Real estate can be deadly: British tycoon kills stubborn tenant
Filed under: People
Businesses, insurers, and other analysts have often sought to put a price tag on the value of a human life. In the health-care debate, for example, the magic number is $129,000; by comparison, when Ford designed the Pinto, its number-crunchers determined that the company's customers (or at least the lawsuits that they were likely to generate) were worth $200,000 apiece. Meanwhile, as people sell kidneys for as little as $6,000, it seems like a life might be worth even less if it is sold a la carte.In 2000, faced with an inconvenient tenant who stood in the way of a $3.8 million deal, British businessman Thanos Papalexis determined that a human life was worth approximately $500,000. That was the amount that he stood to make on a real estate deal. This assumed, however, that he was able to get rid of Charalambos Christodoulides, the shy, quiet man who lived near a London warehouse that Papalexis was trying to sell.
On March 10, 2000, Papalexis brokered the deal, but Christodoulides, who friends called "Bambi," refused to leave his apartment on the grounds. Soon after, the 55-year old man went missing. After a few days, his family reported his disappearance to the police, and his body was found two weeks later in the inspection pit of a nearby garage. He had been beaten and strangled, his corpse soaked with paint thinner to throw police dogs off the scent.
By 2009, however, it had all begun to fall apart. He was fighting against creditors, and was in arrears on rent for his mansion. Worse yet, his girlfriend -- a former porn star and prostitute who charged almost $2,500 per night -- had turned on him. During a fight, the woman, Rebecca deFalco, asked him if he'd ever killed anyone and Papalexis told her the story of Bambi, a "nobody" who "got in the way."
In many ways, DeFalco represented another side of Papalexis' life. In addition to his gilded lifestyle as a member of Palm Beach's elite, he was also a sadist who described himself on one website as "The King of his own realm." Certainly, his darker pursuits played a part in Christodoulides' murder: before strangling the shy, lonely man, Papalexis brutally tortured him.
On Friday, a British court found Paplexis guilty of the crime, but failed to reach a verdict on his Albanian henchmen. He will be sentenced later this month.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 13)
9-09-2009 @ 8:07AM
Jo said...
Your unintelligences is showing, as what you have to say has nothing to do with the subject.
This guy was one of the most self asorbed people I have heard of, I hope he gets life in prison and never a chance to get out. But then again send him to the war zone, front of the line, good place for him. Let him feel the fear that he instilled in his poor victim.
9-09-2009 @ 6:43AM
Denotchka said...
What a slimeball. I hope he gets his just desserts- and if anything when they convict the self-absorbed, self confident nut-job he suddenly gets a conscience and repents of being such an evil little monster. Otherwise- well I'm not gonna go there - there might actually be kids on here at this point.
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9-09-2009 @ 6:54AM
robert james said...
He probably takes his powdered eggs over easy.Bon Apitite
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9-09-2009 @ 6:59AM
Ronie said...
The moral of this story ? Nerver commit a crime with any but yourself.
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9-09-2009 @ 10:21AM
Vincent said...
Absolutely.....
9-09-2009 @ 11:00AM
tom said...
I have violated myself repeatedly, and am ready to sue!!
9-09-2009 @ 1:49PM
bob said...
hahaha tom
9-10-2009 @ 12:29PM
mike said...
AMEN You can only trust yourself. And you certainly cant trust a women that your fighting with,
9-09-2009 @ 7:17AM
Michelle said...
Hmm. This rich guy is more of a nobody then that little shy man ever was. Poor guy. Atleast this one is gonna rot in a prison cell. :) Go justice!
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9-09-2009 @ 7:15AM
CanuckColly said...
That is one way to make money but its the totally wrong way too. This guy has to have something totally wrong with him to actually kill a guy and torture him before finishing him off then soaking the guys corpse in Paint thinner. I Think this guy should get 25 years to life that is just so wrong and gross.
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9-09-2009 @ 8:16AM
Chuck said...
You speak as if someone is forcing you to be be truthful.
The murdering scumbag should have an enema of turpentine inserted in his rectum topped off with a lit moltov cocktail
9-09-2009 @ 8:42AM
sharpizzle said...
25 years for killing someone? Really?
He needs to rot in the joint.
9-09-2009 @ 9:07AM
Patrick said...
He deserves nothing short of a life sentence in the worst prison there is. He's a self centered greedy individual who tortured and murdered a poor innocent man who didn't want to give up his place of residence. If he had any BUSSINESS sense at all he would have agreed to rent the man another place and paid for a years rent for him in advance out of the $500,000 profit that he stood to make on the sale of the property. Instead he took the wrong way out, thinking of himself only and because of this he will pay with his freedom.
9-09-2009 @ 9:55AM
gerard said...
25 to life???? You wonder why this world is heading in the direction it is. Death penalty arguments aside, the minimum should be life without parole period. And no whiny do gooders asking for his release when he's 85 and "no threat" anymore. Wake up people - ascribe the same value to the scumbags life that he did to those he killed
9-09-2009 @ 11:23AM
boli49 said...
Just to clarify. 25 to life means serving 25 years before being ELIGIBLE for parole. It doesn't mean he'll GET it. (Caps for emphasis, not to yell) For example, look at Charles Manson, he hasn't got parole yet(and IMO shouldn't).
9-09-2009 @ 12:33PM
Inkling said...
OK, so the rich guy tortured his victim slowly and then killed him. That is not much different from the rich insurance, banking, and oil and energy corporations that torture it's victims slowly by screwing them out of their last dime and then watching them slowly die from starvation.
9-09-2009 @ 12:09PM
Kimakazi said...
Here in Texas he'd get the chair.....YAYYY TEXAS lol
9-09-2009 @ 12:25PM
Kevin said...
This narcissistic dirtbag deserves to be placed in his "throne" (if for no other reason then having one in his office) strapped down, soaked in turpentine and hand the victims family a book of matches.
A Throne in his office!!??? If I were to walk in and see that as a client I would be dumbfounded to the point of imobility just before crapping myself with laughter.
9-09-2009 @ 7:31AM
aly said...
Lets hope he doesn't get terminal cancer the British government may release him on compassionate grounds.
That greedy A__hole needs to spend the rest of his life in jail.
I am British and I'm totally disgusted with their criminal system.
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9-09-2009 @ 7:52AM
CSC said...
Y is it every1 tends to put other things on here not related to what it is suppose to be?How annoying r these people? go somewhere else.
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