Media leaks claim first testimony of woman arrested in death of young daughter; another 2 children had died within span of 3 years

Media outlets in Greece on Wednesday evening published what’s alleged to be the first day’s statements, before an investigating magistrate, of 33-year-old woman accused of murdering her nine-year-old daughter in a hospital’s intensive care unit.

The case has taken on explosive dimensions in Greece, as young Georgina’s death last January was preceded by those of her 6-month-old sister Iris in 2021 and of her 3.5-year-old sister Malina in 2019.

The woman was arrested at her home in the western port city of Patras on Friday and transferred to Athens to face prosecutors on a single homicide charge after toxicology and histology results revealed lethal levels of the drug ketamine, discovered in samples taken from the child before her death.

Among others, the woman – whose name is now at the epicenter of enormous public opinion and media scrutiny – allegedly denied the charge, and claimed the drug was found in her daughter’s system due to a “medical error”. However, she did not attribute malice to hospital staff.

Based on leaks of the testimony in the media, the woman was allegedly asked why she had queried staff at the Athens children’s hospital Paidon if CCTV cameras were located in patients’ rooms, and why the pulse oximeter’s warning sound was turned off.

Testimony before a prosecutor or investigating magistrate at this phase is deemed confidential, with the media leaks attributed to “sources” from within the judiciary.