Murdering Greek mother from Patra returns to jail

The 33-year-old Greek woman charged with premeditated murder of one of her three daughters was led back to jail on Monday after testifying for over four hours before court officials in Athens.

The woman has denied the charge and maintained that the powerful anesthetic that caused her 9-year-old daughter's death (ketamine) was a hospital mistake. The hospital has said the ketamine was not prescribed for the child, Georgina, who died on January 29.

Georgina's death was preceded by that of her sisters, Iris (6 months old, 2021) and Malina (3.5 years old, 2019).

Following the woman's testimony, an Athens investigating magistrate and a prosecutor decided she should be held pending trial, as she is considered dangerous and could commit new crimes.

The woman was arrested on Wednesday evening in her hometown of Patra, western Greece, and was transferred to the Attica Police Headquarters  where she spent the night.

In a report submitted to the prosecutor overseeing the case, the Attica Security Directorate said its investigation revealed “that the only person who was in Georgina’s room for the last 20 minutes of her life, before the side effects of the drug kicked in, was her mother.”

The family’s two other young girls also died under mysterious circumstances in the last three years, prompting the homicides unit to scrutinise this case.