Greek authorities are treating the death of an infant discovered in an Athens apartment as a suspected homicide following the findings of a forensic examination. The child’s parents remain in custody as police investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.
Forensic findings
According to police sources, the forensic examination identified approximately 20 stab wounds on the infant’s back.
As the body had been kept frozen, the exact time of death and the child’s precise age cannot be determined.
The 43-year-old father and 38-year-old mother were initially arrested on suspicion of failing to report the discovery of a body. Following the forensic findings, they are expected to face homicide charges.
The father and a 26-year-old Afghan man who was also found in the apartment have additionally been charged with drug possession.
How police discovered the infant
The case emerged on Sunday afternoon when the owner of a short-term rental apartment on Thasou Street in Kypseli contacted police. He alleged that the tenants had not paid their rent and were using drugs.
Before officers responding to the complaint arrived, the owner saw members of the DIAS motorcycle unit patrolling nearby and informed them of the situation.
Inside the apartment, officers found the 43-year-old man, his 38-year-old German wife and three minors whom the couple said were their children. They were a 15-year-old girl and two boys aged 12 and nine.
A 26-year-old Afghan man was also present and told police that he was the 15-year-old girl’s partner.
Officers took the father, the 26-year-old and the girl to a police station after small quantities of drugs were allegedly found in their possession.
Police later returned to search the apartment and found the mother and the two boys with packed suitcases, apparently preparing to leave. During a search of the luggage, officers discovered a container holding the body of a frozen infant.
The mother told officers that the infant was her child and had died eight months earlier.
Further searches and protective care
Police also searched a property on Fyli Street where the couple had reportedly lived for two years until recently. Nothing suspicious was found.
The two boys were transferred to a children’s hospital for protective care. According to available information, they had previously been placed there, and social services already held a case file concerning the family.
The 15-year-old girl was taken to Alexandra Hospital because she is pregnant.
Source: AMNA
