The 38-year-old German woman at the center of the Athens baby-in-suitcase case has not confessed to any wrongdoing and is in a fragile psychological state, her lawyer said, calling the discovery “an unprecedented crime in Greek judicial and police history.”
Christos Psarras, the woman’s attorney, told iefimerida.gr that his client is a long-term drug user who has lost a child in the past and is currently pregnant.
“She is in a very bad psychological condition,” Mr. Psarras said. “She has admitted to years of drug use, and she says she lost a child. That makes her extremely vulnerable.”
The woman has not yet given a formal statement to investigators because no interpreter was available, Mr. Psarras said.
He expressed hope that an interpreter would be found by Wednesday, when she is scheduled to appear before an examining magistrate.
“There is no confession of any kind because there was no deposition due to the absence of an interpreter,” he said
According to Mr. Psarras, the only charges currently in the case file relate to drug trafficking and failure to report a death.
“There is no other indictment related to murder or anything else at this stage,” he said. “The only thing she told me is that this is a crime that has shocked even her.”
The woman has told journalists the baby was hers and that she kept the body after it died, Mr. Psarras said.
“She said it is normal, when a mother loses her child and may be suffering from a psychiatric illness, to act this way. It is not normal under any circumstances,” he told Star TV.
The 43-year-old Greek man detained with her has claimed the infant was not theirs and alleged the hospital had swapped the newborn with a “satanic” child.
Forensic examiner Symeon Mesogitis found at least 10 stab wounds on the baby’s back, classifying the death as infanticide.
The exact time of death could not be determined because the body had been kept in a freezer.
All three adults face charges of drug offenses and failing to declare a death. A 26-year-old Afghan man was also detained but not charged.
Three minors found in the apartment were placed under protective care.