A MILLIONAIRE property developer was branded a devil by the sister of a murdered caretaker as he was jailed for life. British-born Thanos Papalexis, 37, of Palm Beach, Florida, was convicted of the murder of Charalambos Christodouiles, 55, who was tort

A MILLIONAIRE property developer was branded 'a devil' by the sister of a murdered caretaker as he was jailed for life.

British-born Thanos Papalexis, 37, of Palm Beach, Florida, was convicted of the murder of Charalambos Christodouiles, 55, who was tortured and strangled to death before his body was dumped in a warehouse in Banister Road, Kensal Rise, in 2000.

Mr Papalexis, who denied the murder, must now serve a minimum of twenty years.

An impact statement written by the victim's sister, Annina Lanitis, said: "I truly believe Papalexis is like a devil for what he has done.

"This whole traumatic incident will remain in my memory forever. No amount of years will allow me to accept the senseless act resulting in the murder of my much-loved brother."

Mr Christodouiles, who was known to his family as 'Bambi,' was a quiet introvert who refused to move out of a flat in a warehouse that Mr Papalexis wanted to redevelop to ease his mounting debts.

The playboy hired accomplices to kill him and fled to Florida, but detectives on both sides of the ocean spent years building up a case against him, leading to his arrest and extradition to the UK last year.

Det Insp Brent Hyatt, the officer in charge of the investigation, said: "Charalambos Christodoulides was a quiet and reserved man of impeccable character who Papalexis thought stood in the way of a property deal.

"We believe that this is why he was killed. Throughout this 14 week trial Papalexis has proved to be an enormously arrogant, compulsive and practised liar driven by his desire to make money."

Albanian asylum seekers Ylli Xhelo, 35, of Pretoria Rd, Edmonton, and Robert Baxhija, 28, of Sidney Ave, Palmers Green, are alleged to have helped Mr Papalexis kill Mr Christodoulides and face a retrial after the jury failed to reach verdicts.