Saturday––Jeff
Soon after reading Michael’s Thursday post, “Mushrooms and motive,” I came across a July 14, 2025 headline story in “The National Herald”(TNH) –– New York’s Greek-American newspaper of record––titled, “UC Berkeley Professor Murdered outside Ex-Wife’s House in Greece.”
That’s not the sort of headline I’m used to seeing in TNH, and with Michael’s description fresh in my mind of an Australian mother’s conviction for having two years ago killed three of her ex-husband’s relatives (plus the attempted murder of a fourth) at a family luncheon she’d hosted – featuring beef wellington laced with deadly poison mushrooms – this new TNH story intrigued me.
Details of the brazen 4th of July assassination of an American university professor outside his ex-wife’s suburban Athens home was understandably hot news in many parts of the world. TNH’s July 14th article reporting on the then known details of the investigation gave rise in my deep dark mysterious mind to all sorts of potential story lines, some obvious, some not so obvious, e.g., international intrigues, familial disorder, industrial espionage, professional jealousy to name but a few.
I’m interested in what sort of plotlines come to your mind after reviewing TNH’s July 14th article. It’s reproduced below.
Once you’ve formed an opinion (or opinions), take a look at TNH’s July 17th update on the investigation (also set out below) and see whether it changes your mind. To me there’s always a big twist waiting out there for those willing to ferret it out.
The late professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski. (Photo:
haas.berkeley.edu)
UC Berkeley Professor Murdered outside Ex-Wife’s House in
Greece
July 14, 2025
ATHENS – Przemyslaw Jeziorski, a professor of marketing at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a father of twins, was murdered outside his ex-wife’s house in Agia Paraskevi, a suburb of Athens, on July 4, ABC 7 News reported. The 43-year-old victim, originally from Poland, “was reportedly in Greece to attend a child custody hearing,” ABC 7 reported.
The unknown perpetrator approached Jeziorski in broad daylight on July 4 at about 4:15 PM and shot him five times in the neck and chest, according to the Hellenic Police, the Greek newspaper Ta Nea reported. The perpetrator remains at large and the investigation continues with authorities examining video surveillance footage to help track the killer.
Jeziorski had arrived in Greece and had rented an Airbnb apartment in Kolonaki just days before he was gunned down.
His Greek ex-wife, an economist, shared custody of the children with Jeziorski and he would take the children abroad on summer vacation every year, Ta Nea reported, adding that on the morning of the murder, Jeziorski and his ex-wife had visited a child psychologist. In the afternoon, Jeziorski was expected to visit his ex-wife at her home in Agia Paraskevi to see the children, and at the time of the murder, he was outside his ex-wife’s house.
As soon as his ex-wife realized who the man who was murdered near her house was, she went to the Attica Police Department to give a statement. In fact, she also handed over her cell phone to the police, saying that she had nothing to hide.
UC Berkeley in its article on the tragedy noted that “Greek and international authorities are investigating Jeziorski’s death as a homicide.”
“I am heartbroken by news of the tragic and sudden death of Professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski, a beloved member of our marketing faculty and Haas community,” said UC Berkeley Hass Dean Jennifer Chatman in a statement. “While authorities are investigating what happened, our focus is on supporting our community during this difficult period. My heart goes out to Przemek’s family and loved ones. We will miss him.”
Jeziorski, a tenured associate professor of marketing who held the Egon and Joan von Kaschnitz Distinguished Professorship in Business Administration, “had a passion for teaching, and during his 13 years at Berkeley Haas he taught data analytics skills to more than 1,500 MBA and PhD students,” UC Berkeley reported, noting the praise of colleagues, one of whom called him one of the “leading scholars of his generation.”
In a 2017 study co-authored by Nicholas Economides of NYU’s Stern School of Business, Jeziorski analyzed transactions of 1.4 million customers of the Tanzanian mobile company Tigo, reaching the surprising conclusion that customers were using the service not just for payments but to avoid theft.
“This loss is a profound tragedy that reverberates throughout the entire Berkeley community,” said Professor Panos Patatoukas, the L.H. Penny Chair in Accounting, a colleague and friend. “I am deeply shocked, and my thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends around the world.”
Jeziorski is survived by his mother, Alicja Jeziorska; his brother, Lukasz Jeziorski, both of Gydnia, Poland; and his two children, Zoe and Angelo. He was predeceased by his father, Marian Jeziorski, in June 2025.
Jeziorski’s brother Lukasz Jeziorski, set up a fundraising campaign on WhyDonate, the European version of GoFundMe, writing that “my brother, Przemyslaw (Przemek) Jeziorski, was tragically killed in Athens on July 4, 2025. He was the victim of a terrible crime, and the perpetrator is still at large. Our family is heartbroken, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that justice is served.”
“To pursue legal action and support ongoing investigations, I have secured legal representation in Greece and will also need support for future legal processes in Poland and the United States,” Lukasz Jeziorski continued. “These efforts come with significant and urgent costs that my mother and I cannot manage on our own. We are asking for your help to raise funds for legal fees, the repatriation of Przemek’s remains to Poland, and related expenses.”
“Przemek was a loving father to two young children and a beloved professor at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley,” his brother wrote. “He was a leading scholar in marketing science, industrial organization and data analytics. He loved teaching and sharing his passion for the intricacies of marketing analytics and marketing science with his students.”
NOW ON TO THE FOLLOWUP HEADLINE STORY
The suspects arrested for
the murder of the 43-year-old Polish professor in Agia Paraskevi appear before
the prosecutor, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (EUROKINISSI)
Ex-Wife of Murdered US Professor Charged With Arranging Killing
July 17, 2025
The suspects arrested for the murder of the 43-year-old Polish professor in Agia Paraskevi appear before the prosecutor, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (EUROKINISSI)
ATHENS – The former wife of a Polish man who was an American professor as charged with arranging his shooting death while he was in Athens to visit their 10-year-old twins amid a custody dispute.
She was not named under Greek privacy laws but police charged her with orchestrating the murder of Przemyslaw Jeziorski, who taught at the University of California-Berkeley, and authorities said her current partner was the triggerman.
Jeziorski, 43, was shot five times in broad daylight on July 4 in the upscale Athens neighborhood of Agia Paraskevi while walking to her home to see their children.
A masked man gunned him down and three other men, two Albanians and a Bulgarian, were charged with complicity after reports they were supposed to intimidate him. Police said the three foreign nationals transported the alleged shooter to the scene and provided him with a Tokarev model automatic handgun used as the murder weapon.
Authorities said the victim and his ex-wife, who is Greek, were in the midst of a bitter custody battle over the children. Mega TV said the ex-wife called police to notify them of the shooting and gave her cellphone for inspection and said she had “nothing to hide.”
It wasn’t said what evidence led police to charge her and the others but she reportedly admitted the custody fight and claimed her ex-husband was “abusive,” among other complaints about him.
Hours before the killing both the victim and his ex-wife had visited a child psychologist, the TV station said. She and the alleged accomplices were given until July 21 to prepare their statements after appearing before a magistrate.
The man identified as the gunman faces charges of premeditated murder, illegal possession of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon. The ex-wife was charged with incitement to commit murder, while the others face charges of complicity.
She was said to be a 43-year-old economist and real estate company owner based in downtown Athens’ Kolonaki district but denied any involvement in the killing while the four men allegedly confessed, said Kathimerini.
Sources not named told the paper the ex-wife was driven by a major financial dispute over business dealings in the US, where the pair met and married and had children there.
In her initial statement to police, she also said he had a drinking problem, and that they would often fight about custody and visitation rights. Those allegations have since been disproven, according to reports, the paper said.
SO, WHAT’S YOUR THEORY?
––Jeff
Jeff’s upcoming events
2025
All Live Events
September 3 – 7 |
Bouchercon 2025 | New Orleans, LA
Friday, September 5, 4:00-4:45 p.m.
New Orleans Marriott—La Galeries 5-6
Panelist, “Tips and Tricks for Keeping a Series Fresh,” with Anne Cleeland,
Marcy McCreary, Charles Todd, Tessa Wegert, and Moderator Deborah Dobbs
Saturday, September 6,
10:30-11:25 a.m.
New Orleans Marriott—La Galerie 3
Panelist, “No Passport Required: International Mysteries and Thrillers,” with
Barbara Gayle Austin, Cara Black, Joseph Finder, J.L. Hancock, and Moderator
Mark Ellis
Wednesday, September 17,
6:30 p.m.
Greek National Tourist Organization
Presentation of the literary work of Jeffrey Siger
Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum
Kallisperi 12, Acropolis
