Investigations by the General Directorate of Forensic Services of the Ministry of Justice into deaths from the past five years—specifically since 1.1.2020—continue at full pace. These cases were labeled “natural causes” and certified as such by the Patras Forensic Service.

This wide-reaching investigation began after revelations about the murders of children in Amaliada and the temporary shutdown of the Patras Forensic Service, which had issued autopsy reports both for two of the infants Irene Mourtzoukou admitted killing and for the children of Roula Pispirigou.

As revealed by Proto Thema, within this investigation new information has emerged about the previously unknown death of a baby boy, raising suspicions of a botched autopsy. The case concerns an infant just 2.5 months old, whose death had initially been attributed to “natural causes”—a conclusion that did not match the clinical and laboratory findings prior to death.

For this reason, the General Directorate of Forensic Services recently forwarded the case file to the Patras Prosecutor’s Office. The file had been seized along with many others from the Patras Forensic Service. The document notes:

“In the context of the review conducted by the General Directorate of Forensic Services of the Ministry of Justice on files of the Patras Forensic Service, and pursuant to Article 54 of Presidential Decree 30/2025, a case is being investigated concerning the death of an infant, where the findings of the forensic and pathological examination do not match the findings of the pre-death clinical and laboratory tests.”

According to the case file, the baby was initially admitted to the Ioannina Hospital and, due to the severity of its condition, transferred to the Karamanlis Children’s Hospital in Patras. There, doctors—including Andreas Iliadis, head of the Pediatric ICU at Rio Hospital—found the infant had severe head injuries and external trauma across the body. X-rays revealed multiple rib fractures, and an eye exam showed retinal hemorrhage.

Nevertheless, forensic examiner Andreas Gotsis of the Patras Forensic Service—already suspended from duty as of July 15, 2025, by Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis—ruled the cause of death as “pathological.”

By decision of Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis, the Patras Forensic Service was suspended due to its repeated rulings that attributed infant deaths to natural causes.

As is known, Mr. Gotsis carried out the original autopsies for two of the infants Mourtzoukou admitted murdering, as well as for little Panagiotakis. In all three cases, he attributed the cause of death to pathology.

The infant’s death case is now under review not only by the Patras Prosecutor’s Office but also by the Internal Affairs Unit of the Hellenic Police, which by law has jurisdiction over misconduct cases involving public forensic doctors.

The Justice Ministry’s General Directorate of Forensic Services launched its investigation last July, reassessing hundreds of death cases from the past five years marked “natural causes” and certified by the Patras Forensic Service.

Suspension
Within this review, Minister Floridis suspended both the Patras Forensic Service and two of its senior officials: forensic examiner Andreas Gotsis and chief secretary Stavros Arvanitakis. Both were responsible for the operation of the service and record-keeping of autopsy files, which were found lacking during a surprise inspection by Justice Ministry officials.

Around 4,000 files were seized and are now being re-examined to verify whether deaths labeled “natural” were in fact so.

Preliminary inspection of the 4,000 files revealed numerous gaps and omissions, raising serious questions about how death certificates were drafted and on what grounds.

Blatant errors
Among the findings: hundreds of “template” death certificates, pre-signed and stamped, with only the deceased’s personal details left blank to be filled in. In other cases, case files lacked even the basic autopsy and necropsy data, despite the requirement to record and photograph all findings.

Photos were either missing or absent altogether, as were other essential details needed to substantiate the stated cause of death. One striking example involved a man with fractures to the head, ribs, and other body parts, yet the death certificate listed meningitis as the cause of death.

PHOTO: EUROKINISSI