A 26-year-old Afghan man found in an apartment in Athens’ Kypseli neighborhood with a family of five and a dead infant is known to Greek authorities, according to Greek media reports.
The man, who presented himself as the partner of the family’s 15-year-old girl, has appeared in videos posted on social media alongside the teenager and her younger siblings, according to a report by Greek broadcaster MEGA.
Police know the 26-year-old as a suspected trafficker of hard drugs. The reports also raised questions about whether drugs were being distributed from the apartment where the family lived, although no such activity has been established.
Neighbors in Kypseli told MEGA they had observed frequent visitors entering and leaving the apartment.
“Many people were coming and going,” one resident said, adding that children and adults were among those entering the building and that some people waited outside for the door to open.
Another neighbor, who said they had previously lived near the family in Kato Patisia, described repeated problems involving noise, garbage and the children being outside at night.
Children had previously been found without documents
The three children had already come to the attention of authorities about a year earlier.
In 2025, the two boys, who were then 8 and 12 years old, were brought to Agia Sofia Children’s Hospital in Athens by police after they were found alone on the streets.
A few days later, the girl, who was then 14, was also brought to the hospital.
Hospital sources said the children had no identification documents at the time. According to the sources, their father repeatedly said he would provide the necessary papers.
One evening, the father arrived at the hospital and took the children away without authorization. Hospital staff said they notified the police and a prosecutor.
“At the time, there was nothing unusual about them. They were simply two unaccompanied children,” hospital sources said, referring to the two boys.
About a year later, the children were brought back to the same hospital following the discovery of drugs and the body of a baby who was fatally stabbed in the back at the home where they lived.
The reports say the baby is believed to have been their sibling, whom the children may never have known.
The two boys were also found to have a sexually transmitted infection, while the 15-year-old was reported to be pregnant and addicted to drugs.
Questions over an older family photograph
A photograph posted by the 43-year-old father on New Year’s Eve in 2022 has also raised questions. The image shows the man with his wife, the three children and a baby in a stroller.
The photograph predates the date on which the children’s 38-year-old mother said she had given birth to the baby who was later found dead.
The discrepancy has prompted questions about the circumstances surrounding the infant’s birth and death.
What the man’s mother says
The mother of the 43-year-old man told MEGA that she has three grandchildren and said she had learned that her son had been arrested.
“I am a mother. I am alone. My husband has died. My child was a very good child here,” she said, adding that she did not know why the events had occurred.
She said she had sent gifts and small amounts of money to the children from abroad.
Asked about her son’s 38-year-old wife, she said she had had no contact with the woman. She also said her son met the German woman while he was abroad, at a cafe.
The family’s history had previously raised concerns among neighbors in Kato Patisia. One resident said the children were frequently seen walking around alone at night.
“There was a lot of dirt in the building and a lot of noise,” the neighbor said, adding that the elevator operated throughout the night and that residents had complained to both the building’s owner and manager about the conditions.
