A wild turn of events in the story of a UC Berkeley professor who was shot execution-style in Greece on July 4, as his ex-wife has been arrested by Greek police on suspicion that she had his murder arranged.
There were initial rumblings that something nefarious was afoot with the July 4 point-blank shooting murder of a UC Berkeley professor in Greece, considering that the gunman who killed him was wearing a mask, and had a getaway car waiting. Police in the Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi immediately said this murder of UC Berkeley economic and marketing professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski had the signs of a hired hit, as initial reports in the global press said that his ex-wife Nadia Michelidaki said “she did not know of anyone who would want to hurt Jeziorski.”
Or maybe she did. KGO reports that now Nadia Michelidaki has been arrested on suspicion of arranging Jeziorski’s murder. The two had divorced six years ago, and were engaged in a custody battle over their two twin children, whom Jeziorski was in Greece to visit. The murder occurred one day after a custody hearing in Athens.
CNN has the detail that five people were brought in for questioning over the killing, including the ex-wife Michelidaki. CNN also notes sources within the Greek police saying that the murder “bore signs of a contract killing.”
And in what may be a very significant development, the Chronicle reports that Michelidaki’s current romantic partner admitted to his involvement with the killing. The Chronicle cites a Greek media outlet called iefmerida (whose reporting is entirely in Greek), and says that "her partner and the accused gunman admitted to authorities to shooting Jeziorski, and doing so at Michelidaki’s request." Neither the alleged gunman nor the current romantic partner are named in those reports.
The Chronicle also has some details on their troubled marriage. The two apparently met ten years ago, married and had twins, and co-founded a Berkeley-based Airbnb-style vacation rental startup that still lists them both as founders. But the marriage hit the rocks in 2018, Jeziorski filed for divorce in Alameda County in 2021, and their divorce was legally finalized in 2024. The Chron adds that Jeziorski filed for a restraining order against Michelidaki in May of this year, for reasons that are not disclosed.
Jeziorski’s brother has started an online fundraiser campaign to “pursue legal action and support ongoing investigations” related to the killing.
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