Her perspective on what happened in the early hours of July 6, 2021 in Halkidiki, is given by the now 19-year-old girl, who two years ago set a fire and burned down her friend's house because she allegedly slept with her boyfriend.
Gabriela, as the girl's name is, burnt down her friend Eleni's house in Pefkohori village in Halkidiki because she was betrayed.
"I was jealous and felt betrayed by my girlfriend. I decided to take revenge on her by setting the house on fire," said the then 17-year-old girl on T-live on Alpha TV.
She said she had been out with her boyfriend, her friend, another girl and a boy when she thought her partner had taken a romantic interest in the victim.
"The two were flirting, she wasn't drunk; she was in the mood, talking and laughing. I wanted to go home, too, but we decided to sit a little longer. I wanted to go home, and I told my other friend let's go. As we were leaving, they took the opportunity, took the motorbike, and left immediately. We hear the motorbike passing by on the upper road. I understood that there was a love interest, and that's why I wanted to leave. They were flirting, and I could see it," he said.
"I texted 'I'm going to break into your house'"
The girl said, "She told us she was going to get some beers, and we were waiting for her at home. She never came home. We walked up to the booth, and out of curiosity, we passed my boy's house, and I saw her shoes inside. I knock on the door, and the shutter closes; I realise something is wrong. They wouldn't open the door for me when I had just arrived home. I didn't shout so as not to make a fuss with the neighbours, but I knocked on the door and the shutter.
"I sent her a message saying, 'I'm going to break into your house.' But then I thought otherwise. I told my friend to get some alcohol, and I went to get some. We went home, and it happened. I entered from the balcony; even though she says the window was closed, it was open; I didn't break anything," she added later.
She bathed the whole house in alcohol, set it on fire and turned her back.
The girl talked about how she burned down the house. “I put alcohol all over the house, everywhere, the floor, the toilet. I lit the lighter, and it caught fire," adding "I was jealous."
She explained that she felt betrayed but that she regrets her actions.
The timeline of the case
The arson occurred in the early hours of July 6, 2021, in Pefkohori, Halkidiki. The defendants - then minors - together with the victim and the rest of their group, had gone out for evening entertainment. After consuming quantities of alcohol, at some point, it was understood that the then 17-year-old's partner showed romantic interest in the victim.
The victim left on the motorcycle of her 17-year-old boyfriend, with the accused believing that he would take her to her home. However, the two of them ended up at the young man's apartment.
The young woman went to the house where the victim lived with her family, and when she knocked on the door, it was not answered. They then went to a nearby convenience store where they bought two bottles of pure alcohol.
The company's security cameras captured their movements.
The young woman returned to the victim's house and managed to set it on fire. By the time the fire department arrived, it was too late. The house had burned to the ground.
The victim's aunt and her minor sister, who was only nine years old at the time, were in immediate danger from the arson, as while they were sleeping, they realised that smoke was entering their apartment located on the upper floor.
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