TORONTO – A Toronto lawyer who conspired with his lover to kill his husband has been released on bail while he appeals his murder conviction.
Demitry Papasotiriou-Lanteigne and his lover, Michael Ivezic, were convicted in June of first-degree murder in the killing of Allan Lanteigne. Both were sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Court documents show Papasotiriou-Lanteigne, 38, is seeking to appeal his conviction, alleging the jury’s verdict was unreasonable because it was based entirely on circumstantial evidence.
The pair’s murder trial heard Papasotiriou-Lanteigne was in Greece, where he owns a home, when his husband was bludgeoned to death at their Toronto residence in March 2011.
However, court heard Ivezic – with whom Papasotiriou-Lanteigne was having an affair – had returned to Toronto after visiting his lover in Greece and his DNA was found under Lanteigne’s fingernails.
Prosecutors alleged Papasotiriou-Lanteigne arranged to have his husband arrive at the couple’s home at a certain time, while Ivezic waited to carry out the killing.