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A British playboy who blew a fortune on drugs, prostitutes and disastrous business transactions was convicted today of murdering a man he thought was standing in the way of a £2 million property deal.
Thanos Papalexis, 37, son of a Greek shipping executive with offices in Mayfair and Athens, used his wealth and charm to move in high-powered circles, hosting a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton attended by Bill Clinton.
He held parties for Paris Hilton, designer Valentino and others. But his business empire was unravelling and he faced mounting debts.
He was desperate to sell a warehouse in Kilburn and believed, wrongly, that resident caretaker Charalambos Christodoulides, 55, could block the sale because he lived in a flat in the property.
Mr Christodoulides was beaten, tortured and strangled before his body was dumped in a garage inspection pit at the warehouse in March 2000.
Today members of his family watched in court as the jury gave their verdict.
Papalexis will be sentenced to life imprisonment at a later hearing.
The Old Bailey heard how Papalexis told his favourite $2,500-a-night prostitute that he had strangled a man.
Papalexis, who denied murder but admitted in court being an adulterer, liar and addicted to prostitutes and pornography, insisted: “I'm not a bad person.”
The jury was unable to reach verdicts on charges of murder against two Albanians, Ylli Xhelo, 35, and Robert Baxhija, 28, who were allegedly hired by Papalexis to carry out the murder. They were remanded in custody to face a retrial.
Papalexis was extradited from Florida where he had gone to live in a $3 million house after the murder.
There he left a mountain of bad debts and out-of-pocket clients.
He had set up property companies, investment funds and a gentleman's club for the super rich which had all failed.
Papalexis was brought down by the former porn star and prostitute he fell in love with who was brought over from the US to give evidence.
He blurted out to Rebecca DeFalco, 44, how he had killed a man in London who had “got in the way”.
She went to US police after hearing of his arrest and impending extradition.
Ms DeFalco told the jury: “He told me he worked for the CIA, MI6 and the National Security Agency and I was certain he worked for something like a James Bond kind of job.”
She said the confession came when they were staying at the Four Seasons hotel in Palm Beach.
Ms DeFalco said she had asked him if had ever killed someone, adding: “I didn't expect an answer. He turned around and there was a very long pause. He walks up towards me, pulls up a chair and sits in front of me and reaches for my hands.
“My hands are in his hands and he looks me in the eye. He says, Yes, yes I have'. He tells me, I strangled someone. There was two people with me.' This man was giving him problems. This man was in the way, he wasn't doing what he wanted him to do. He wasn't complying to what he wants so they strangled him. The two men did it and he didn't die right away.
“He (Papalexis) said he was beaten up in a chair. Thanos had some involvement in his beating up. The two men were there to do their job, to get rid of him, but it didn't go well.
"Thanos said he turned his back as the two men did it and said the noise the man made was like he wasn't dying.
"He wasn't dying fast enough is what he said. He (Papalexis) was getting irritated with it not ending yet and there was a lot of blood. He said it wasn't working out, it wasn't ending, so he stepped in to help.”
The court heard that he went straight form the murder scene to Ms DeFalco and left blood stains across her couch.
His wife Karina had gone with him from England to Florida but returned because she could not stand his lifestyle.
There were his countless affairs, the orgies he hosted where he would film himself in group sex and his membership of a sado-masochistic website.
Jonathan Laidlaw, QC, prosecuting, said: “His arrogance and mismanagement of his business interests were about to be exposed and he was facing not only receivership but ruin in this country. He was finished.
“To compound that failure, he was also confronted with humiliation. He had made a mess of a golden opportunity and he would have to face his father, a father who can see right through his son.”
Reader views (6)
It's a sad case as I knew him and his family well who no doubt have suffered badly through his incomprehensible behaviour. His poor education and lack of ethical business projects were always based on financing his lavish lifestyle which totally contradicts the close traditional Greek family loving environment he was brought up in. My thoughts are with his family and the devastation this has brought them. No excuses though, Thanos must now suffer and pay the penalty for his selfish and despicable actions.
- Eejay, UK, 08/09/2009 14:09
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There is no real justice in this country.
Why bother trying him in the first place?
- Steve, Bexhill, 07/09/2009 15:41
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Again: hanging! The way the British penal service is run, this man will be living-out pretty much exactly the same power-games inside as he did outside: people like this get their kicks deceiving and dominating others and the only punishment would be to deny him that power by putting him in solitary confinement.
- Roz, France, 07/09/2009 14:47
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lets see what sentence we give out and the difference between class related rich and poor which the goverment do,sent belief exists plus our in reality judges ough
- Basil, bussiere poitevine 87320 france, 07/09/2009 14:24
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What a horrible little man. i hope he stays behind bars for along time
- Tom, camden, 07/09/2009 14:10
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What an absolute pig this man is. He deserves to spend the rest of hid life behind bars. But you just know that his wealth and influence will conspire to keep his sentence low
- Keith Price, Luton England, 07/09/2009 13:25
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