Maria Karystianou, the mother of Marthi, who lost her life in the Tempi train disaster, has filed a new request for the exhumation of her daughter’s body, submitting it on Monday, October 6, to the head of the Larissa Prosecutor’s Office.
This marks the third time Karystianou has requested her daughter’s exhumation, after her two previous petitions were rejected. The new request came shortly after prosecutors indicated they would fully approve a similar appeal by Panos Ruci, the father of another victim, to exhume his son Dennis’s remains and conduct toxicology tests.
Ruci case drew widespread attention after his 22-day hunger strike in Athens’ Syntagma Square. On September 26, prosecutors had partially accepted his earlier request, allowing DNA identification tests. The latest development means toxicological analyses will now also be permitted, to be carried out by officially appointed forensic experts. Families of victims will also be able to appoint independent experts to verify the findings.
Judicial authorities, however, clarified that this decision does not reopen the Tempi train crash investigation. The new exhumations and laboratory examinations will form a separate case file, whose results will be submitted to the court once the trial begins.
If new evidence arises—such as potential criminal liability for coroners or other officials—a separate judicial process could follow to address those findings.
