Two brothers found guilty of killing Greek-Australian John Macris

Two Bulgarian nationals, Yuliyanov J Raychev Serafim and Milen Rayche have been found guilty of murdering businessman John Macris.

The Greek-Australian businessman was murdered outside his home in Voula on October 31st, 2018, as he was walking towards his car to attend a launch of his new security business.

In April 2019, police arrested and charged a Bulgarian man over the suspected contract killing of the 46-year-old.

The second man accused of murdering John Macris, was extradited to Greece in August 2019. He is the brother of the 31-year-old Bulgarian man who was arrested in April 2019.

The Bulgarian brothers said they came to Greece in October 2018 for a holiday.

They both deny the charges, claiming they had no motive.

Last week one of the defendants told the judges: "We are accused of killing a man we did not know, neither him nor his family. My brother and I are not capable of committing such a crime."

The other defendant also addressed John Macris’ widow, Viktoria Karida: “I am sorry for your loss, we did not know him, we had no business with him, we do not know anyone who knew him. I know you are upset but I have nothing against you and I hope the police find the real killer.”

The verdict was handed down in an Athens court on Monday.

Greek authorities have linked the hit to a Canadian branch of the notorious Outlaws motorcycle gang. Serafim is believed to have links to Australian crime figures living in Canada.

The brothers will be sentenced later on today. They could face up to 15 years to life in prison.

Macris is survived by his wife Viktoria and their two children Alexandra and Achilles.