UC Berkeley Professor's Ex-Wife Convinced Lover to Kill Him: Lover’s Alleged Confession By Samira Asma-Sadeque

A man arrested in connection with the killing of a beloved California professor allegedly told Greek police he was acting on the orders of his girlfriend, who is the professor’s ex-wife.  

Przemyslaw Jeziorski, 43, a business and marketing professor at University of California, Berkeley, was gunned down in Agia Paraskevi, a suburb of the Greek capital of Athens, on July 4, police previously said.

Jeziorski was in the city for a custody hearing and to visit his children, who were in custody of his ex-wife at the time, ABC 7 and Greek outlet Ta Nea reported.

Days later, Greek authorities arrested the woman, her boyfriend and three others in connection with the crime, ABC News and local outlets To Vima and ERT (Greek: EPT) reported.

Per Greek provisions, the names of the defendants have not been publicly released by authorities. 

The woman’s boyfriend allegedly confessed to the crime, telling police he was acting on her orders, per officials’ accounts cited by CNN, Dimokratia and ERT.

The man allegedly said he carried out the killing because they were worried Jeziorski would take the children away, CNN reported.

“I made the decision to end this torment we were experiencing once and for all,” he allegedly said.

On the day of the killing, he was driven by the three other accomplices to the location where he lay in wait for Jeziorski, per the alleged confession.

“I approached him and shot him a few times, but I don’t remember how many times,” the man allegedly said.

One of the five people arrested is a minor, per CNN.

All but the professor’s ex-wife have allegedly confessed to their link to crime, while she maintains her innocence, the outlet reported.

In the months leading up to the slaying, Jeziorski had reportedly filed a restraining order against his ex-wife, according to court documents obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, ABC News and SF Gate.

In the filing, Jeziorski alleged that the woman’s boyfriend had physically assaulted him on two occasions when dropping off or picking up the children, per all three outlets.

Jeziorski alleged in the document that his ex-wife would specifically have her boyfriend pick up or drop off the children following Jeziorski’s visitation in a bid to intimidate him, the Chronicle reported.

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Jeziorski is being remembered by his loved ones — both in the United States and his native Poland for his dedication to his work and his children. 

Zsolt Katona, a fellow professor and colleague at UC Berkeley, told PEOPLE in a statement following the murder: “If there is any consolation in these moments, it’s knowing the lasting impact that he left on so many people’s lives.” 

His family has set up an online fundraiser to assist with costs related to transporting his body to Poland.