Greek authorities name suspect in American scientist's death

July 19 (UPI) -- Greek police have identified the man they say killed an American scientist at a conference in Crete this month.

Police named Yiannis Paraskaki Thursday as the killer of Suzanne Easton, a molecular biologist who had gone hiking July 2 while on a break from the conference. After a large search, officials found her body nearly a week later in a ventilation drain of an abandoned World War II bunker outside of Chania. Officials said she'd also been sexually assaulted.

Paraskakis, 27, was set to appear Friday in front of an investigating judge. Authorities gave him two extra days to prepare his defense after his original attorney left the case.

Police said they're investigating other assault claims made by women who have come forward since Paraskakis's arrest.

Paraskakis told investigators he struck Eaton with his vehicle twice before attacking her, and took her body to the bunker drain, police said.

Eaton, 59, who worked at the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, Germany, was suffocated and received broken ribs and fractures in the face and hands. Her body was flown to Frankfurt, Germany.

"My mother was a remarkable woman," son Max said on the Max Planck Institute website. "She managed to live a life with few regrets, balancing out her personal life with her career."