41-year-old Garifalia, who was being treated in the intensive care unit of the KAT, lost her battle with life after being savagely beaten by her 49-year-old partner in Patras.
Her family has been plunged into heavy mourning as they took the brave decision to go ahead with organ donation.
The statement from her family:
We are deeply saddened to announce that our Garyphalia has lost the difficult and brave battle she has been fighting since the early hours of last Monday morning as we have been informed that her brain death has occurred.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the medical and nursing staff of the KAT hospital and St. Andrew’s Hospital for their best efforts in this unequal battle that our daughter and sister were fighting.
In our most difficult time, we decided to honor the memory of our Garifalitsas by offering the possibility of life to other fellow human beings through the donation of her organs.
We hope that her love and light will continue to live on through them.
The Assault Timeline
In the final hours of her life, Garyfalia was fighting to survive after being brutally beaten by her ex-partner in the middle of the street in the Heroes Polytechnic area of Patras. The 49-year-old attacker, who had previously been involved with the authorities in theft, drug, and fraud cases, was remanded in custody. According to his statement, he admitted to hitting Garyfalia but claimed he never intended to harm her. He said, “We argued over something trivial, and she told me she was going to a specific hotel. I went to find her, not expecting it to escalate. I didn’t punch or kick her, I only pushed her, and she fell.”
Reports indicate that hours before the assault, the couple had packed their belongings from their shared home after the landlord asked them to leave following violent incidents. He warned the 49-year-old that he would notify the police about the continuous abuse.
The brutal assault took place on Sunday night, with the former couple meeting at a hotel in the Heroes Polytechnic area. Their stay was brief. Police footage shows the 49-year-old punching Garyfalia in the face and kicking her in the head, causing her to fall violently in the middle of the road.
