page_title: Aristidis Pagratidis
section_title: Interrogation
hierarchical_section_title: Aristidis Pagratidis / Interrogation
caption_attribution_description: Eptapirgio
context_page_description: Aristidis Pagratidis was an alleged Greek serial killer who committed a series of murders and predatory attacks on couples in the forest area of Seikh Sou in 1959.
  He was arrested in December 1963 after he attacked a 12-year-old in the "Alexander the Great" orphanage, was tried in October 1964 and sentenced to nine years in prison. During interrogations, he confessed to being the notorious "Ogre of Seikh Sou". He was retried in February 1966 and sentenced to death as a "dangerous person for public safety", and was executed on February 16, 1968.
  Pagratidis quickly recanted his confession, claiming he was psychologically pressured and beaten, and until the moment of his execution, he remained firm in his innocence. Since then, whether he was innocent or not remains debatable, with most claiming he was innocent.
context_section_description: Because of his life, Pagratidis was already known to the police. Since his adolescence he had involved with them, first with bicycle theft, and then with petty thefts, possession and use of hashish, allegations of hunter-gatherer behaviour, and attacks on young girls and young men. From the very first moment of his arrest, the newspapers (with or without the police's encouragement) have pointed him out as the "Ogre of Seikh Sou", aggressively stressing out the point that he had used the same weapon as the Ogre while attempting to rape the girl. In the following days he was isolated in the General Security Detention Facilities in Thessaloniki, the survivors of the attacks were called upon to identify him, but none were able to do so with certainty. For five whole days and nights after his arrest, Pagratidis was questioned. The investigation was carried out by Deputy Prosecutor Athanasopoulos along with General Security Commander of Thessaloniki, Tzavaras. On December 11, 1963, Pagratidis confessed to the crimes he was accused of. The news was not given to the public immediately, rather than three days later - on December 15, - since, in the meantime, the police received a full confession with many previously unknown details. Specifically, Pagratidis led the police officers to the site of the Mikra site, and showed them how he killed Raisis (two strikes with the stone to his head), how he stunned his girlfriend, raped her and stole Raisis' lighter, leaving afterwards. The next day he went to the Municipal Hospital, where he killed, raped and robbed the young Patrikio. Then, he narrated the attempted murder of nurse Tsambazi, whom had failed to positively recognize him. The competent prosecutor described the attack on the 12-year-old and in conjunction with the "4000 Law", referring the case (enclosing the 1953 crime files) to the regular investigator to proceed to the next stage of the trial, regular interrogation.
  As soon as his own people took care of lawyers, M. Sapountzis and D. Lazo, and now he was in the hands of the judiciary, he immediately recalled his confession. He claimed that not only were the confessions forced, but the orphanage attack did not take place as disclosed by the police. Pagratidis informed his lawyers that he was subjected to physical and mental abuse, saying the following: "At 9 o'clock at night, they said I should confess, and put me in a room, splashing water on me. Then we went to another room, where they only gave a nut to eat. There they kept me up until 10 AM. I was asking for water and they did not give me. 'Tell us', they were telling me, 'that you are the ogre and we will give you'... In the meantime, by thirst, I stammered. For a moment I did not stand. 'Give me water', I said, 'and I will tell you what you want." Pagratidis told his lawyers that during the six days of the interrogation he only drank two glasses of water and a glass of tea, and ate four slices of bread, three sandwiches, a plate of potatoes, and a spinach dish. Surprised by what the lawyers said, on December 18, judicial authorities forbid any further reference or photograph of this case to all newspapers in Thessaloniki and Athens.
caption: Heptapyrgion prison
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