The mother of three-year-old Angelos and her former partner have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Mixed Jury Court of Heraklion, in one of the most shocking child abuse cases to reach a Greek courtroom in recent years.

Shortly after noon on Tuesday, following several hearings, the president of the court announced the unanimous verdict of the seven-member bench, made up of three professional judges and four jurors.

The court found Angelos’s 27-year-old mother and her 44-year-old former partner, Christodoulos, guilty of intentional homicide committed jointly and in a calm state of mind.

Both were also found guilty of causing injuries, aggravated intentional bodily harm, exposing a minor to danger and weapons-related offences. The 44-year-old was additionally convicted of illegally collecting and recording personal data, while he was acquitted of drug possession.

The mother was sentenced to life imprisonment, plus an additional 23 years and nine months. Her former partner was also sentenced to life imprisonment, plus an additional 24 years and three months.

The court rejected the mother’s claim of diminished responsibility, as well as requests for mitigating circumstances submitted by the defence teams of both convicted defendants.

Angelos’s biological father, who had stood trial over allegations relating to an earlier period, was unanimously acquitted.

The case behind the trial

The case caused outrage across Greece after Angelos was taken to hospital in Heraklion in January 2025 and later died.

His death brought renewed attention to failures in the protection of vulnerable children and to the responsibilities of adults around them. During the trial, both defendants denied responsibility, while the prosecution argued that neither had protected the child.

Speaking after the verdict, Angelos’s biological father said the child had been vindicated, while adding that the full truth of what happened had still not emerged.