New evidence in the case of the 3-year-old’s death in Palaio Faliro emerges from the forensic report, which, according to medical examiner Dimitris Galenoteris, points to strong indications of foul play. The child’s mother, who has been arrested, is expected to appear before the prosecutor today.
Speaking to ERTNews, Mr. Galenoteris stated that “water and sand were found in the child’s lungs,” an element that confirms the cause of death as drowning “on a beach, not in open water,” effectively disproving the mother’s claim of an accident in the bathroom.
The examiner emphasized a “clear inconsistency” between the autopsy findings and the mother’s narrative, in which she claims the child was injured in the bathroom and lost consciousness before she carried her to the beach. He explained that the cranial injuries observed “occurred while the child was alive” but “do not involve disruption of brain function,” and therefore do not support the alleged loss of consciousness from a fall.
In addition, serious facial injuries were found that – according to Galenoteris – “are unrelated to the mechanism of death” and are not justified by the mother’s account. He also mentioned the presence of “chronic pathology,” which may be investigated as a possible motive behind the act. “It raises the question of whether the child was healthy and whether that connects to a desire to be freed from responsibility,” he stated.
“We are faced with an atrocious act,” he added, calling for a full judicial investigation. “What the mother says doesn’t hold up. She needs to start telling the story as it really happened,” he concluded.
Mother Before the Prosecutor – She Had Come to the Attention of Authorities Before
The 27-year-old mother from Algeria is expected to be brought before the prosecutor today, Saturday, August 2. In her statement to the Coast Guard, she claimed the child was injured in the bathroom, and out of fear of asking for help due to her illegal residency in the country, she took the child and abandoned her in the sea.
Searches were conducted at her home in Kato Patissia, where it was revealed that the woman had previously been investigated by authorities in 2022 for endangering a minor. Reportedly, the children’s father also has a known history of abuse.
The family’s two young boys are expected to be transferred to a child protection facility, as investigations into the circumstances of the 3-year-old’s death continue.
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