A 35-year-old woman, Roula Pisprigou, who was sentenced to jail last year for killing her 9-year-old daughter, has received two additional life imprisonment, for the murder of her two other daughters in Greece.
Pisprigou was sentenced by a High Court in Athens, after being found guilty of smothering 3-year-old Malena in 2019 and her 6-month-old sister, Irida in 2021.
During her trial on Tuesday, the accused, who allegedly committed the heinous acts to salvage her marriage, pleaded not-guilty to the charges brought by the prosecuting counsel.
However, the presiding judges adopted the prosecutor’s proposal, who had requested the defendant’s guilt, attributing the motive to her obsession with her then-husband Manos Daskalakis.
Earlier, Prosecutor Vasikiki Dimopoulou, told the court that Pispirigou drowned the children so that her marriage with Daskalakis could continue.
“Her egoism was overwhelming to continue living the fabricated dream. The little girls became unfortunate Iphigenias. She shows a person who operates methodically and thoughtfully. Her cold gaze, which is in agreement with the freezing of her fingers, betrays the loss of love,” Dimopoulou stated.
“The accused exploited the opportunity to conceal her crimes with the help of the forensic doctors. They have failed to recognize their responsibility and have not conducted a serious or thorough investigation into the cause of death of three young children. Forensic doctors are marked by irresponsibility and sycophantic behavior.” The prosecutor added.
Last year , the convict was found guilty of murdering her nine-year-old daughter, Georgina, who died in January 2022 following a lengthy hospital stay.
Pispirigou, said to be a practicing nurse, attempted to murder her when the child was hospitalized at Karamandaneio Hospital in Patra the previous year.
As gathered, her initial attempt failed, leaving the child paralyzed but later administered the anesthetic drug ketamine, resulting in the child’s death at the Children’s Hospital.
Pispirigou has been dubbed a ‘modern-day Medea’ by Greek media, referencing the mythological figure who infamously killed her sons after being abandoned by their father.
The alleged triple infanticide has sparked widespread outrage and media frenzy in Greece, where such crimes are exceedingly rare.