Kipseli: Parents deny murder – 'Being a bad parent is different from being a child killer'
The two accused parents claim the infant died from medical causes. Their lawyer seeks psychiatric assessment and disputes the forensic examination findings.
Kipseli infant case: Defence rejects murder charge
The two parents, aged 43 and 38, who are accused in the Kipseli case, categorically deny the murder of the infant. According to Dikastiko.gr, their lawyer, Christos Psarras, spoke to ERTNews and presented the defence's line of argument.
"It is different to be a bad father or bad mother and another thing to be a child killer," said Mr Psarras characteristically. His clients, as he noted, acknowledge that they did not adequately fulfil their parental duties, but reject any responsibility for the child's death.
Claims of medical causes of death
According to the lawyer, the two parents maintain that the infant died from medical causes and that they attempted to revive it, without success. After the death, as Mr Psarras stated, they were unable to separate from the body.
The 43-year-old is said, according to the defence, to have stated that the decision to place the body in freezing was solely his. The claims of the two accused present, based on evidence available so far, discrepancies regarding the time and circumstances of the death.
The authorities are examining in parallel all available data in order to determine the exact causes, including the possibility of sudden infant death syndrome.
Disputing the forensic examination – request for technical advisor
Mr Psarras emphasised that the accused dispute the conclusions of the forensic examination included in the case file. For this reason, the defence intends to request the appointment of a technical advisor, so that the findings can be re-examined.
The lawyer also raised the issue of the mental state of the two parents. He argued that they should be examined by a psychiatrist and psychologist, as, he noted, there are health problems that may affect their behaviour and social functioning.
Previous court decision and the other children
Mr Psarras confirmed that in the past a court decision had been issued in which the parents had been reproached for the manner in which they exercised their parental duties. According to him, the decision provided for the case to be re-examined after one year, so as to assess compliance.
However, as the lawyer argued, the new incidents occurred before that period of time had passed. The other children of the family are now, according to Mr Psarras, "in a safe place under state protection".
Questions about DNA leak and services' response
The lawyer finally raised the issue of the disclosure of DNA test results. He expressed his puzzlement at how personal data from examinations at a public hospital became publicly known. "There should be accountability in relation to this," he said.
At the same time, the defence raises questions about the response of the competent state services to previous complaints concerning the family. According to Mr Psarras, in the past the children had been transferred to Paides hospital and reports had been recorded of problems in the family environment.
The two parents, like every accused, are presumed innocent until the issuance of a final and binding court decision.
Source: Dikastiko.gr