KEY POINTS:
- UC Berkeley professor shot multiple times in Athens suburb on July 4, according to CNN
- Ex-wife’s boyfriend confessed to murder, claiming he “did it all for” her, CNN reports citing leaked police statements
- Five people charged including ex-wife and her boyfriend, Greek police told CNN
- Victim had sought restraining order months before death, per ABC News review of court documents
A University of California Berkeley marketing professor was fatally shot in broad daylight outside his ex-wife’s Athens home while attempting to pick up his children, with the alleged gunman—his ex-wife’s boyfriend—telling police he committed the murder to prevent the victim from taking the children away, according to CNN’s review of leaked police statements verified by Greek authorities.
Przemyslaw Jeziorski, 43, died on July 4 after being shot multiple times at close range in the Agia Paraskevi suburb of Athens, according to CNN, which reported that Greek police found seven bullet casings at the scene. The masked gunman shot Jeziorski in the neck and chest before fleeing, CNN reported citing police.
Greek police arrested five people 12 days after the killing, including Jeziorski’s ex-wife and her boyfriend, CNN reported on July 20. The boyfriend has been charged with premeditated murder while the ex-wife faces moral accomplice charges, according to CNN’s police sources. Three other men—two Albanian nationals and a Bulgarian national—face accomplice charges, CNN reported.
Leaked Confession Details
In statements to police that were leaked to Greek media and verified as authentic by a senior police source speaking to CNN, the alleged perpetrator said, “I did it all for (her) and our children so that we could have a normal life without problems”.
According to the confession transcript obtained by CNN, the suspect said he made the decision “a month and a half ago” to “end this torment we were experiencing once and for all”. He told police that Jeziorski’s ex-wife “did not agree” with Jeziorski’s plan to take the children to America for a month, as permitted by a July 3 custody judgment, CNN reported.
The suspect detailed to police how he bought a pistol more than a month before the killing and recruited accomplices, telling them he wanted to “scare” Jeziorski, according to CNN’s review of the confession. He said he approached Jeziorski and “shot him a few times, but I don’t remember how many times,” CNN reported citing the statement.
Conflicting Accounts
CNN Greece obtained testimony from the Bulgarian accomplice that contradicts the gunman’s account, with this witness claiming the ex-wife had “organized the whole thing” and “made him do it because she didn’t want to give the children to the Pole,” according to CNN.
The main suspect’s lawyer, Ermis Papoutsis, told CNN that his client’s accomplices “only knew about a plan to scare him” and that the ex-wife “knew nothing about any of this”. Papoutsis said his client had previously sought legal advice about the victim’s alleged alcoholism issues, CNN reported.
The ex-wife’s lawyer told CNN she denies any involvement in the killing. CNN noted that Greek legal restrictions prevent publication of the suspects’ identities.
Restraining Order Request
Two months before his death, Jeziorski filed for a domestic violence restraining order against his ex-wife in Alameda County Superior Court, claiming he was “fearful” for his life, according to ABC News’ review of court documents.
In his May 9 filing, Jeziorski alleged his ex-wife’s boyfriend had “charged at me on the street, pushed me and kicked me” during a May 2024 incident when he was picking up his children, ABC News reported. Jeziorski wrote that he “screamed for help” and a German embassy security guard intervened, according to the court documents cited by ABC News.
The court denied Jeziorski’s restraining order request because “the facts given in the request do not show reasonable proof of a past act or acts of abuse,” ABC News reported citing court documents.
Background and Custody Battle
Jeziorski was a tenured professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business who taught data analytics to more than 1,500 students over 13 years, according to CNN citing a UC Berkeley statement. Born in Poland, he moved to the United States in 2004 and earned his PhD from Stanford, CNN reported.
The couple met in San Francisco in 2013, married in 2014, and had twins shortly after, according to CNN citing Robert Kowalski, Jeziorski’s friend from Stanford. They co-founded a rental property management startup called Keybee in 2015, CNN reported.
Jeziorski filed for divorce in June 2021, according to CNN citing California court records. The couple’s 10-year-old twins had been living with their mother in Greece since around 2020, CNN reported.
Legal Proceedings
All five suspects appeared in court on Thursday and were given until Monday to prepare their pleas, according to CNN citing Greek police. CNN reported that four of the male suspects, including one minor, have confessed to their involvement.
The victim’s family lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, told CNN that Jeziorski’s mother and brother will take sole custody of the children, who are now in Poland. The children are U.S. and Polish citizens who had applied for Greek citizenship, according to CNN citing the ex-wife’s lawyer.
UC Berkeley Dean Jenny Chatman said she was “heartbroken” by the death of Jeziorski, whom she called a “beloved member of our marketing faculty,” CNN reported.
