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FINDING A MURDERER
My mum was brutally murdered in Crete but now after 15 years I’ve finally worked out who killed her
Jean Hanlon's death was initially ruled as accidental drowning
WITH beautiful blue waters and tiny fishing boats bobbing about, the Greek holiday resort of Heraklion in Crete is a picture-perfect paradise.
But for Michael Porter the isle holds a dark secret — and one he is determined to uncover.
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His mother Jean Hanlon, 53, was found dead four days after going missing — and now, after police have officially reopened the case, the family believe they know who the killer is.
In 2009, the mum of three’s body washed up in the harbour covered in injuries, decomposed almost beyond recognition.
Despite sinister evidence to suggest she had been murdered — including diary entries and a final text reading “HELP” — her death was initially ruled as accidental drowning.
For 15 years, Michael and his brothers Robert, 49, and David, 45, have been seeking justice.
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Now a private investigator has finally given them hope.
West End ticketing assistant Michael, 39, from Bromley, Kent, says: “He went back to the beginning and has found new evidence enabling us to get the police to reopen the case.
“We finally feel like we’re getting somewhere, but it’s frustrating as it could have been solved long ago if fully investigated.”
Growing up in Dumfries in Scotland, Michael has fond memories of his single mum, who worked three jobs to provide for her family.
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He says: “We were super close. She was the life and soul of the party.”
Jean went on her first-ever holiday abroad to Crete in the Nineties, and in 2005 decided to move to Kato Gouves on the island.
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Michael says: “She loved it. She’d built up a circle of friends and was so happy.
“I went out to visit her and we spent the whole time dancing, sunbathing and singing.
“Mum’s karaoke song of choice was Whitney Houston, but she was awful at singing!
“She wanted to show me off to everybody, which I found so embarrassing but I know she was just really proud.”
Jean usually returned home every winter, but in 2008 she decided to stay.
In March 2009, Michael spoke to her for the last time, three days before she disappeared.
He says: “She was happy. There was nothing suspicious.”
Then, on March 9, Jean went out shopping before meeting a friend.
Michael says: “We later discovered she mentioned she thought a green car had been following her.
"We now know mum then headed to the seafront and had an interview for a job at a bar.
'I badly wanted to hold her'
“The owner said she was in good spirits, but she left before finishing her wine.
“After that, we don’t really know what happened, but we believe she went home and then ended up in the capital Heraklion, which is about a 25- minute drive away.
“We’ve found out recently she called two people that night, telling them she was with someone — a man who we believe we now know the identity of — who didn’t speak very good English and was a bit of a bore.
"Then the last text she sent to one friend just said ‘help’.”
The friend told police he called her back and she insisted everything was fine.
She called again later but he had already gone to bed and didn’t pick up.
She was reported missing the next day, after failing to turn up to look after a friend’s daughter.
Michael says: “My brother rang and told me mum was missing.
"Initially I thought maybe it was a drama out of nothing, but I began to fear the worst.”
On March 13, Michael and his brothers were about to board a plane when they received a call from police to say a body had been recovered in the water at Heraklion’s port.
Michael says: “We flew out hoping it wasn’t our mum.”
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Later that day, their hopes were shattered and they were asked to identify Jean’s body.
Michael recalls: “No one prepared us for how harrowing it was going to be.
“The image and smell will never leave me. The only good thing, as horrible as it sounds, was that she was unrecognisable.
“It was only when we saw her clothes we knew it was her.
“I badly wanted to hold her”.
Unable to grieve, Michael threw himself into finding answers, saying:
“Everything was so surreal.
“I didn’t even allow myself to cry — we were just in shock.
“I went into investigative mode.
"I took pictures of mum’s clothes they’d laid out and already had so many questions — ‘What’s that mark? Why are the jeans torn?’
"It was my way of dealing with it.”
The initial post-mortem examination results concluded she drowned, and the case was quickly closed.
We knew she was looking for love, and she’d documented dates she’d been on in her diary
Michael Porter
Michael says: “We always thought it was suspicious and didn’t believe she’d drowned.”
Jean’s funeral was held in Dumfries in June 2009.
Michael says: “We played Hold Me Close as she was a massive David Essex fan.
“On her headstone it also reads, ‘Hold me close, don’t let me go’.”
A year later, after exhaustive campaigning including fundraising and speaking to the media to gain publicity, Jean’s death was finally treated as a crime after a second coroner’s report.
The updated report from the initial post mortem revealed she had suffered extensive injuries likely inflicted before her body entered the water, including a broken neck, shattered ribs, punctured lung and facial injuries.
Michael says: “We were so frustrated that the police hadn’t investigated as thoroughly as we hoped, and there were so many unanswered questions and inconsistencies.
“She was supposedly meeting a man she didn’t know, but there was nothing to suggest she was planning to meet a stranger.
“She didn’t drive, so how did she get from the village to the capital so quickly?”
Three people were on the police’s radar at various times — but no one was ever charged — and the mystery man Jean was with was never identified.
Michael says: “We knew she was looking for love, and she’d documented dates she’d been on in her diary.
“But she never just met up with random men, so we think the person she was with was already known to her.
“She also wrote that one relationship with a Greek man had grown tense so it wasn’t going to last, but it didn’t seem like they’d been dating long.”
'Incriminating evidence'
The case, over the years, was re-opened three times previously.
In 2012, two men were questioned but released without charge.
Now, after 15 years of tireless campaigning, the Greek police last month reopened the case for the fourth — and hopefully final — time.
Michael believes the investigator’s explosive new report finally identifies a key suspect.
He says: “They’ve found so much incriminating evidence, it would be scandalous to not prosecute this person.
"It’s amazing they’ve slipped through the net for so long.
“There are witnesses. Finally, everything just makes sense now.
“She’d spoken to other people before she died who were never even interviewed.
“I’m hopeful this time we will finally get mum justice. We’re nearly there.
"We just need the police to interrogate the new suspect, as he’s clearly thought for all these years he’s got away with it.”
Seeking justice has not come cheap.
Michael estimates the family have spent well over £20,000 on investigation and legal costs, which, as Michael says: “No one should ever have to do to get answers.”
He adds: “Nothing is ever going to bring her back, but getting justice would mean mum can finally rest in peace, and we can begin to grieve properly.
“I will not stop until that happens.”
- Next month Michael is doing a skydive to raise funds to continue his fight for justice. To donate, see bit.ly/justiceforjean.
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TIMELINE OF CASE
- March 9, 2009: Jean Hanlon last seen alive.
- March 13: Jean’s body recovered from the sea off Heraklion. Her death is ruled as drowning and the case closed that year.
- 2011: Case reopened after a second coroner’s report released and Jean’s death ruled as “foul play”.
- 2012: Murder detectives question two men but both released without charge and court rules there would be no prosecutions.
- 2019: Jean’s case reopened following television documentary, but it fails to secure a breakthrough.
- 2020: Family issue fresh appeal on the Greek equivalent of Crimewatch.
- 2021: Third investigation opens but is closed due to lack of evidence, investigated by the Greek police department which looks in to organised crime.
- 2024: Private investigator produces new 29-page report claiming to name a person responsible for Jean’s death, and the case is reopened by police for a fourth time.