Seduced to Slay on ID: Where is Kosta Fotopoulos now?

With a murder plot with greed as the motive, Kosta Fotopoulos and Diedre Hunt hired a man to shoot Lisa Fotopoulos in her sleep on November 4, 1989, as she was in the process of settling her father’s estate after his death.

Kosta Fotopoulos was a Greek-American who owned the pool bar, Top Shots, at the Daytona Beach Boardwalk. He was actively engaged in money laundering which led him to murder one of his peddlers and employee - Kevin Ramsey. Fotopoulos was also involved in an affair with a bartender, Diedre Hunt, who played an equal role in the murder plans.

The Seduced to Slay episode titled Boardwalk Pied Piper follows the murder plot laid by Kosta and his lover, Diedre Hunt to get rid of Lisa Fotopoulos. The synopsis reads,

"Kosta and Lisa Fotopoulos are a Daytona Beach power couple in 1989; Kosta owns a bar and hires sultry Deidre Hunt as a waitress; soon, a torrid affair, a deadly home invasion and a videotaped murder all result from a tailspin of greed and seduction."

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Who is Kosta Fotopoulos? Details explored

Konstantinos "Kosta" Fotopoulos was born in July 26, 1959 in Greece. Unlike his wife Lisa Paspalakis, Kosta had travelled to the United States leaving his family behind. He was pursuing a master’s degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. On the side, he waited tables at Lenny’s Barbecue and had an interest in firearms. According to the Orlando Sentinel,

"He was the only son of an executive with Olympic Airways, Fotopoulos came to the United States from Greece a decade ago to study his father’s trade."

In 1985, Kosta Fotopoulos met Lisa Paspalakis whose family owned a successful arcade and snack bar called the Joyland Amusement Center at the Daytona Beach Center. Three weeks after seeing each other, Kosta asked for Lisa's hand in marriage.

After their marriage in 1986, Lisa Fotopoulos lent her husband a sum of money to start his venture in the Boardwalk - Top Shots pool hall.

A still of Kosta (Image via Oxygen True Crime)

The venue became the place where individuals with criminal pasts met over drinks and billiards much to Lisa's prediction and disappointment.

However, soon enough Kosta got entangled in several illegal activities such as laundering counterfeit American dollars and murder of an employee. He was romantically involved with one of her dollar peddlers turned bartender, Diedre Hunt, which Lisa found out eventually.

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Why was Kosta Fotopoulos arrested?

Kosta Fotopoulos and Diedre Hunt had already murdered the 19-year-old Mark Kevin Ramsey before they were convicted for Lisa Fotopoulos's murder. Both Kosta and Diedre laid a plan to hire Bryan Chase for $5,000 to kill Lisa such that the lovers could get hold of her wealth and $700,000 in life insurance.

A still of Fotopoulos (Image via Oxygen True Crime)

On November 4, 1989, Lisa Fotopoulos was shot in the head while she slept next to her husband in her Daytona Beach home. However, Kosta Fotopoulos retaliated by shooting Chase to death with an AK-47 in an attempt to cover up the murder plot.

Kosta masked the intrusion as a failed burglary but ended up on the police radar as Lisa recovered and spoke about her suspicion. A search of their home revealed the murder tape of Kevin Ramsey, a .22 pistol, and an AK-47 assault rifle.

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Where is Kosta Fotopoulos now?

While Diedre Hunt was arrested and charged with double counts of first-degree murder, Fotopoulos was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy. The jury sentenced him to death with an 8 to 4 vote in 1993, per Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Stills of Kosta Fotopoulos and Diedre Hunt (Image via Oxygen True Crime)

He was scheduled to face the electric chair in 2008 but a series of appeals delayed the process. His appeal was denied as Kosta presently remains incarcerated at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida.