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Rare Retrial Begins in Killing of American in Greece

Bakari Henderson, of Texas, was beaten to death in 2017. The men convicted in his case were found guilty of assault, but prosecutors are trying again with murder charges.

By Niki Kitsantonis

ATHENS — In the summer of 2017, Bakari Henderson, a 22-year-old American student, was beaten to death on the Greek holiday island of Zakynthos. The men convicted in Mr. Henderson’s case were initially charged with murder, but a court instead found them guilty of assault and most have served their sentences and been released.

On Wednesday, a court began in earnest to retry the case, again on murder charges, after the defense requested a delay on Monday. The retrial comes after a prosecutor deemed the assault convictions and subsequent sentences too lenient.

“We’re starting from the very beginning, a blank slate,” said Christos Kaklamanis, the lawyer representing the family. “They all face murder charges.”

This type of retrial is rare. The concept of double jeopardy is applied in Greece, but it only attaches if a verdict is final. Since the original decision was appealed by a prosecutor, it was not final and there can be a new trial on the same original charges.

The deadly assault, which followed an argument at a bar, made international headlines , and Mr. Henderson’s family returned to Greece for the start of the retrial.

Postponed several times because of the coronavirus pandemic and legal obstacles, the new trial finally got underway in the city of Patras, in western Greece, on Wednesday. The defendants were five Serbian nationals and a Briton of Bosnian descent. A seventh man, a Greek national who was released in the first trial after a conviction for simple assault with time served in pretrial custody, was exempted from the retrial, his lawyer, Dimitris Gavelas, said.

Little progress was made on Wednesday, however, with the proceedings adjourned until March 11, the first day on which the three judges and prosecutor were available to appear together.

In comments to reporters outside the courthouse in Patras, the victim’s father, Phil Henderson, said that the family would return to the United States for the time being. “I was hoping that we could move forward,” he said, looking visibly disheartened. “We’re going to have to wait for justice,” he added.

Testifying in court earlier, Mr. Henderson said that the family was still struggling to process the brutality of the attack. “Nobody called 911, nobody helped him,” he said. “They left him bleeding on the street and went back to the bar like nothing happened.”

Mr. Kaklamanis, the Henderson family lawyer, expressed relief that the retrial had finally begun despite the swift adjournment. “I’m confident that Greek judges and jurors will rule fairly in a case that saw a young man lose his life so unfairly and in such a horrific way,” Mr. Kaklamanis said.

Bakari Henderson, a college graduate from Austin, Texas, had been traveling in Greece with friends and working on a photography shoot for the opening of a clothing line at the time of the attack, in July 2017.

Video from security cameras at the party resort of Laganas in Zakynthos shows a savage assault. A swarm of men can be seen chasing Mr. Henderson down a street before throwing him against a parked car and punching and kicking him repeatedly. A Greek police spokesman said at the time that Mr. Henderson died within 30 seconds.

Witness testimony suggested that the attack may have been racially motivated. A female bartender told investigators that when she had posed for a selfie with Mr. Henderson, who was Black, a man standing nearby commented: “There are a lot of Serbs in the bar. Why are you talking to a Black guy?”

She said the man then punched Mr. Henderson, who responded by hitting him over the head with a beer bottle. That exchange was also captured on video inside the bar.

Of the nine men initially charged in the beating, six were jailed. The Briton received the longest sentence: 15 years in prison. Five of the Serbian suspects got sentences from five to 10 years but have since been released (under the Greek penal code and parole system, actual time spent in prison generally ends up being less than half the sentences meted out in court).

Mr. Henderson’s family wants the attackers to serve the maximum penalty for murder, a life sentence, though practically in Greece that means 20 years in prison.

“After being slapped in the face, Bakari was defending himself in what started as a one-on-one incident that stopped when they went outside,” Jill Henderson, Bakari’s mother, said in an email before the retrial began.

“So for the mob to then chase Bakari down,” she wrote, “beat him to death, and leave him in the street to die is not a fight but a slaughter, which was inhumane and barbaric behavior.”

Mrs. Henderson, who has since established a foundation to provide support for families in mourning, added, “Justice will be served when all defendants are charged with intentional homicide, sentenced accordingly, and extradited back to Greece to serve their full sentences.”

To secure more severe terms, the prosecution must convince the court that the assailants intended to kill Mr. Henderson. If the retrial produces assault convictions again, some of the convicts might end up spending very little or no additional time in prison, Mr. Kaklamanis, the family’s lawyer, said.

Convictions for assault in Greece carry terms of five to 15 years, though time served is usually much less.

Defense lawyers have insisted that Mr. Henderson’s death was tragic but unintentional. Agamemnon Tatsis, the lawyer for two of the Serbs, including the one who threw the first punch, said that his clients did not deserve additional sentences. “They’ve paid for what they did,” he said. And he said that Mr. Henderson provoked the attack by using a beer bottle in responding to the initial blow.

Athanassios Tartis, the lawyer for the Briton, said that his client “felt the weight” of his part in the attack but that the fatal blows came from others.

Violent fights are not unusual in Laganas, a resort that attracts young tourists with cheap alcohol and often raucous gatherings. Deaths are uncommon though. A British man was stabbed to death in Laganas in 2011, shocking the island community.

In recent years, the Greek authorities have sought to crack down on alcohol-fueled offenses in Laganas, while trying to sustain the foreign tourism on which the local economy depends. Last summer, the authorities introduced 24-hour police patrols and restricted traffic on the central road in Laganas after a spate of violent brawls in the area.

Mrs. Henderson said that she hoped the retrial would bring the family closure. “The past five years have been exhausting and sometimes overwhelming because it feels like a dark cloud lingering over us,” she said. “The defendants did not show ownership or remorse for their actions which adds salt to our open wounds.”

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Family Of Black American Killed In Greece Over Selfie In 2017 Still Waiting For Retrial

Though authorities claim he was beaten to death by a group of men over a selfie he supposedly took, Bakari Henderson's family believe he was murdered because of his race.  

The family of a Black American tourist who was attacked by a mob of men outside a Greek bar and beaten to death is still demanding justice five years after his life was taken.

Bakari Henderson, 22, was found dead outside a drinking establishment in Zakynthos in 2017 after several men chased him through the streets, encircled him and beat him to death in a matter of seconds. The altercation was captured by surveillance cameras.

According to Greek authorities, Henderson was attacked over a selfie he’d reportedly snapped with a bar waitress.

Henderson, a college graduate from Texas, was reportedly first punched by a Serbian man who was enraged that he’d taken the photograph with a server. A number of men then chased Henderson outside and allegedly beat him to death in under a minute, local authorities said.

Five Serbian nationals and a British man of Serbian origin, as well as a Greek man, were charged in the aftermath of the fatal attack and found guilty of deadly assault.

His family have long-maintained the attack was actually fueled by racial discrimination.

"Somebody getting beaten to death over a selfie? It just makes no sense," Henderson’s mother Jill, told CBS Mornings news anchor Gayle King during a televised interview that aired on Thursday. "It's very hard to imagine that people would have that much hate to do something [like that] to another human being."

In 2018, however, Greek prosecutors ordered a retrial on upgraded murder charges for six of the seven suspects, the Associated Press reported . The case has been postponed for years since then.

"It's been a lot of highs, but mostly lows trying to process the grief," Jill Henderson added during her CBS interview.

However, the Henderson family is now preparing to travel back to Greece to sit-in on proceedings in the approaching retrial.

"I just truly hope this time that they really view Bakari as a child of God and the human that he is ... as someone that could be their brother, their son, their grandson, their nephew, their friend," his mother also said. "I really want them to be able to understand that when they're doing the sentencing this time." 

Henderson, an aspiring fashion designer, had been in Greece promoting a new fashion line.

"I don't think they view us Black people the same as they do white people over there," his father, Phil Henderson told CBS. "And I felt that in the trial and in the results of the trial, that they treated and felt like he was less than a man."

Henderson’s friends had challenged the Greek authorities' narrative from the case’s early stages,

"He is not the type of guy who would get into a confrontation,” Astrid Von Ehren told PEOPLE.com in 2017. “What happened is unbelievable. He stopped confrontations. He was one of the last boys on earth who would do something like that. There is no way. It is such a tragic story.”

"He’s the kind of guy who literally makes friends anywhere he goes,” childhood friend John Gramlich also told the Associated Press in 2017. “It’s not in his character at all to be aggressive or instigate anything. He’s always the guy who is calming people down, really.”

Attempts to reach Henderson’s family independently on Friday were unsuccessful. 

Theodore Chronopoulos, a Greek police public information officer, also wasn’t immediately available when contacted regarding the case by Oxygen.com on Friday.

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Seven shock details in murder of American tourist Bakari Henderson, 22, who was beaten to death by a mob over a selfie

• Caitlin Hornik
• Published : 19:19 ET, Feb 10 2022
• Updated : 19:19 ET, Feb 10 2022

SHOCK details have emerged in the murder of American tourist Bakari Henderson, who was beaten to death by a mob over a selfie.

Henderson was on vacation in Zakynthos, Greece in July 2017 to shoot photos for his new clothing line when the incident occurred.

No one has been convicted in Henderson's murder.

But now, nearly five years later, a retrial could finally lead to a conviction in the shocking case.

Incident was over a selfie

Henderson reportedly was out in the village of Laganas with friends the night of the incident.

A waitress allegedly took a selfie with Henderson, who was the only Black man in the group.

A man who saw the selfie being captured approached Henderson and the waitress and exchanged words before punching the man.

Henderson was then chased out of the bar and quickly surrounded by other men, according to reports.

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Attack captured on surveillance footage.

The entire attack was captured on surveillance footage.

During the attack, the group is shown beating Henderson against a car, and then again on the ground.

Dead in 30 seconds

The group of attackers beat Henderson and left him lying motionless in the street.

He was dead less than 30 seconds after being surrounded by the mob.

None found guilty of murder

In 2018, nine of the people accused of attacking Henderson were tried.

Six were charged with intentional homicide.

In Greece, this charge carries a life sentence.

However, they were not convicted of murder. Instead, the six were found guilty of assault.

Family having to go through retrial

The prosecutor in the original trial ordered a retrial on the same charges.

However, it has been delayed by more than two years due to the Covid pandemic.

It's now set to begin on February 21, 2022.

Henderson's parents will return to Greece for the retrial.

He was in Greece to launch his clothing line

Henderson was on the Greek island to shoot photos for his clothing line.

He had brought samples of his clothing with him and was working with models during the trip.

Picked up by Amazon after his death

In the aftermath of Henderson's death, his clothing line has taken off.

His parents started Bakari Luxury Sportswear as a way to honor their son after his death.

Read More on The US Sun

Isabella Strahan in good spirts during public outing after 3rd brain surgery

Kristin Smart's killer 'deserves second prison beating' her friend says

They reportedly found Henderson's journal after his death, which outlined plans and sketches for his clothing line, and were able to launch the line.

Amazon recently picked up Bakari Luxury Sportswear to be featured as a Black-owned small business store.

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Father of U.S. tourist killed in Greece speaks on seeing son's attackers in court ahead of retrial

“CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King sits down with the parents of Bakari Henderson for their first interview before they return to Greece for a retrial in their son's murder case. Bakari Henderson, a Black American, was 22 years old when he was chased down by a group of mostly Serbian men and beaten to death during a business trip in Zakynthos, Greece in 2017.

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American tourist killed in Greece was fatally beaten over a selfie, police say

American Bakari Henderson was killed by a group of as many as 15 men because of an argument over a selfie at a bar on a Greek island, police said.

A confrontation began after Henderson, who was vacationing with friends, asked to take a picture with a waitress, and quickly escalated into a fistfight involving other customers and two bar employees, Greek police spokesman Theodore Chronopoulos told The Washington Post. The 22-year-old recent graduate of the University of Arizona was fatally beaten in a span of just 30 seconds, Chronopoulos said.

“They kicked and punched him to his body and his head,” he said. “His death came from hits in his head.”

Nine men have been arrested and charged with intentional homicide.

UPDATE: Family of Bakari Henderson releases statement https://t.co/3oYa1Dgkif pic.twitter.com/6HEBffQSyy — KXAN News (@KXAN_News) July 8, 2017

The fight happened during a bar night devoted to Serbians. Chronopoulos said one of the suspects, a 33-year-old Serbian, got in an argument with the waitress over the selfie. He also hit Henderson, who then smashed a beer bottle on the other customer's table, Chronopoulos said. Soon, about 10 to 15 men chased Henderson outside the bar and immediately caught him. They left him lying on the ground after beating him.

A 15-minute surveillance video posted on YouTube shows Henderson running when a group of men smashed him against a car, beating and kicking him. The crowd around him dispersed after several seconds, and about two minutes into the video, someone can be seen performing CPR on him.

Chronopoulos, who confirmed to The Post that the video is authentic, said Henderson was running away from the suspects, the majority of whom are Serbians.

The police account of how the fight started inside the bar in Laganas, a tourist village on the island of Zakynthos,  differs from descriptions by  Henderson's friends, who said he was minding his own business when the suspects confronted him.

Daniel Brown, one of three friends who were with Henderson in Zakynthos, told ABC News that they were speaking to no one when the suspects initiated the fight. He said they immediately started CPR on Henderson after the suspects left and rushed him to a hospital.

Travis Jenkins, another friend,  told ABC News  that Henderson was not the type to start or get involved in a fight.

“He was always the one who was the peacemaker,” Jenkins said.

John Gramlich, a childhood friend, agreed.

“It's not in his character at all to be aggressive or instigate anything,” he told the Associated Press . “He's always the guy who is calming people down, really.”

Henderson's friends did not immediately reply to Facebook messages requesting comment.

Jan Richardson, Henderson's aunt and a spokeswoman for the family, said they have not received any details from investigators about what happened.

“There'd been lots of rumors floating around,” she told The Post. “We don't have any official notice of what happened other than the fact, of course, that he was killed.”

‘He was just starting his life’: Friends, family mourn American tourist killed in Greece bar fight

Two of the suspects, a 34-year-old bartender from Greece and a 32-year-old security guard who is a British citizen of Serbian origin, were immediately arrested. Six more — Serbian natives ages 18 to 25 — were arrested later after they were identified from surveillance videos and police raided the hotel where they were staying, authorities said. Photos and videos taken from Zakynthos show some of the suspects covering their faces as they were being escorted by police.

A ninth suspect, the 33-year-old Serbian who police say started the fight, was arrested Tuesday, Chronopoulos said.

It's unclear whether all the suspects know each other, but Chronopoulos said the waitress possibly knows some of the men. He said Henderson's friends did not get involved in the fight.

The suspects are scheduled to appear in court this week. A judge is expected to decide if they should be kept in police custody while awaiting trial.

Chronopoulos said police are prohibited by law from releasing the suspects' names.

Henderson's friends have created a  GoFundMe page  to raise money for his funeral and transportation costs to return his body to the United States. More than $45,000 had been raised as of Tuesday afternoon.

“The love for this young man overflows and this loss is unbearable for so many of us,” according to the page. “If you knew Bakari you knew he was driven in life and no goal is never set too high for him to achieve. He was just starting his life, so many dreams and aspirations yet to be achieved.”

Richardson said family members are expecting to bring the body back to the United States sometime this week.

Friends say Texan killed in Greece was easygoing, fun-loving

Henderson, who was from Austin, was in Greece for a photo shoot to launch his new clothing line,  his family said in a statement last week . He attended the University of Arizona on a full academic scholarship and graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in business finance and entrepreneurship, as well as a certificate in sports management. He also had internships with the Texas legislature, including the House speaker's office, his family said.

“As you can imagine, our family is devastated by the recent loss of our beloved son Bakari Jaward Henderson,” his family said in the statement, adding later: “Bakari loved spending time with family and friends, traveling, and meeting new people. He was a big thinker and enjoyed coming up with new business ventures. Bakari was an inspiration to all he met. He loved life to the fullest.”

University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins said  in a statement  that the school is “shocked and saddened” by Henderson's death.

“Our hearts and prayers are with his friends and family. I can only imagine the deep sense of loss they must be feeling at his untimely death,” Robbins said. “It is always a tragedy when a young life ends before it has really yet to begin.”

Pavlos Kolokotsas, mayor of Zakynthos,  told Kathimerini , an English newspaper in Athens, that the island often attracts alcohol-fueled fights. Zakynthos, the third-largest island in the Ionian Sea, is known for its crystal-clear waters, limestone cliffs and a nightlife that draws young tourists.

This story, originally published on July 11, 2017, has been updated.

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American tourist killed in Greece was fatally beaten over a selfie: police

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American Bakari Henderson was killed by a group of as many as 15 men because of an argument over a selfie at a bar on a Greek island, police said.

A confrontation began after Henderson, who was vacationing with friends, tried to take a picture with a waitress, and quickly escalated into a fistfight involving other customers and two bar employees, Greek police spokesman Theodore Chronopoulos told The Washington Post. Video surveillance shows that the 22-year-old recent graduate of the University of Arizona was fatally beaten in a span of just 30 seconds

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“They kicked and punched him to his body and his head,” Chronopoulos said. “His death came from hits in his head.”

Nine men have been arrested and charged with intentional homicide, Chronopoulos said.

The fight happened during a bar night devoted to Serbians. Chronopoulos said one of the suspects, a 33-year-old Serbian, got in an argument with the waitress over the selfie. He also hit Henderson, who then smashed a beer bottle on the other customer’s table, Chronopoulos said. Soon, about 10 to 15 men chased Henderson outside the bar and immediately caught him. They left him lying on the ground after beating him.

The police account of what happened early Friday morning at a bar in Laganas, a tourist village on the island of Zakynthos, differs from descriptions by Henderson’s friends, who said he was minding his own business when the suspects started the fight.

Daniel Brown, one of three friends who were with Henderson in Zakynthos, told ABC News that they were minding their own business and speaking to no one when the suspects started the fight. He said they immediately started CPR on Henderson after the suspects left and rushed him to a hospital.

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Travis Jenkins, another friend, told ABC News that Henderson was not the type to start or get involved in a fight.

It's not in his character at all to be aggressive or instigate anything

“He was always the one who was the peacemaker,” Jenkins said.

John Gramlich, a childhood friend, agreed.

“It’s not in his character at all to be aggressive or instigate anything,” he told the Associated Press. “He’s always the guy who is calming people down, really.”

Henderson’s friends did not immediately reply to Facebook messages requesting comment.

Jan Richardson, Henderson’s aunt and a spokeswoman for the family, said they have not received any details from investigators about what happened.

“There’d been lots of rumors floating around,” she told The Post. “We don’t have any official notice of what happened other than the fact, of course, that he was killed.”

Two of the suspects, a 34-year-old bartender from Greece and a 32-year-old security guard who is a British citizen of Serbian origin, were immediately arrested. Six more – Serbian natives ages 18 to 25 – were arrested later after they were identified from surveillance videos and police raided the hotel where they were staying, authorities said. Photos and videos taken from Zakynthos show some of the suspects covering their faces as they were being escorted by police.

A ninth suspect, the 33-year-old Serbian who police say started the fight, was arrested Tuesday, Chronopoulos said.

It’s unclear whether all the suspects know each other, but Chronopoulos said the waitress possibly knows some of the men. He said Henderson’s friends did not get involved in the fight.

Eight of the suspects were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, but the hearing was moved to Wednesday and Thursday to give their lawyers time to prepare, the Associated Press reported. A judge will decide whether they should be kept in police custody while awaiting trial.

Five of the suspects are scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, when they are expected to give an apology, Chronopoulos said. Three others will appear Thursday. The ninth suspect arrested Tuesday is scheduled for a Friday hearing.

Henderson’s friends have created a GoFundMe page to raise money for his funeral and for transportation costs to return his body to the United States. More than $45,000 had been raised as of Tuesday afternoon.

“The love for this young man overflows and this loss is unbearable for so many of us,” according to the page. “If you knew Bakari you knew he was driven in life and no goal is never set to high for him to achieve. He was just starting his life, so many dreams and aspirations yet to be achieved.”

Richardson said family members are expecting to bring the body back to the United States sometime this week.

Henderson, who was from Austin, was in Greece for a photo shoot to launch his new clothing line, his family said in a statement last week. He attended the University of Arizona on a full academic scholarship and graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in business finance and entrepreneurship, as well as a certificate in sports management. He also had internships with the Texas legislature, including the House speaker’s office, his family said.

“As you can imagine, our family is devastated by the recent loss of our beloved son Bakari Jaward Henderson,” his family said in the statement, adding later: “Bakari loved spending time with family and friends, traveling, and meeting new people. He was a big thinker and enjoyed coming up with new business ventures. Bakari was an inspiration to all he met. He loved life to the fullest.”

University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins said in a statement that the school is “shocked and saddened” by Henderson’s death.

“Our hearts and prayers are with his friends and family. I can only imagine the deep sense of loss they must be feeling at his untimely death,” Robbins said. “It is always a tragedy when a young life ends before it has really yet to begin.”

Pavlos Kolokotsas, mayor of Zakynthos, told Kathimerini, an English newspaper in Athens, that the island often attracts alcohol-fueled fights. Zakynthos, the third-largest island in the Ionian Sea, is known for its crystal-clear waters, limestone cliffs and a nightlife that draws young tourists.

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National News | American tourist killed in Greece was fatally…

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National news | american tourist killed in greece was fatally beaten over a selfie, police say.

American Bakari Henderson was killed by a group of as many as 15 men because of an argument over a selfie at a bar on a Greek island, police said.

A confrontation began after Henderson, who was vacationing with friends, tried to take a picture with a waitress, and quickly escalated into a fistfight involving other customers and two bar employees, Greek police spokesman Theodore Chronopoulos told The Washington Post. Video surveillance shows that the 22-year-old recent graduate of the University of Arizona was fatally beaten in a span of just 30 seconds

“They kicked and punched him to his body and his head,” Chronopoulos said. “His death came from hits in his head.”

Nine men have been arrested and charged with intentional homicide, Chronopoulos said.

The fight happened during a bar night devoted to Serbians. Chronopoulos said one of the suspects, a 33-year-old Serbian, got in an argument with the waitress over the selfie. He also hit Henderson, who then smashed a beer bottle on the other customer’s table, Chronopoulos said. Soon, about 10 to 15 men chased Henderson outside the bar and immediately caught him. They left him lying on the ground after beating him.

The police account of what happened early Friday morning at a bar in Laganas, a tourist village on the island of Zakynthos, differs from descriptions by Henderson’s friends, who said he was minding his own business when the suspects started the fight.

Daniel Brown, one of three friends who were with Henderson in Zakynthos, told ABC News that they were minding their own business and speaking to no one when the suspects started the fight. He said they immediately started CPR on Henderson after the suspects left and rushed him to a hospital.

Travis Jenkins, another friend, told ABC News that Henderson was not the type to start or get involved in a fight.

“He was always the one who was the peacemaker,” Jenkins said.

John Gramlich, a childhood friend, agreed.

“It’s not in his character at all to be aggressive or instigate anything,” he told the Associated Press. “He’s always the guy who is calming people down, really.”

Henderson’s friends did not immediately reply to Facebook messages requesting comment.

Jan Richardson, Henderson’s aunt and a spokeswoman for the family, said they have not received any details from investigators about what happened.

“There’d been lots of rumors floating around,” she told The Post. “We don’t have any official notice of what happened other than the fact, of course, that he was killed.”

Two of the suspects, a 34-year-old bartender from Greece and a 32-year-old security guard who is a British citizen of Serbian origin, were immediately arrested. Six more — Serbian natives ages 18 to 25 — were arrested later after they were identified from surveillance videos and police raided the hotel where they were staying, authorities said. Photos and videos taken from Zakynthos show some of the suspects covering their faces as they were being escorted by police.

A ninth suspect, the 33-year-old Serbian who police say started the fight, was arrested Tuesday, Chronopoulos said.

It’s unclear whether all the suspects know each other, but Chronopoulos said the waitress possibly knows some of the men. He said Henderson’s friends did not get involved in the fight.

Eight of the suspects were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, but the hearing was moved to Wednesday and Thursday to give their lawyers time to prepare, the Associated Press reported. A judge will decide whether they should be kept in police custody while awaiting trial.

Five of the suspects are scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, when they are expected to give an apology, Chronopoulos said. Three others will appear Thursday. The ninth suspect arrested Tuesday is scheduled for a Friday hearing.

Henderson’s friends have created a GoFundMe page to raise money for his funeral and for transportation costs to return his body to the United States. More than $45,000 had been raised as of Tuesday afternoon.

“The love for this young man overflows and this loss is unbearable for so many of us,” according to the page. “If you knew Bakari you knew he was driven in life and no goal is never set to high for him to achieve. He was just starting his life, so many dreams and aspirations yet to be achieved.”

Richardson said family members are expecting to bring the body back to the United States sometime this week.

Henderson, who was from Austin, was in Greece for a photo shoot to launch his new clothing line, his family said in a statement last week. He attended the University of Arizona on a full academic scholarship and graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in business finance and entrepreneurship, as well as a certificate in sports management. He also had internships with the Texas legislature, including the House speaker’s office, his family said.

“As you can imagine, our family is devastated by the recent loss of our beloved son Bakari Jaward Henderson,” his family said in the statement, adding later: “Bakari loved spending time with family and friends, traveling, and meeting new people. He was a big thinker and enjoyed coming up with new business ventures. Bakari was an inspiration to all he met. He loved life to the fullest.”

University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins said in a statement that the school is “shocked and saddened” by Henderson’s death.

“Our hearts and prayers are with his friends and family. I can only imagine the deep sense of loss they must be feeling at his untimely death,” Robbins said. “It is always a tragedy when a young life ends before it has really yet to begin.”

Pavlos Kolokotsas, mayor of Zakynthos, told Kathimerini, an English newspaper in Athens, that the island often attracts alcohol-fueled fights. Zakynthos, the third-largest island in the Ionian Sea, is known for its crystal-clear waters, limestone cliffs and a nightlife that draws young tourists.

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4 Years After Black Man Was Beaten to Death over Selfie, Parents Hope Justice Is Finally Around the Corner

The men seen attacking 22-year-old Bakari Henderson while he was visiting Greece were originally found not guilty of murder, but an upcoming retrial could change their fate

Over the past four and a half years, Phil and Jill Henderson have struggled to move on from the death of their middle child.

"It's been a lot of highs, but mostly lows trying to process the grief," Jill told CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King in an interview that aired Thursday.

In 2017, the couple's 22-year-old son, Bakari — a recent college graduate from Austin, Texas — was fatally beaten by a mob while visiting Greece to take photos promoting his fashion line.

According to local authorities , the altercation began after a waitress at a bar in Zakynthos asked to take a selfie with Bakari. A Serbian man who witnessed the selfie asked the woman why she'd want a photo with a Black man when "there are a lot of Serbs in the bar." He then punched Bakari.

The argument escalated, which resulted in several men chasing Bakari into the street, where he was surrounded and beaten to death in just 30 seconds. The entire incident was caught on surveillance video.

"Somebody getting beaten to death over a selfie? It just makes no sense," said Jill, who still hasn't brought herself to watch the footage. "It's very hard to imagine that people would have that much hate to do something [like that] to another human being."

Nine men arrested in connection with the deadly assault were charged with intentional homicide , which carries a life sentence in Greece. In 2018, six of them were found guilty of lesser assault charges and three were acquitted.

None of the men were convicted of murder.

"I don't think they view us Black people the same as they do white people over there," Phil said, "and I felt that in the trial and in the results of the trial, that they treated and felt like he was less than a man."

"You should not be able to chase a man down and beat him to death and then not go to jail and serve jail time," Jill said.

The Hendersons found a small glimmer of hope after the 2018 trial when the prosecutor involved in the case, feeling like the defendants got off too easy, ordered a retrial to try securing homicide convictions a second time. Greece does not have double jeopardy laws like the United States, meaning people can be prosecuted for the same crime more than once.

The new trial has been pushed off for two years, and is now scheduled to begin Feb. 21. Phil and Jill are preparing to travel to Greece for a fifth time to attend court proceedings, even though they are held entirely in Greek.

"I just truly hope this time that they really view Bakari as a child of God and the human that he is ... as someone that could be their brother, their son, their grandson, their nephew, their friend," Jill said. "I really want them to be able to understand that when they're doing the sentencing this time."

"If [his attackers] only got to know him, they would've loved him," Phil said.

King tells PEOPLE that the Hendersons have been living "in limbo" while they wait for closure — "they haven't even unpacked his bag from Greece," she says.

In the meantime, though, they are doing their best to keep their son's dreams alive.

"Bakari loved to travel, he loved meeting people," King says. "He didn't meet a stranger." Through The Bakari Foundation , his parents help families who have suffered a loss find healing and peace by seeing the world.

They also helped take over his clothing line. "He always told me I was going to be working for him," Jill told King, "so we laugh now because we are working for him full-time."

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Like the tragic cases of Natalee Holloway and Gabby Petito that captured the world's attention, King thinks everyone should know the name Bakari Henderson.

"This kid was the type of person that you would want to be your child," King says. "Whether he was Black or he was white, you just like [him]."

King has worn a purple bracelet in honor of Bakari every day since she first met his parents in 2017. "I intend to wear it until they get justice in the case," she tells PEOPLE.

Watch the full CBS Mornings interview with Phil and Jill below.

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Funeral held for U.S. tourist killed in Greece

Austin, Texas — A funeral for the American tourist who was fatally beaten in Greece took place Saturday in his hometown of Austin, Texas, King-Tears Mortuary, the funeral home handling the body, confirmed.

Greek police say 22-year-old Bakari Henderson was beaten to death outside a bar July 7 on the Greek island of Zakynthos. Henderson had recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arizona and was in Greece working on a photo shoot to launch a clothing line, his family said. Friends described him as fun-loving with a friendly demeanor.

“He’s the kind of guy who literally makes friends anywhere he goes,” John Gramlich, Henderson’s childhood friend, told The Associated Press earlier this month.

“It’s not in his character at all to be aggressive or instigate anything,” Gramlich said. “He’s always the guy who is calming people down, really.”

Greek police spokesman Theodoros Chronopoulos has said that the exact cause of the fight was unclear, but that it started shortly after Henderson took a selfie with one of the bar’s waitresses.

A fight broke out and Henderson was chased down the street. Video footage from a security camera that aired on Greek television shows Henderson running down the sidewalk and being pursued. One man tackled him, throwing him onto a parked car before others joined in the beating. Some in the group attempted, and eventually did, stop the others from beating Henderson.

Police have confirmed the authenticity of the video.

Also Saturday, the last suspect charged in Henderson’s death appeared in court and was ordered to remain in custody pending trial. The 33-year-old Serbian man is among nine people, all ages 18 to 34, charged in the fatal beating.

A total of seven suspects — five Serbs, one British citizen of Serb origin and a Greek — have been jailed. Two 22-year-old Serbs have been released on bail of 5,000 euros ($5,730). No trial date has been set.

Authorities believe the man jailed Saturday landed the first blow on Henderson.

Friends of US college graduate beaten to death in Greece say he was a 'peacemaker'

Bakari Henderson, 22, was killed while visiting a Greek island.

— -- Friends of the American tourist beaten to death on Friday after a fight erupted at a bar on an island in Greece are saying that he was a "peacemaker," and not the type of person to get into fights.

Bakari Henderson, a 22-year-old recent graduate of the University of Arizona, was at a bar on the Greek island of Zakynthos when a fight broke out with another group of people on Friday around 3 a.m. local time, according to police there. At least eight people have been arrested in connection with his killing, according to local police.

The fight escalated into a brawl and Henderson was battered to death in the street, police said.

His friend Travis Jenkins said this is uncharacteristic of Henderson.

"Bakari was not one to act aggressively like that," Jenkins told ABC News. "He was always the one who was the peacemaker."

The coroner told ABC News that Henderson suffered severe head injuries in the incident. All the strikes were to the head, and it appears and there were no defensive wounds on Henderson's body, the coroner added.

Henderson's body will be flown to Athens and then to the U.S. within two days. A toxicology report will be released in several weeks.

Pavlos Kolokotsas, the mayor of Zakynthos, told ABC News that both groups involved had been drinking extensively.

The investigation into the incident and Henderson’s death is ongoing. An autopsy has been carried out on Henderson, and results are expected early this week.

American tourist robbed, shot in Turks and Caicos is medically evacuated to US

Police told ABC News that a British citizen of Serbian origin, who is temporarily employed in Greece as a bouncer, and a Greek national, who works at the bar in Zakynthos, were arrested Friday and named suspects in the beating death. Six Serbian tourists were also arrested after being identified on surveillance footage as having taken part in the brawl, police said.

The eight arrested so far appeared in court on Saturday night and pleaded not guilty, according to police.

A lawyer for one of the eight suspects said that his client has no criminal record. He said he caused some bodily harm, but didn’t have homicidal intent, and didn’t hit Henderson in the head. He said his client is "devastated, literally devastated."

"He did not hit (the victim) on the head, and death was caused by traumatic head injury," he said. "I am convinced that it will be proven that he was not the one who caused the death of the unfortunate American."

Friends and family face a painful loss

Sam Hindsman, another friend of Henderson, also told ABC News that the incident was difficult to process, given what he knew of Henderson's personality.

"Such a fun loving person and he's so easy going," Hindsman told ABC News of Henderson. "So many people just loved him, so it was hard to believe."

Friends set up a GoFundMe page in order to bring Henderson's body home and pay for his funeral. The page, which was started on Saturday, had already raised close to $20,000 by Sunday morning.

A description of Henderson on the page says that he "was just starting his life," and had "so many dreams and aspirations."

Henderson's family told ABC affiliate KVUE in Austin that a memorial service is being planned.

The statement mentioned that Henderson was in Greece working on a photoshoot to launch his new clothing line when he died.

"Bakari loved spending time with family and friends, traveling, and meeting new people," the family said in their statement. "He was a big thinker and enjoyed coming up with new business ventures. Bakari was an inspiration to all he met."

The University of Arizona issued a statement Friday on the news of Henderson's "untimely death."

"All of us at the University of Arizona are shocked and saddened by the loss of our recent graduate, Bakari Henderson," the university's president, Robert Robbins, said in the statement. "Our hearts and prayers are with his friends and family. I can only imagine the deep sense of loss they must be feeling at his untimely death. It is always a tragedy when a young life ends before it has really yet to begin."

An official within the U.S. State Department told ABC News that Zakynthos police had notified the U.S. embassy of the death of an American citizen there early Friday.

"We are in communication with authorities and providing consular assistance to the deceased citizen’s family," the official said in a statement Saturday. "We offer our sincerest condolences to family and friends, and out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment."

ABC News' Conor Finnegan contributed to this report.

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Greece Tames Wildfire on Crete, Authorities on Alert

ATHENS (Reuters) -Greece brought a wildfire under control on the island of Crete on Saturday that forced dozens to flee their homes, the fire department said, with authorities on alert due to strong winds.

The blaze that broke out earlier in the day, fanned by strong winds, spread across the slopes of the mountainous forest east of the seaside town of Ierapetra.

Authorities ordered the precautionary evacuation of the villages of Achlia, Galini, Agia Fotia and Mavros Kolimpos, as the blaze closed in on some homes.

"The fire has subsided significantly after the efforts of hundreds of firefighters," a fire service official told Reuters. "It was the first big one near a residential area this year."

Scientists fear that the season could be damaging given that Greece has just had its warmest winter on record, leaving much of the land warm and dry.

Earlier in the day a fireman and a local resident were taken to hospital with minor injuries. About 150 firefighters were battling the forest fire on the ground, assisted by three helicopters.

Photos You Should See - April 2024

The civil protection ministry has set authorities on alert due to strong winds expected in next coming days and after dozens of smaller forest fires broke out on Saturday.

Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean nation. Last year a wildfire burning in northeastern Greece for 11 days destroyed an area larger than New York City and killed 20 people.

(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Jan Harvey and David Evans)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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Greece launches ‘free’ holidays for tourists who fled 2023 Rhodes wildfires

Up to 25,000 holidaymakers, mainly from Britain, in line for vouchers to cover a week’s hotel stay

It has required new legislation and navigation of copious red tape but nine months after wildfires devastated Rhodes , Greece has launched the first “free” holidays for thousands of tourists forced to flee the island.

In a decision tourism officials call a world first, up to 25,000 affected holidaymakers will, as of this week, be eligible for compensation.

“The scheme is up and running as the prime minister promised,” the Greek tourism ministry’s general secretary, Myron Flouris, told the Guardian. “It’s been a very complicated process not least, I think, because we’re the first country in the world to do this.”

Under the programme , people who stayed in hotels that were evacuated because of the July fires will be able to redeem e-vouchers worth up to €500 to cover the accommodation charges of a week-long stay. The initiative will be run in two phases: between now and 31 May and 1 October to 15 November.

Take-up has already been strong, tourism officials in Rhodes say, with more than 5,000 holidaymakers enrolling on the scheme’s register of beneficiaries. “Anyone who was staying in areas that were affected by the fires is eligible,” said Yannis Papavasiliou, who heads the island’s union of hoteliers. “The response has been very good and we are told will be even stronger come the autumn.”

He said compensation would reflect the amount clients originally paid to tour operators and would range from €300 to €500. “It will apply only to hotels, not Airbnb-style private accommodation. At the end of the day Greece is making good on its promise to recompense all those who lost their holidays because of climate change.”

The country’s centre-right government, led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced the initiative on ITV’s Good Morning Britain within days of thousands of stranded holidaymakers being forced to cut short their trips as the wildfires raged.

Most of those put on repatriation flights were Britons.

Visiting the island on Monday, Mitsotakis, who ordered the mass evacuation as a preventive measure, said wildfires would inevitably increase as a result of the climate emergency. “All of the Mediterranean is a hotspot for climate change. That, statistically, means we will have more fires and probably more floods,” he told a conference organised in Rhodes by the European Travel Commission under the fitting title: EU Tourism: Resilience in the Era of the Climate Crisis.

What mattered most was human life, the Greek leader said. “It wasn’t easy … to evacuate 25,000 visitors but we did it safely and we are very proud of the fact that we managed to confront this crisis essentially without mourning [the loss] of human life.”

One UK holidaymaker planning to take up the offer is Sara van Oostrum, a business owner from Hampshire, and her partner, though she said her daughter would not be joining as she felt traumatised by the experience. “We thought at the time our daughter was dealing really well, but on reflection children are funny things, they’re like sponges and take in everything and it doesn’t come out till afterwards – she doesn’t want to return,” she said.

Last August, the family were evacuated from a smoke-filled hotel in which they were handed masks and wet towels to prevent inhalation, before walking for four hours in 34C heat to another hotel, from which they were also evacuated as it became surrounded by flames. They spent the night sleeping on a floor, and the following day learned that they had to wait three days for a repatriation flight.

Since the Greek government announced the initiative last year, Van Oostrum has been messaging her tour operator, Tui, and was only recently able to get further information about the voucher. She is confused by the terms of the offer, including which hotels will be available, whether she will receive a free trip or a discount, and whether it covers children.

She said the couple had “mixed feelings” about whether to return to the hotel and beach they stayed at. “We’d probably prefer to stay elsewhere on the island to move on from the whole experience,” she said, adding: “They want to encourage people back, which is nice. We’ll take up the offer, and we’ll spend money on the island.”

Although many UK holidaymakers visit Rhodes with tour operators, including Jet2, TUI and Thomas Cook, they are expected to liaise directly with the Greek government to obtain their vouchers. TUI said its customers should individually contact the Greek government online, while Thomas Cook said the process was managed by the Greek tourist board, Rhodes authorities and participating hoteliers, rather than its team.

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174 people stranded in the air are rescued, almost a day after a fatal cable car accident in Turkey

One person was killed and seven injured Friday when a cable car in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, local media reported.

Rescuers have been helping people to safety high above a mountain in southern Turkey on Saturday, after one pod hit a pole and burst open, killing one person and injuring seven.

Rescue and emergency team members work with passengers of a cable car transportation system outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)

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A severely damaged cabin of a cable car transportation system is seen outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. At least one person was killed and several injured Friday when a cable car pod in southern Turkey hit a pole and burst open, sending the passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials and local media said. Scores of other people were left stranded late into the night after the entire cable car system came to a standstill. (Dia Images via AP)

A rescue team work with passengers of a cable car transportation systems outside Antalya, southern Turkey, April, Friday 12, 2024. A cable car disaster in southern Turkey left one person dead and seven injured over the busy Eid al-Fitr public holiday on Friday, local media reported. (IHA via AP)

ISTANBUL (AP) — The last of 174 people stranded in cable cars high above a mountain in southern Turkey were brought to safety Saturday, nearly 23 hours after one pod hit a pole and burst open, killing one person and injuring seven when they plummeted to the rocks below.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the successful completion of the rescue operation on X Saturday afternoon.

Rescue and emergency team members work with passengers of a cable car transportation system outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. (Dia Images via AP)

A total of 607 search and rescue personnel and 10 helicopters were involved, including teams from Turkey’s emergency response agency, AFAD, the Coast Guard, firefighting teams and mountain rescue teams from different parts of Turkey, officials said. Helicopters with night-vision capabilities had continued rescuing people throughout the night.

The stranded people had been stuck on the Tunektepe cable car, just outside the Mediterranean city of Antalya, since 5:30 p.m. on Friday, when the accident occurred.

Istanbul resident Hatice Polat and her family were rescued seven hours into the ordeal. Speaking to the Anadolu agency, she said the power went out and the pod flipped four or five times.

“The night was awful, we were very scared. There were children with us, they passed out,” she said. “It was torture being up there for seven hours. It is swaying every second, you’re constantly in fear. ... It was very traumatic, I don’t know how we’ll get over this trauma.”

State-run Anadolu Agency identified the deceased as a 54-year-old Turkish man. Those injured included two children and were six Turkish citizens and one Kyrgyz national. They were all rescued by Coast Guard helicopters soon after the crash and sent for treatment. Images in Turkish media showed the battered car swaying from dislodged cables on the side of the rocky mountain as medics tended the wounded.

Yerlikaya also announced that 13 people rescued from other cars were also taken to hospitals for checkups.

Friday was the final day of a three-day public holiday in Turkey marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which sees families flock to coastal resorts.

The cable car carries tourists from Konyaalti beach to a restaurant and viewing platform at the summit of the 618-meter (2,010-foot) Tunektepe peak. It is run by Antalya Metropolitan Municipality. The cable car line was completed in 2017 and receives a major inspection around the beginning of the year, as well as routine inspections throughout the year.

Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation. An expert commission including mechanical and electrical engineers and health and safety experts was assigned to determine the cause of the incident.

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5 tourists killed in case of mistaken identity in Ecuador while 9 shot dead is separate attack: "The battle continues"

Updated on: April 1, 2024 / 7:48 AM EDT / CBS/AFP

Ecuadoran gangsters abducted, interrogated and killed five tourists, apparently thinking they were members of a rival drug gang, officials said this weekend, while a separate attack by gunmen killed nine people on the country's coast.

Around 20 attackers stormed a hotel Friday in the beach town of Ayampe in southern Ecuador and kidnapped six adults and a child, local police commander Richard Vaca said.

The abducted tourists, all Ecuadorans, were interrogated and hours later the bodies of five adults were found with gunshot wounds on a road, he said.

The assailants "apparently mistook them for adversaries" from a rival drug gang, said Vaca.

President Daniel Noboa said one person has been arrested so far in the case and the government is tracking down the rest of the attackers.

The killings "remind us that the battle continues," Noboa said on social media, along with a video of a man handcuffed and bent over, being led away forcefully by an armed police officer.

Cualquier ataque contra un ecuatoriano es un ataque al Ecuador. Lo sucedido en Santa Elena y Manabí nos recuerda que la batalla continúa. La Policía Nacional se encuentra desplegada y como resultado hemos capturado a uno de los secuestradores de Ayampe, no descansaremos hasta… pic.twitter.com/2brJHWzmhB — Daniel Noboa Azin (@DanielNoboaOk) March 30, 2024

"Narcoterrorism and its allies are looking for spaces to scare us, but they will not succeed," Noboa said.

Meanwhile, gunmen attacked a group of people in Ecuador's coastal city of Guayaquil, killing nine and injuring 10 others, police said Sunday.

The attack took place around 7 p.m. local time Saturday in the southern neighborhood of Guasmo. According to police, the armed group entered a pedestrian street in a grey Chevrolet Spark, where a group of people were practicing sports. The gunmen got out of the vehicle and proceeded to shoot people.

"So far, the result is nine people dead and 10 injured," police Col. Ramiro Arequipa told journalists around midday on Sunday.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ecuador was once considered a bastion of peace in Latin America, but in recent years has seen a surge in violent attacks.

Noboa declared a state of emergency in January, which provides for permanent operations by a security force made up of police and military. In addition, a five-hour curfew is in force in high-incidence areas such as Guayaquil.

That month, Noboa also gave orders to "neutralize" criminal gangs after  gunmen stormed and opened fire  in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions of civilians and security forces.

Since then, the military has been  deployed in the streets  and taken control of the country's prisons, where a string of gang riots in recent years has left hundreds killed.

The violence has continued since the state of emergency.

Just last week, the 27-year-old mayor of a small town - also in the province of Manabi - was killed along with her collaborator. Brigitte Garcia and Jairo Loor were found inside a vehicle with gunshot wounds.

One of Garcia's last posts on  social media , where she touts herself as the nation's youngest mayor, was about a new project to bring water to her municipality.

"Together, we're building a brighter future for our community," she  wrote .

On Thursday, a riot in a Guayaquil prison under military and police control left three inmates dead and four injured.

Ecuador surpassed a rate of 40 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants at the end of 2023, one of the highest in the region, according to police.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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