Photo: Aris Messinis / AFP via Getty Images.
A mother accused of killing, at different times, her three little daughters-a case that has rocked Greece. The protagonist of the case is Roula Pispirigou, a 33-year-old nurse originally from Patras in the Peloponnese, who was arrested for the death of her 9-year-old daughter, a dreadful charge that was later joined by charges for the murders of her other two little ones, aged three and a half years and six months, which occurred in the summer of 2019 and March 2021, respectively.
The woman was charged with voluntary manslaughter for the poisoning of her eldest daughter, who had been admitted to the Athens hospital several times before her death. An autopsy and toxicology tests found ketamine in the victim's body. The woman has always denied all charges, but prosecutors have added charges for the deaths of her other two daughters: in the latest report by forensic physicians Karakoukis-Kalogria it was found that the two little girls did not die of natural causes, but from asphyxiation.
It was precisely the details that emerged from the latter document that triggered public anger against the woman: in addition to the demonstrations that took place during the hearings, the words, “Death to the murderers of the children,” appeared on her house.
The medical examiners' final report on the deaths of the two youngest daughters found that Roula Pispirigou was present at the time of death. In the case of Malena, the 3 1/2-year-old girl who died on April 13, 2019, the woman sought help from doctors when the little girl was already deceased. Doctors described the child, who had recently overcome leukemia, as cheerful and sociable: despite the tough illness she faced, her health condition was good and her death was “sudden,” as confirmed by medical reports.
As for the death of Iris, only six months old, the investigation focused on the photographic material in the file: there were traces of blood on the little girl's mouth, evidence deemed “overwhelming” by prosecutors. Again, the woman approached doctors when the little girl had been dead for several hours. A “photocopy” case that occurred two years after the first, in March 2021: the woman told law enforcement officials that she had put the baby to bed and found her dead the next morning, but her version never convinced investigators.
Also because about a month later, on April 9, 2021, it was the turn of 9-year-old Georgina, who was hospitalized in convulsions. A few days later the little girl was discharged, but a few months later, in January 2022, she died at “Aglaia Kyriakou” Children's Hospital. As revealed later by toxicological analysis, the death was caused by the massive administration of ketamine.