Judicial authorities describe the actions of Eirini Mourtzoukou as ‘ruthless,’ based on the indictment issued by the Patras prosecutor that led to her arrest. This case involves the death of her sister, two of her own infants, and a friend’s baby in 2021. According to the indictment, the 25-year-old is alleged to have attempted four times to kill one of her two children. Judicial documents refer to her ‘obsessive and persistent’ efforts to murder both her own child and that of her friend.
These horrifying attempts, documented by judicial authorities, appear to have been decisive in issuing an arrest warrant against Mourtzoukou, who was deemed dangerous and suspected of committing further crimes. As outlined in the warrant, there are ‘serious indications of repeated ruthless commission of homicide—three completed and one attempted—in a calm psychological state marked by complete indifference, coldness, hardness, and total disregard for the legal value of life. Multiple victims were involved, including three infants—clearly vulnerable individuals unable to resist—and two of them were the defendant’s biological children.’
The indictment details the tragic course that led to the death of her second child, beginning on September 14, 2023:
– On September 14, 2023, in the evening before midnight at her home in Kato Achaia, while alone with her infant daughter Maria Freideriki, she attempted to suffocate the baby by blocking her nose and mouth with an unspecified object. She was interrupted when her mother arrived and called emergency services.
– On October 7, 2023, around 8:30 PM at the “Agia Sophia” Children’s Hospital in Athens, where the baby was hospitalized, she again tried to suffocate Maria Freideriki but was stopped by hospital staff.
– On October 9, 2023, at approximately 6 PM and 10 PM, she made two more attempts in the same hospital room, both thwarted by medical personnel.
– On October 12, 2023, around 8:30 PM, she once again tried to block the baby’s airways in the hospital, but was interrupted by hospital staff.
– Finally, on October 17, 2023, at around 3:30 AM, she successfully suffocated her daughter by completely obstructing her nose and mouth, causing hypoxia through an asphyxiating mechanism that ultimately caused her death. She acted knowingly, fully aware that she was taking the child’s life.
The indictment also describes her attempt to kill her friend’s baby on December 11, 2020, at the Karamandaneio Children’s Hospital in Patras, as well as the fatal obstruction of the baby’s airway on February 4, 2021.
Regarding the death of her first child in 2022, the indictment states: ‘On June 18, 2022, in Kato Achaia, you committed the crime of murder against your female infant born on June 1, 2022, by completely blocking its respiratory pathways, causing hypoxia and resulting in death. You acted intentionally, in a calm mental state, knowing full well that you were taking the child’s life.’
Lastly, regarding the attempted murder of her then-partner, the indictment claims that while the woman was asleep, Mourtzoukou placed a pillow over her face in an attempt to suffocate her. However, the victim woke up, preventing the act from being completed.