Boyfriend of Natalie Christopher reveals ‘devastation’ after being forced to ID Brit scientist by her trainers when she was crushed to death in Greece
THE distraught boyfriend of Brit jogger Natalie Christopher has broken his silence to reveal his devastation after she was crushed to death by a huge rock in Greece.
Kyriakos Ashikalis said that he was "devastated" after having to ID the scientist by her trainers after she fell from a height on the island of Ikaria.
Dr Natalie Christopher's partner reportedly let out an anguished cry after learning the 34-year-old had fallen before being crushed by a dislodged boulder at the bottom of a 65ft ravine.
The London-born academic could only be identified by her shoes, as her body was in "bad shape".
Dr Christopher’s 38-year-old partner - Kyriakos Ashikalis - was told she had been found dead in her running gear with a boulder over her lower body.
The reports he has spoken of his "devastation" over her tragic death. They had known each other for five years.
Mr Ashikalis said: "It is hard to put into words how I am feeling right now. Of course I am devastated and it is hard to talk about what has happened.
"There will be a time when I can talk, but it is not now."
'SCREAMING AND CRYING'
A rescue worker who was with him after the scientist's body was located said yesterday: “He was screaming and crying and tried to run up the track to be with her.
“He was distraught and pacing up and down and trying to get past the police. He wanted to see the body.
“I don't think he could believe that she was dead.
“I saw him later and he had calmed down, but his face was completely white. I have never seen someone so drained of any colour.”
Coroner Nikolas Karakoukis said after his preliminary examination the scientist's death was "accidental" and her passing would have been instant. He also said he found a large pool of blood under the Brit's head, where it had hit a rock.
Her body was transported to a morgue in the Greek capital, Athens on Thursday.
Mr Ashikalis plans on returning home to Nicosia, Cyprus, this weekend, reports the Mail.
He said that he would remain on the island to "sort out things".
When asked about blood spots found in the couple's hotel room after the scientist had been reported missing, he said that he was unable to comment further, but he "had nothing to do with that".
POIGNANT TRIBUTES
The British High Commission in Nikosia tweeted: “As a British Cypriot, Natalie was a symbol of the deep, people-to-people links that exist between the UK & Cyprus.
“She dedicated her life to improving links between the communities of the island, sharing her passion for astronomy, female participation in sport, via #CyprusGirlsCan.
“She had made Cyprus her home & touched the lives of many.
“May she rest in peace, and her hope for all Cypriots living together ‘under one sky’ endure.”
The Italian Embassy in Cyprus tweeted: “Very saddened to learn about the loss of Natalie Christopher, a young inspirational figure on many fronts here in CY: youth involvement in sports #CyprusGirlsCan & science, bicommunal initiatives, women and girls’ empowerment, including the launch of CY Antenna.”
RUNNING IN ROCKY AREA
Dr Christopher vanished on Monday morning hours before she and her Cypriot partner were due to fly back to their home in Nicosia.
Mr Ashikalis reported her missing around noon on Monday when she failed to return from a jog which reportedly began at 8am.
He said he phoned her mobile at 10am, after waking up and finding that she wasn't at the hotel. The scientist answered, telling him she was running in a rocky area of the island.
I have never seen someone so drained of any colour
Rescuer
But after she failed to show up, Mr Ashikalis called the cops at noon, police spokesman Theodore Chronopoulos told The Sun Online.
Mr Chronopoulos said: "Her partner spoke to her when he woke up at 10am and discovered she wasn't there.
“They had a conversation and she said she was out jogging.
“At 12 (noon) when she still hadn't come back and when he started to worry, he called police.
"He says she promised to be careful."
Mr Ashikalis said she told him: “I can't go fast, I'll be back slowly, don't worry.”
Rescuers found her body on Wednesday at the bottom of a ravine in an area known as Katafygi.
A large rock - which may have been dislodged by her in the fall - appeared to have crushed her.
Search teams left the body there overnight so a coroner could examine her Thursday morning as police initially refused to rule out foul play.
Police spokesman Theodoros Chronopoulos said: "We have to await the [full] report from the coroner, which will take two to three days, to have the answers."
Investigators are said to be probing the possibility the scientist - a keen climber - was attempting to scale a steep slope without equipment, .
Local media also reports that homicide detectives from the Greek capital of Athens have arrived in Ikaria and have taken over the case.
Police sources said the scientist's boyfriend "was very unlikely to be considered a suspect."
The ravine is about a mile from her hotel in Kerame in the north of the island, and the area has trails along steep cliffs.
'BLOOD STAINS ON BED SHEETS'
Cops have told The Sun Online that blood stains found on Dr Christopher's bed sheets were sent to a laboratory for DNA testing.
According to local media, the Oxford-educated scientist's phone was still on, prompting her worried sister to urge people not to call her to save the battery.
However, Mr Chronopoulos told The Sun Online that there has been no signal on Dr Christopher's phone since 5pm on Monday.
He said: "The mobile phone company confirmed that her phone was on and that it had picked up a signal until about 5pm on Monday.
“Since then there hasn't been a signal."
Policemen, firefighters, coast guard officers, volunteers and a naval helicopter equipped with thermal imaging took part in the search operation.
The owner of the hotel the couple were staying at said police had sealed off the room and that Mr Ashikalis was staying with him at his house.
The unnamed hotelier told Greek media: “He is a very good lad, he’s from Cyprus. He’s lost it, he has panicked, he cannot believe it."
He described the pair as a "nice little couple" and said there was no signs of problems in the relationship.
It has emerged she made a final Facebook post just hours before she went missing, where she wrote about how "beautiful" the area was.
Writing on Sunday morning, Dr Christopher said: "Beautiful spot for swimming and deep water solo - had so much fun here today.
"Realised later there was bolted routes here too, would love to come back again to climb. Any takers?"
According to her online profile, Natalie Christopher was a researcher for the European University Cyprus in Nicosia and worked to "develop our understanding on the evolution of galaxies by fitting models to data collected from telescopes and satellites."
She was an extreme sports enthusiast and was the face of 'Cyprus Girls Can' - a campaign to encourage local women to exercise.
Her death follows the alleged rape and murder of American scientist Suzanne Eaton in Crete.
A local man has apparently confessed to the crime in which sexual assault appeared to have been the motive.
Dr Eaton was found dead in mid July at the bottom of a cave which was used by the Nazis to store weapons during World War II near Cania.
The 59-year-old mother-of-two was originally from California and lived in Germany with her husband, a British scientist.
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She vanished on July 2 at some point in the afternoon and was due to attend a conference but failed to show up.
Her family believe she went out for a run, as the only things missing from her hotel room were her running shoes.
Coroner Antonis Papadomanolakis told Greece's ANT1 News that 'something complicated happened' during Eaton's death.
