A former colleague of doctor Ilias Theodoropoulos has told ANT1 television that fellow doctor Ioanna Gaka was the dominant member of their relationship and was driven by a hunger for money and power. The husband-and-wife medics have been remanded in custody over the death of Greek singer Giorgos Mazonakis, who died on 9 September, aged 54, during a plasmapheresis session at their clinic in Athens. They face charges of intentional homicide with possible intent by omission, which they deny.

Speaking about Theodoropoulos, the former colleague said he often enjoyed putting patients and female staff in an awkward position, although he stopped short of crossing the line. “His look was unsettling, the kind that tells you he is thinking unthinkable things,” he said. “Even the fact that he slept on the sofa when a patient might be about to walk in is not normal for a doctor.”

He described Gaka as “the boss in the relationship”. Theodoropoulos, he said, liked strong-willed women, and some people would say she had emasculated him. “He was afraid of her to a degree, and if he disagreed with some of the crazy things she did, he never said so,” the former colleague said.

He added that it was Gaka who was driven by “a thirst for money and power”, and that it wasn’t rare that someone would comment that things could go wrong because of her reckless behaviour.

The communications under scrutiny

The investigation is now moving into its final stretch, with the authorities turning to digital evidence and the communications of those at the centre of the case.

The mobile phones of Gaka, hypnotherapist Nasos Komianos and others involved are due to be examined. Statements from staff at the clinic on Karneadou Street, in the Kolonaki district of Athens, have also added detail on what happened shortly before the singer collapsed.

Investigators are looking at the treatments Mazonakis was receiving, the plasmapheresis procedure (in which plasma is separated from the blood and removed from the body) and questions over the state of his health in his final days.

One phrase, “I don’t know what else he has taken”, has caught the attention of the authorities and appears in messages now under examination. It is attributed to an exchange between Gaka and Komianos, the hypnotherapist who had been in touch with Mazonakis before the fatal incident.

Investigators are trying to establish what these people knew about the singer’s condition, what picture they had of his health and what happened before he collapsed at the clinic.

They are also examining references to Mazonakis taking diuretics. According to what has emerged so far, he had said he was on a particular course of medication because of fluid retention.

Gaka is reported to have noted in a message that diuretics can affect blood pressure. The question for experts is what the full picture of his health was and whether any factors could be linked to the incident.

The final moments and the staff testimony

The statements of the clinic’s staff carry particular weight in the inquiry.

One of the nurses present said Mazonakis was in good condition and communicating normally at the start of the procedure, but that his condition then changed.

According to the testimony, there was commotion in the clinic, and staff tried to deal with the situation until the arrival of EKAB.

The clinic’s secretary said she heard shouting and movement before being told an ambulance had been called. From what she heard at the time, she formed the impression that he might be having a reaction to intoxication, as she caught references to an “antidote” and “adrenaline”.

Elsewhere in her statement, she described the singer being taken out of the clinic when the paramedics arrived. He was sitting upright, she said, with a pale face and open eyes.

Plasmapheresis, the cost and the unanswered questions

Plasmapheresis is one of the central strands of the inquiry, as it was the procedure Mazonakis was undergoing at the clinic.

The authorities are examining how it was carried out, whether the necessary medical checks had been made beforehand and what the patient’s overall condition was before the treatment began.

According to testimony that has become public, each session cost around €3,000. Investigators are looking at whether the required tests or a full medical history were requested before the sessions.

A second site linked to the same doctors, on Patriarchou Ioakeim Street, is also under scrutiny. It housed a hydrotherapy machine, and a member of staff has said Mazonakis went there the day before the incident.

The hypnotherapist and the appointment

Komianos is also part of the inquiry because of his contacts with both Mazonakis and Gaka.

According to what has emerged, the hypnotherapist discussed possible treatments with the singer, and there was also communication about plasmapheresis.

Conversations being examined by the authorities refer to Mazonakis’s condition before his death and to efforts to understand what had happened.

Komianos has given his own account of his contacts with the singer. All of the evidence is expected to be assessed before any conclusions are drawn.

Next steps in the investigation

The coming weeks are seen as critical, with the results of the digital analysis and of scientific tests awaited to help clarify the circumstances of the death.

The authorities are expected to go through the content of phone calls, messages and electronic files that have been collected, and further witnesses may be called to give statements.

The results of toxicology and histology tests will be particularly important, as they are expected to show whether any substances or other factors need to be investigated.

Gaka’s defence team has said it is awaiting the case file and the scientific findings, arguing that the case must be judged solely on the facts.

The inquiry is now focused on Mazonakis’s final hours and on the evidence that emerges from the communications, witness statements and medical tests.