Bombshell ‘confession' in murder of Brit found dead in well 12 years after vanishing on Crete holiday could crack case

The Sun

3 days ago

A BRIT man has allegedly confessed to the murder of a fellow tourist who vanished on holiday 20 years ago.
The remains of Brit Steven Cook, 20, were found in a well in 2017 in Crete - 12 years after he vanished in 2005.
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On September 1, 2005, Steven, from Cheshire, was out with pals on the first night of his holiday in Malia, Crete - but disappeared without a trace.
In February 2017, workers near a Malia cemetery found a human skeleton in an abandoned well.
Steven's family has been desperate for answers ever since - but a recent update might shed some light on Steven's death.
Nearly 20 years after Steven went missing, Cheshire police confirm there are developments in the investigation.
The holiday was Steven's first trip abroad and, despite being with his friends, he left a pub alone at the end of a night out.
The Brit was last seen in a bar asking for directions to his hotel, the Hotel Frixos, but walked off in the wrong direction at the end of a night out in the clubbing hotspot.
Grieving parents Norman and Pat, both 73, from Sandbach, even put up a 7,000 euro reward for information about their missing son.
It seemed that Steven had vanished off the face of the earth until 12 years later workers found a skeleton at the bottom of a well in Malia.
Personal items were found with the bones, including a piece of cloth, a belt and a disposable camera.
The remains were later confirmed to belong to Brit Steven Cook.
Now, seven years after the discovery, cops and prosecutors in Greece are probing an alleged confession alongside UK police.
According to Steven's family lawyer, Yiannis Konstantoudakis, an email was sent to Cheshire Police last year from the ex-wife of a 38-year-old British man.
She has claimed her ex confessed to killing Steven and revealed the horrifying details to her while under the influence of drugs.
She described how he got into a fight with a drunk young man in Malia in 2005.
After receiving a hit on the head, the victim died - and his body was thrown down a well.
The unknown woman claimed to have kept handwritten diary notes from that time, and even produced a silver bracelet with two beads on the end.
She claimed the piece of jewellery belonged to the victim.
Steven's grieving family didn't identify the jewellery.
After the missing Brit's body was discovered in 2017, it broke the 38-year-old man, his ex-wife claimed.
She claims he had a mental breakdown and threatened to take his own life.
He also required psychiatric evaluation, the ex-wife claimed.
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The prosecutor in Heraklion, Crete, shared reservations about the large gap in time between the time Steven went missing and the 38-year-old Brit's ex-wife's claims - but considered them credible.
She added that it was not unusual for people under the influence of drugs or alcohol to make revelations about their lives they wouldn't have otherwise said.
The 38-year-old Brit has denied any involvement in Steven's death, according to local newspaper Parapolitika.
When appearing before British authorities, he reportedly claimed he wasn't in Crete in 2005.
He described his ex-wife's allegations as "lies".
In 2005 there were no systematic passport checks for citizens of the European Union while Great Britain belonged to it.
There is a recorded entry of the accused Brit into Greece in 2010 from the airport in Zakynthos.
Steven's family were informed of the developments through their lawyer.
Mr Konstantoudakis told The Sun of fears that the case could be thrown out in September if there are no major developments.
Cheshire Police told The Sun it "is aware of the developments in the investigation into the death of Steven Cook".
They added: "At this time, we are working closely with the Greek Authorities and Stevens family who are being supported by specialist officers."
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