Skeleton found in basement in Marathon: Daughter and grandson of deceased arrested
The 68-year-old daughter and grandson of an elderly woman were taken to the police station following the discovery of a skeletal body in the basement of a house in Marathon.
Arrest of daughter and grandson following discovery of skeleton in basement in Marathon
The 68-year-old daughter and grandson of an elderly woman were arrested and taken to the police station, according to In.gr, following the discovery of human remains in the basement of a house in Marathon. The prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for the offence of failure to report the discovery of a body.
The bones, which are said to belong to the elderly woman, were found wrapped in nylon and a sheet. Due to the skeletal condition of the body, a forensic anthropologist was called to examine the findings on site. The bones and other evidence were transferred to a police vehicle for further examination at a competent laboratory.
It is expected that the forensic report will provide information about the time of death and, conditionally, the causes of death, as well as the official identification of the victim.
The complaint that brought the case to light
The case was revealed following a complaint by the elderly woman's granddaughter, who has been living abroad in recent years. The woman told authorities that she had lost contact with her grandmother for over a decade. According to her, had the elderly woman been alive today, she would have been 90 years old.
Following the complaint, police searched the elderly woman's name in the EFKA database and established that her death had never been reported, resulting in a wider investigation being launched.
On Thursday, teams with specialist machinery and bulldozers excavated the entire garden of the house without locating the body at that time. The remains were ultimately found in the basement.
Statements from those arrested
Early in the morning of the same day, the 68-year-old daughter had claimed that her mother died of natural causes. "My mother was advanced in age. She died of biological causes. I don't remember where I put her," she told authorities. When asked why her mother was not given a funeral, she replied: "These are personal matters."
The grandson, for his part, denied any involvement. "I have no involvement whatsoever," he stated, adding that he did not live permanently in the house. "My mother, I don't know exactly what she has done. My grandmother left years ago, but my mother was lying to me — that she had buried her there, when she wasn't there," he said. He added that the last time he saw the elderly woman she was alive and that at that time he was in Trikala with his father.
The grandson acknowledged that his mother "did something illegal," without knowing the details: "My mother did something illegal, but she doesn't even tell me what she did."
The authorities' investigation continues, with the forensic anthropologist's findings expected to be a critical factor in the development of the case.
Source: In.gr