Athens: A Greek court sentenced Roula Pispirigou to three life terms for murdering her daughters to prevent her husband from leaving.
She had already received a life sentence in 2024 for poisoning her eldest daughter, Georgina, with ketamine.
On Tuesday, the court found her guilty of suffocating her younger daughters, Malena and Irida, in 2019 and 2021.
Pispirigou, 36, insists on her innocence and vowed to appeal the court’s decision.
She held up a photo of her children, telling the judges, “They will haunt you,” according to Greek City Times.
Court Decision
The court ruled she murdered Malena and Irida in a “calm state of mind” to keep her husband, Manos Daskalakis.
Her ex-husband attended the packed courtroom, along with her relatives, as the verdict was announced.
Prosecutor Vassiliki Dimopoulou described Pispirigou as methodical, premeditated, and determined in her actions.
The court’s findings eliminated any doubts about her guilt, said Daskalakis’ lawyer, Eva Ambazi.
This trial followed a reexamination of Malena and Irida’s deaths after Georgina’s murder conviction.
Past Conviction
In 2024, Pispirigou was sentenced for killing her 9-year-old daughter Georgina by administering ketamine.
Georgina suffered convulsions for 10 months before becoming tetraplegic and dying in a hospital in January 2022.
Medical tests after her death revealed previous attempts on her life during earlier hospitalizations.
The murder led to a reevaluation of her other daughters’ deaths, initially attributed to health issues.
Authorities determined Malena and Irida had been suffocated, leading to the new murder trial.
Case Background
Malena, three and a half years old, was initially diagnosed with acute liver failure in 2019.
Six-month-old Irida’s death in 2021 was first attributed to heart failure.
After Georgina’s murder investigation, forensic tests confirmed both girls were asphyxiated.
Greek media dubbed Pispirigou a “modern-day Medea,” referencing the mythological figure who killed her children.
The case shocked Greece, drawing intense public scrutiny and media coverage for years.
Public Reaction
During her trial, angry onlookers shouted insults and attempted to attack her outside the courtroom.
Police heavily guarded Pispirigou as she arrived for hearings in Athens.
Her actions were widely condemned, with many calling her crimes “calculated and monstrous.”
Prosecutors argued she killed her daughters to manipulate her husband into staying.
The case has reignited discussions about family violence and psychological abuse in Greece.
