Corfu speedboat death: Investigators make ‘suspicious finding’

A coroner investigating the death of a British mother killed by a speedboat in Corfu has found ‘possibly suspicious’ findings on the propeller of one of two seized vessels.

The propellers of both rigid inflatable boats are now due to be removed and sent to Athens for microscopic examination in a forensic laboratory.

Corfu coroner Ioannis Aivatidis who is helping maritime police investigate the death of Claire Glatman, 60, refused to identify the boat on which he found the potential evidence.

He revealed his suspicions today after spending several hours examining both boats which were seized by police and coastguards within hours of Mrs Glatman being killed on Monday morning.

Separately he said he was also awaiting the results of DNA tests to try and identify possible human ‘specimens’ found on both boats.

Mrs Glatman died while taking her daily swim from an idyllic beach next to the luxury villa which she and her millionaire property developer husband Mark, 63, own in Avlaki in the north of the island.

A post mortem revealed the mother-of-four had suffered fatal injuries from the propeller of an unidentified boat.

One of the seized boats is owned by British hedge fund boss Rob Lucas, 58, who has a holiday home in Corfu. 

Mr Lucas is understood to have strongly denied to investigators that he or any members of his family had any connection with the accident and were not near the spot where she was hit.

The second impounded boat called Spiderman was driven by local Greek resident Charalambos Karbourism, who works for a boat hire company.

Local media in Corfu have reported that he told investigators he was on Avlaki beach when he heard Mrs Glatman cry for help around the corner of the bay.

He is understood to have said that he jumped in his boat to go and see what was wrong and found her. Mr Karbouris was unable to save the mother-of four who died ‘a couple of minutes later.’

Mr Aivatidis first examined the boats on Wednesday after they were impounded by port police in the marina at Gouvia, but he returned again today to carry out more examinations over several hours.

He said: ‘On the blades of one of the propellers, there were some findings which can be classified as possibly suspicious.

‘These findings are not direct evidence, but they need to be evaluated and there has to be further examination.’

The coroner refused to reveal any more details about what he found on the propeller.

He added: ‘It ls not about DNA analysis. It is not blood. It is something else but I cannot say exactly.

‘I will be back on Monday to carry out further examinations with a forensic specialist. After that they will be removed and sent over to Athens.’

Mr Aivatidis confirmed that he had earlier found suspected human substances in one of the boats.

The coroner was unable to specify the nature of the substances, but he said they did not appear to be tissue, skin or bone.

He added: ‘We will see if they match the DNA of the victim. Of course we have taken a blood specimen from the victim and we will see if there is a possibility to match this.

‘This process will take some time and the specimens in the whole investigation in my opinion will be taken to central forensic laboratories of police in Athens.

‘They are the best in Greece in general for criminal cases. Port police does not have these laboratories. Police assist them in similar cases.’

Local people in Avlaki on the north of the Greek island have told MailOnline that Mrs Glatman from Bedale, North Yorkshire, was only 20 yards from shore when she was killed on Monday morning.

It had previously been reported that she was swimming 300 yards off Avlaki beach.

But two witnesses who were beside the beach at the time told MailOnline that the accident happened far closer to the coastline.

They claimed that she had gone in to the water from a tiny beach close to her luxurious holiday home around the corner just to the north of Avlaki bay.

The beach of sun-bleached stones has a small jetty and is only a short stroll from the Glatman family’s secluded villa which has a swimming pool and immaculately maintained garden.

One ex-pat who works at the spot said: ‘She was a lovely lady who did a lot of work for local charities and loved her swimming.

‘She was literally only 20m from shore when she was hit and was doing nothing wrong.’

The boat belonging to Mr Lucas is believed to have been taken for investigation from a mooring spot in the area of the upmarket holiday village of Agios Stefanos, just around a headland, south of Avlaki.

Mr Lucas the managing partner of global investment firm CVC Capital Partners, and his 18-year-old son and 22-year-old daughter are reported to have been quizzed by port police on Monday night. Neither he nor any member of his family were arrested. 

The family who have a £5million mansion in Hertfordshire are understood to have returned to the UK on Tuesday.

Both seized boats were today still out of the water supported on blue metal stands.

Mr Karbouris works a decorator and also does boat tending duties for a father and son team who operate the Avlaki Boats hire business and another called Filippos in the nearby town of Kassiopi around two miles north.

One local in Avlaki said: ‘It all happened just around the corner from the bay and very close to the shore. I only realised something was wrong when I saw the coastguard boat arrive.

‘By then, I think she was already dead and the coastguards took her body to the port of Imerolia. She was then transported to hospital.

‘I know Mrs Glatman liked to swim from the little beach next to her home. It all happened close to there, just around the corner where she lived.’

Another local resident said Mr Karbouris had been left shocked after discovering Mrs Glatman fatally injured in the water.

He said: ‘He heard her cries and went over to her, but she was so badly hurt that there was nothing he could do to save her. She died soon afterwards.’