Late afternoon saw the completion of the forensic examination of the 4-year-old who was found dead in a swimming pool in Paxos, and according to the report by forensic pathologist Ioannis Aivatidis, her death resulted from drowning in water. The family, relatives, and the entire Paxos community will say their final goodbye to the child tomorrow at 6:30 PM in Longos, where she was growing up with her family. Tomorrow the little girl would have celebrated her fourth birthday, but fate had other plans.
Paxos: Parents of 4-year-old released with conditions
The parents of the 4-year-old who lost her life in a villa pool in Paxos were released with the consent of both prosecutor and investigator. It should be noted that the prosecutor had filed criminal charges against three relatives of the child for exposing a minor to danger, as the mother, father, and grandfather were at home when the girl disappeared.
After completing their testimonies, the defendants were released with the restrictive condition of being prohibited from leaving the country. The little girl’s funeral is expected to take place on Tuesday afternoon (26/08) in Longos, Paxos.
Two scenarios under investigation
According to sources, two possible scenarios are being examined: either the family was sleeping when the child left the house, or only the father was sleeping while the mother was doing household chores, resulting in the little girl escaping their attention.
The little girl was playing in the living room, but apparently left the house, moved through the neighborhood, and walked to the villa, where she was later found in the pool.
The initial questions concern the exact time she left home and how for approximately 50 minutes, from 4:00 PM when the family noticed her absence until 4:50 PM when she was located, she remained missing.
The fatal journey – What witness testimonies reveal
Through their words and drone footage captured in the area, more light is shed on the circumstances of the accident. “Tomorrow was her birthday, and the funeral will take place. It’s the worst day for us,” says her grandmother.
Little Amelia was first seen dead in the pool by a local resident who was participating in the search. As he says, he tried to revive the child but was unsuccessful. “We got a lot of water out but… it was very bad.”
Pandemonium broke out at the scene. The worst fears from the moment the 4-year-old’s trail had gone cold had just been confirmed. “I don’t know how the child left,” adds the child’s grandmother.
4-year-old’s aunt describes dramatic moments of discovery in pool
Shocked by what happened, the 4-year-old’s aunt speaks to Live News about how the child managed to escape everyone’s attention at the house where she lived and reach the pool alone.
Faced with the tragic loss of a 4-year-old girl is the child’s family, as well as the local community of Paxos, where the fatality occurred.
The 4-year-old’s parents and grandfather were brought before the investigator to give their testimonies, from whom they requested and received an extension until Monday, August 25.
Criminal charges have been filed against them for exposing a minor to danger.
4-year-old Amelia was at her home and according to her parents was playing in its yard when she moved away without anyone noticing.
Her aunt describes to Live News the dramatic minutes from the child’s loss until her discovery in the villa’s pool.
“The child opened the door and went behind the house that has a pool. She left home and went straight there. She took her shoes, she took the little bucket that children play with and they found these toys too in the pool where the child went. Both the toys, the police found them there in the pool. She fell in and these were on the pool, the little buckets, the dolls, they were on the pool. She had eaten lunch, yes. When they got the water out of her mouth, the child also brought up the food.”
The moments that followed were dramatic. “We searched here and there, she was behind here at the house, it doesn’t occur to you that she was here in the pool behind the house. She had never gone there before, on this road she took now. The child didn’t know this road. We searched and the neighborhood was here too and they were searching with us as well. Someone found her and said: ‘I found the child.’ We thought maybe he found her alive but the child was dead. She had her birthday and we were gathering balloons and lamb and everything we were going to do for the little girl’s party, now we’ll be preparing poison.”
