Greek authorities have arrested a foreign national in connection with the tragic death of a young girl whose body was discovered on Edem Beach in Palaio Faliro.
In an official statement released on Saturday morning, the Hellenic Coast Guard announced:
“This morning, August 1, 2025, a foreign national woman was arrested in Athens in connection with the discovery of the body of a girl, approximately three years old.
“The child’s body was found on Sunday, 27 July 2025, in the sea off Edem Beach, Palaio Faliro. ”
According to ERTNews, the woman arrested is of Algerian origin and is believed to be the child’s mother and reportedly admitted this during police questioning.
“This morning, August 1, 2025, a foreign national woman was arrested in Athens in connection with the discovery of the body of a girl, approximately three years old.” Hellenic Coast Guard
The suspect was located on Friday night after police surveillance of a residence in Patissia — a once middle-class Greek neighbourhood that has, over the past two decades, become a hub for immigrants and refugees, many of whom are irregular arrivals fleeing conflicts in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia.
On Saturday morning (Athens time), as the woman left the apartment building with her two young children, police officers stopped her and asked her to accompany them to Athens Police Headquarters. She was brought in for questioning and remains in custody.
According to initial reports, the woman told police that the little girl had fallen ill the previous Saturday. She claimed the child went to the bathroom, slipped, hit her head, and developed a large bump.
Believing the child may have died — and afraid to seek medical help because she is not a legal resident — she decided to abandon the child on the beach. However, it now appears the child may have still been alive when she was left there.
The suspect has not yet provided a formal written statement to police.
Investigators are also seeking the whereabouts of the children’s father, a Syrian national currently missing. There are reports of a history of domestic violence, with allegations that he abused both the mother and the children. Authorities may seek to locate him for questioning.
A key breakthrough came when Hellenic Coast Guard officers tracked down a tourist from Israel who had exited a taxi near Edem Beach. Contacted overseas via WhatsApp, the tourist identified the location where he had boarded the taxi. Investigators then traced the driver to the Ermou Street taxi rank. The driver confirmed he had dropped off the woman in question at a location in Kato Patissia.
Authorities had also reviewed surveillance footage showing the woman’s movements. In the first video, she is seen pushing a pram with two young children and a third child — presumed to be the deceased — inside. The child in the pram was wearing a swimsuit matching the one later found on the body discovered at the beach, and her face was covered with a cloth.
Roughly three hours later, a second video captured the same woman again on the beachfront, this time with an empty pram. She is seen getting into a taxi with the two remaining children but without the pram.
The woman is expected to be transferred to the Floisvos Coast Guard Department, which is leading the investigation.
