Widow of man suspected of killing British boy who
Don’t put our boy in bin bags’ I cannot believe our name is being dragged in the gutter
BEN Needham’s grandfather says it will be “the biggest shock of his life” if it was digger driver Konstantinos “Dino” Barkas who killed the lad.
Ed Needham revealed how he once worked alongside the blundering construction boss, who enjoyed operating his own machinery.
And he said that weeks before Ben vanished, booze- loving Dino shut down their building site after smashing through water pipes.
Ed’s wife Christine – Ben’s gran – now shares their daughter Kerry ‘s fears that Ben is dead.
She is convinced British police will find her grandson’s remains when they dig on the Greek island of Kos.
Promise
Shaking with nerves, Christine said from her home in Lincolnshire: “I think they’re going to find him, I really do.“
But Ed, 68, admitted he is in denial about Dino. He said: “I find it so hard to believe. I just can’t see how Dino could have looked us in the eye hours after killing our grandson.
“It is horrifying to think our poor baby has been lying there all this time.
“I’ve asked the police to promise me one thing. If he is found, I don’t want him brought out in black bags.”
South Yorkshire Police are set to dig two sites on Kos after a “significant” witness came forward pointing the finger at Dino, who is dead. They believe there could have been a tragic accident which was covered up.
Christine was l ooking after 21-month old Ben on the day he went missing near their caravan in 1991 and does not remember a digger working nearby. But Ed saw Dino moving earth on a plot only 100 yards away and spoke to him.
He is convinced Dino was a “gentle giant” and a “gentleman”. Ed said: ”I can’t see him hiding something like this unless he was put under pressure.
“I find it hard to think Ben would go near that digger. But I searched all around it. I even searched the bucket in case he climbed on it.
“If anything did happen there was no need to cover it up – unless it it wasn’t an accident.” THE widow of the man suspected of being responsible for the death of Ben Needham said last night: “My husband did not kill the little boy.”
Police believe Konstantinos “Dino” Barkas may have accidentally hit Ben while he was driving a digger on the Greek island of Kos.
Dino died last year, aged 62, and his wife Varvara has never spoken about Ben Needham’s before.
But in her first interview she said: “My husband never spoke to me about what happened that day.”
“He was a good man and I know he had nothing to do with Ben’s disappearance. He was a very deep man – he kept everything inside him.”
Her comments came as it emerged she may not even have known until four years ago that her husband was at the scene in 1991.
Yesterday, Varvara invited the Sunday People to a cafe owned by her son Valandis in the village of Lampi.
She was clearly shaken by the news that British police officers were about to launch a new dig for Ben’s body.
Behaviour
She said nervously: “My husband never talked about that day. He never talked to me about what he was doing. It was never discussed.
“He never once spoke to me about Ben. The only thing he ever said was that he saw a car that day. Even when he was dying he never mentioned Ben.”
Varvara helped nurse her husband during the last year of his life, as he battled intestinal problems and cirrhosis of the liver.
But she said he had nothing to hide and always co-operated with the authorities.
She said: “In the last few years, Valandis, our son, was going with him to see the police and prosecutor.
“Even when he was really ill with his intestinal problems – and he was having blood transfusions – he was still going to see the police whenever they asked to see him.
“I cannot believe that after so many years this is happening again and our family name is being dragged in to the gutter.
“It’s not right. I have lost my husband and now I have to go through all this. He was a very good man.”
The Needhams had moved to Kos to start a new life in the sun just months before Ben vanished in July 1991, aged 21 months.
Gran Christine was looking after him while mum Kerry was at work at a nearby hotel.
She decided to go for a walk, taking the tot to see his grandad Ed and uncle Stephen at work, renovating an old farmhouse.
Christine said: “I was fussing over him, telling him to stop playing with the tools.
“Ed’s boss told me ‘Leave the boy!’ Desperate to fit in and leave my English ways behind, I did as I was told. That’s my biggest regret.” Ed said he recalls Dino was moving earth on a plot 100 yards away that day.
Varvara claimed to recall what happened at the time Ben vanished. And she insisted she saw no difference in her husband’s behaviour. She said: “He was coming home in the eveningg and I had his dinner ready. Then he was immediately getting ready for the next day’s work.” But other sources on Kos said Dino had kept his involvement in the case secret from his wife. One said Varvara only discovered he had any possible conne connection in the disappearance ofo Ben in 2012 – when S South Yorkshire Police cam came to the island to la launch their initial searc search. It i s clear her husband’s deat death and speculation over Ben have taken a big toll on Varvara’sVarv health. “I“am not v ery well and now I’m on a lot of medication,” she said, “He always helped the police.”
Dino died in April 2015 in a hospital in Athens, where he was receiving specialist treatment.
His body was transported back to Kos and his funeral took place within 36 hours of his death.
He is buried with his father in the family tomb in his home village of Zipari – about seven miles from where Ben vanished.
Yesterday, our sister paper the Daily Mirror revealed that rather than being a simple “digger driver” he was a powerful successful businessman.
One friend said Dino was known by “everyone” on the island. His son Valandis, 29, was angry at the speculation over Ben.
He said: “My dad lived his life with this hanging over him and I cannot