Girl at the beach: Mother charged; she tried to flee to Algeria

The mother of the little girl found dead at a Palaio Faliro beach a week ago, was charged on Saturday with the crime of “homicide while in a calm state of mind” as well as with a misdemeanor of “continuous and dangerous bodily harm against a family member that could not deflect the attacks.”

After appearing before a prosecutor, the 32-year-old Algerian national, who is also mother of two boys aged 4 and 5, was referred to an investigator for the formal issue of an arrest warrant, after which she will be detained until trial.

The woman lived in Greece without regular papers and was arrested on Friday, August 1. The file drawn up against her includes a testimony by a neighbor who said she was physically abusive to her children.

The little girl that it was 3 years old was found dead at Edem beach in southern Athens. The body was never claimed either by the parents or anybody else.

It was CCTV footage from the area and witness testimonies that led police to her home in Kato Patissia. The woman was arrested after leaving the house with her two boys early Friday morning.

She claimed to Coast Guard investigators that the child had hurt itself from a fall at home and she was afraid to go to a hospital because she was in the country illegally and would be deported.

Girl still alive when left in the sea

Based on the autopsy results that “water and sand” were found in the girl’s lungs, it was clear to authorities that the girl was alive or was dying when the mother left her in the sea.

It should be stressed that the distance between the home in Kato Patisia and the beach is around 15 km away which she allegedly  covered them with the tram and/or other public transport means and on foot.

In the eyes of the society and investigators, she had more than enough time to reflect on what she was doing and she was following a plan.

Contradictions in testimony

Investigators have discovered several contradictions in the woman’s testimony. Once she claimed that the girl went to the bathroom and slipped, later that she fell from her hands, broke her teeth and died.”

Police are trying to decipher what happened on Saturday night that led to the death of the 3-year-old girl.

On Monday, they discovered a plastic bag with the dress she was wearing on the night she brought her daughter to the beach, as well as the clothes the boys were wearing and a tram ticket. The bag was discovered hidden in a bush near her home.

CCTV footage: mother with the two boys and the girl in a stroller buying chis and water from the kiosk at Edem beach.

Woman tried to flee to Algeria

Also on Monday, some media reported that after abandoning her daughter on Saturday night, July 27, the following Monday she made an appointment for assisted voluntary return to her country (Algeria) through the International Organization for Migration’s program. She had reportedly also the Algerian embassy in Athens she had two and not three children, protothema.gr reported. 

The woman had applied for asylum in Greece in 2020 but she was rejected. The program supports return of rejected asylum seekers to their home country with flight ticket and additional bonus of 500 euros.

So far, authorities have not located the father of the children, also of Algerian origin, but holder of a Syrian nationality.

Helped by an accomplice?

Authorities reportedly “see” premeditation and a cover-up, while they are seriously considering the possibility that the 32-year-old had an accomplice who guided her throughout the night when little Tzena was found dead on the beach of Palaio Faliro.

The taxi driver who took her and the boys home testified that she was “playing with her mobile” or “texting” the whole time.