair or eyes. Pictured: Jean Halon with her son Michael
Mr Porter admitted it had been a ‘slow process up until now’ but was grateful to the new magistrate and prosecutor on the case who have been ‘incredibly supportive and wanted justice for mum’.
He added: ‘It would be amazing to show people that work and determination does pay off.
‘The amount of people who have told me to give up and live my life but when you go through something like this, you just can’t.
‘You have to fight for what you believe.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
