Maria Daliani’s mother, Nina Daliani, says her daughter committed suicide after being jilted  by the man with whom she was romantically attached. Her stepfather says that he held a cell phone in one hand and wedding bonbons in the other. On August 26, the day of her 21th birthday, she said: “I may not live. My life may end,” she said.

Celebrating her birthday,  she was distant and appeared disillusioned. The phrase, “I may not live. My life may end”, is not one that is usually uttered on birthdays, but despite the fake smiles and contrived cheer it was one that she uttered to a friend of hers.

Speculation is rife concerning the girl’s last moments and if she was trapped into ending her life. There is plenty of  finger-pointing with her family eyeing her ex-boyfriend with suspicion while others speak of violence within her own family.

The young woman, though obviously beautiful, had a slight limp and needed protection. Her mother, Nina, states that her ex did not treat her well. “My daughter loved him a lot. He did not deserve her. He did not treat her well. He hurt her and drove her to commit suicide,” she says, angry at herself because she never realized how desperate her daughter  was.

The question of her death was the result of criminal action or suicide is still open. She was found at the area behind her flat without anybody realizing she was there until days after the death. Her body, in decay, has caused cororners to be reserved when drawing a conclusion.

“The last time I saw her was the Wednesday morning when she disappeared. She was so sad that I gave her a hug, I kissed her face. You have your mother and father near you, and everything will be fine, I said. He was very sad because she had her heart broken. My dughter was a very sensitive person and she loved her boyfriend so much. He led her on, and that’s why they didn’t have a steady relationship,” says the girl’s mother in an interview with Proto Thema. “I tried to explain that some day all these things will be in the past, but I wasn’t able to get through.”

Refering to the speculation that her stepfather was  violent, she says: “If her father abused her, then I, as her mother, would not have allowed it or covered it up. Her stepfather raised her in the best possible way and never treated her differently to his son. On the contrary, they  had good relations.” The mother points to discussions that they had together, and the way in which her stepfather was concerned that she not feel insecure because of her disability.

The mother points the finger at the boyfriend. “Why didn’t he go to her funeral? They  were together for three years. Why didn’t he come to our house to pay his respects? It was only when we lost Maria that he came and said, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll find Maria and I’ll bring you home. She probably just wants to be alone for a while. I’d left home, too, and my parents had gone looking for me, but then I returned,'” he told the missing girl’s mother.

Marcos, the stepfather, says that he was always beside his daughter and refers to her condition when they found her. She held a cell phone in one hand and a wedding bon bon at the other, and she wore the same nightgown that she had been wearing on the morning she disappeared.”

Coroner Nikos Kalogrias says that her body had been badly hurt during the fall and death is believed to have been immediate. Her body had decayed a great deal so it was hard to judge whether there had been a struggle or whether she had been pushed t her death. It is still open whether the fall was the result of an intent to commit suicide, the result of criminal action or an accident.