Greek police will charge the suspect over the death of British mother Jean Hanlon, who was found dead on a Crete beach 15 years ago after sending a text message to a friend saying “HELP”.

The heartbroken son of Jean Hanlon, who died in suspicious circumstances in Crete 15 years ago, hopes Greek police will charge a key suspect today.

Michael Porter, who has always insisted his mother was murdered, said this would be a “big turning point” in his campaign for justice.

He said he was “disgusted” that it had taken so many years to get to this point and that “a lot was riding on this.”

The 39-year-old said the family could now finally bring closure to the long-running saga after hiring a private investigator to help with the case.

The private investigator discovered a possible suspect and shared the discovery with police.

Porter said: “We are in the best position we have ever been in our lives.” “This is a huge turning point, something we have never seen before.”

The investigator, Haris Veramon, compiled a 29-page file on Hanlon’s last movements after she named in her diary a man she planned to meet that night.

He disappeared in 2009 after moving to the island on holiday from Dumfries to work in the coastal town of Kato Gouves.

The 53-year-old disappeared after a night out after telling friends she was meeting a man in a cafe and a chilling final text message that simply read: “Help.”

Four days later, his body was found in the water in the port of Heraklion, the island’s capital, and police initially believed he had drowned.

At the request of his distraught family, a second post-mortem examination was carried out which showed he had suffered fractures to his neck and ribs, a punctured lung and facial injuries, and probably died before entering the water.

In 2012, two men were questioned and later released.

Further investigations in 2019 and 2021 also ended without providing answers for the family, although police had acknowledged foul play.

However, detectives reopened the case again in June and Greek police have now assured Mr Porter and his brothers, Robert, 49, and David, 45, that the suspect will be questioned today and potentially charged.

Porter, from Bromley, said: “It’s strange, I don’t know how it would feel until it happens.”

‘When you’ve been fighting for justice for so long…’

He continued: “It would be a great achievement to get mom the justice she deserves.” It would also be a great relief in our life.

“We know Mom is gone and won’t be back, but this would give her closure and it would also give us comfort and release.”

Porter said his family had also hired an independent criminologist who provided characteristics of a suspect that matched the private detective’s investigation.

He added: “There is a lot at stake in this. It is unusual in Greece for cases to be reopened once or twice, let alone four times.

‘There have been suspects before, but never with this much evidence. If this suspect is not charged then there will be nowhere to go from here.

“They would probably close the case and that’s not something we want.”

After Greek police announced they were reinvestigating the cold case, he said: “You reach a certain point like now where the case is reopened when you have all your newfound hope and strength and then you are knocked down again “.

“However, the big difference in this case is that we have hired the private investigator who has prepared and filed this detailed report.”

Porter admitted it had been a “slow process so far,” but thanked the new magistrate and prosecutor in the case who have been “incredibly supportive and wanted justice for Mom.”

He added: “It would be great to show people that hard work and determination pays off.”

‘The amount of people who have told me to give up and live my life, but when you go through something like this, you just can’t.

“You have to fight for what you believe in.”