Brazilian investigators said today that a policeman in Rio de Janeiro confessed to stabbing to death the Greek ambassador at the direction of the diplomat's wife, who was the officer's lover.
The wife, the policeman and the officer's cousin - who allegedly acted as a lookout and helped transfer the ambassador's body - are all being held in jails as the investigation continues, the investigators told a news conference in Rio.
The body of Greek ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis was found in a burnt-out rental car under a motorway bypass.
Mr Amiridis had been on holiday with his family in Nova Iguacu, on Rio's north side, since 21 December.
He had been due to fly back to Brasilia on 9 January, a Greek embassy official said.
But he went missing on Monday night, after leaving the apartment they was renting and taking the car, according to Brazilian media.
His Brazilian wife, Francoise Amiridis, formally reported him missing on Wednesday.
Mr Amiridis had previously served as Greece's consul general in Rio from 2001 to 2004.
He served as Greece's ambassador to Libya from 2012 to 2016.
He has one daughter, according to the embassy in Brasilia.
