A Roma couple in Katerini, Greece, have been arrested for presenting as their own a female infant who, DNA testing proved, has no biological relationship to them.
According to the Greek police, the couple had managed to obtain a birth certificate for the infant from the Municipality of Athens, after the 59 year-old woman had twice attempted, without success, to register the birth with the Municipality of Katerini, Greece.
A third person involved in the case is a 41 year-old woman who is alleged to have delivered the infant to the couple. She is already in prison for another offence.
What raises more questions on the infant’s identity, whose age has not yet been ascertained, is that DNA tests show that the 41 year-old woman is not the child’s biological mother either.
The new case came to light when the Misdemeanors Court of Athens ordered an investigation into birth registration. As part of a preliminary investigation, the Roma couple went to the police to answer some questions, taking the baby with them.
When the investigation showed that the infant was not theirs, they were arrested.
According to the 58 year-old woman’s testimony, the infant was handed over to them in September 2013 near Larissa, central Greece, without money changing hands.
It is worth noting that the Roma woman arrived at the police station with the infant, whose existence she had originally denied.
The social services of the Greek Ministry of Health have taken the child into care, and tests have shown her to be in good health.
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