Tablet retrieved from girl’s grave after magistrate’s order

A tablet that was buried with a 9-year-old girl whose 33-year-old mother is accused of killing and which could provide evidence on her demise was retrieved on Saturday morning, following an order by the magistrate investigating the case.

The tablet was buried with the girl at the insistence of her mother, Roula Pispirigou, from the western city of Patra, saying it was her favorite item.

The decision to open the grave followed the testimony of the father, Manos Daskalakis, who has stated he supports the accusation against his estranged wife and confirmed that the tablet had been buried with her.

The girl, Georgina, died in hospital in late January, and Pispirigou, who has denied the charges, was arrested last week, after postmortem toxicology tests showed she had received ketamine, a drug which had not been prescribed by her doctors.

Georgina was the third girl of the family to die since 2019. The deaths have prompted a police investigation.