The trial continued at the Mixed Jury Court of Heraklion, Crete, with the testimony of the 27-year-old mother accused of causing the death of 3-year-old Angelos. The defendant was the focus of today’s session, during which she apologized and stated that she had not yet come to terms with the loss of her child.

During her testimony, the 27-year-old mother initially spoke about her personal life before the child’s birth. As she explained, she had been in a relationship in the past, became pregnant, but the pregnancy did not proceed.

She then spoke about how she met Dimitris, the biological father of little Angelos. As she explained, they met through Facebook and saw each other that same day. According to her, they became a couple right away, and she moved in with him.

“He told me that same evening, ‘You’re not going home; you’re staying here with me,’” she stated in her defense, adding that her mother objected, since the 27-year-old had to work the next day.

As she explained, neither she nor the child’s biological father was working at that time. According to her account, the child’s grandmother and aunt would provide financial support. Her family, she said, asked her how they would manage, to which she replied that they would try.

The 27-year-old noted that she did not want to terminate the pregnancy, stating specifically that she did not want to “abort” the child.

In her defense, she further claimed that Angelos’s biological father subsequently began abusing her, even while she was pregnant. As she said, he spoke to her harshly, was jealous of her, and hit her, though she herself did not report the incidents to the authorities.

Referring to little Angelos, she claimed that the child’s biological father had hit him because, as she said, the child wouldn’t go near him. “He pushed him down on the floor and slapped him,” she said, adding that she pushed him away and told him to leave the child alone.

According to the 27-year-old, after the incident, the man also hit her. The defendant also stated that the biological father wanted to acknowledge the child, but she did not want him to, since, as she claimed, she feared for Angelos’s safety.

As part of her defense, the 27-year-old also recounted how she met the second defendant, whom she had met—as she said—through Facebook. “He asked me if I wanted to be in a relationship with him from the very first day he met me. I said yes; I didn’t know him at all. I trusted him very quickly,” she stated. She also claimed that, at first, the child slept with them in their double bed, and she subsequently described serious incidents of abuse, attributing them to her partner.

As she said, “Then I don’t know what came over him; he grabbed the crib rail and I saw him hitting the child on the arms and knees because he was lively.” She also mentioned that he told her he was “spanking the child to teach him a lesson,” adding that she had never directly witnessed these acts herself.

When asked why she didn’t take the child to the hospital, she replied: “How could I go to the hospital? It was so far away.” The defendant also noted that she saw “some bruises,” but—as she said—did not know where they came from.

Referring to the incident on the day that led to her leaving home, she said that the child had been hit at school and shouted an inappropriate word, which she described as “f***”, noting that this was the reason she left.

“That was the reason I took the child and disappeared,” she said, adding that her parents did not know she had left and that she took very few things with her—just 3 or 4 of Angelos’s clothes.  Finally, she described an incident in which, as she claimed, one morning on January 25 she went out for coffee and when she returned, she found the child in a bad condition.

“I walked in and saw the child on the couch with his eyes rolled back. He told me he had hit his head on the coffee table,” he testified, without providing further details. Demonstrating a complete disregard for human life and for the child himself, the 44-year-old man reportedly told the mother, according to her testimony: “If something happens to your child, it doesn’t matter; we’ll just make another one.”

During the hearing, the presiding judge showed the mother photographs of the child bearing signs of abuse. The 27-year-old was asked if she had seen those specific marks and how they were caused, repeatedly answering that she did not know.

She concluded her statement with the words: “I haven’t realized that my child is gone; I feel like he’s still here. I’m so, so sorry that I didn’t manage to do anything.”  After the 27-year-old finished her statement, the court adjourned the session for half an hour.

The 44-year-old defendant did not appear

Today, Friday, June 26, both the 27-year-old mother of the child and her then-partner, the 44-year-old defendant, were expected to enter a plea regarding the charges against them in the case. However, the 44-year-old did not appear in the Heraklion courts, citing health problems. In addition to the statements of the two defendants, a professor of psychiatry—who had been proposed as a witness by the defense team of the 27-year-old mother—also testified during the proceedings.

Professor of Psychiatry: The mother has an intellectual disability

The professor stated that he examined the first defendant a total of three times after the crime, while she was being held at the Korydallos Women’s Prison. As he explained, his evaluation confirms previous assessments made of the 27-year-old when she was a child at the “Agia Sofia” Children’s Hospital. According to him, and as reported by neakriti.gr, the 27-year-old has an intellectual disability, which is not easily discernible from her outward appearance.

He noted, for example, that when asked to name three European countries, she replied: “Greece, Patras, Australia.”

The professor noted that she may be aware of an act of abuse, but the crucial issue is how she assesses it and how she processes it. In fact, he stated that even today he is not certain whether the defendant has fully realized that her child has died.

When asked whether the 27-year-old had the mental capacity to conceal abuse, the professor replied: “In my opinion, based on the evaluation of the evidence, absolutely not.”

The 27-year-old struck Irini Mourtzoukou

During the proceedings, the defense attorney for the second defendant further argued that the 27-year-old had encountered problems with other inmates during her detention at Korydallos Prison. As he reported, there was an incident during which the first defendant allegedly struck Eirini Mourtzoukou, a claim that was made during the hearing.

What Happened

The case, which has caused intense emotion and nationwide interest, involves the 27-year-old mother of the child and her then-partner, who are facing very serious charges. During the previous hearing, defense witnesses spoke about the defendant’s character and circumstances, arguing that she could not have harmed her child, while also citing psychological and cognitive difficulties.

The defendant’s defense attorney, Maria Avouri, emphasized in a statement the importance of maintaining composure in assessing the case, noting that “In a trial, we are not judged by the shock of the outcome. The court must examine the evidence and the role of each person involved with a clear head, as it emerges from the case file and the scientific documentation.”

She pointed out that the defense is requesting an assessment based solely on the evidence in the case file, free from the emotional weight of the case.  In the proceedings that have already taken place, paramedics, doctors, and other witnesses have testified, describing the circumstances under which the child was transported to the hospital in January 2024 and ultimately died.

The trial continues with the completion of the examination of the defense witnesses and the gradual review of all the evidence, while the case remains highly charged and at the center of public attention.

Source: Protothema.gr