Disagreements regarding the forensic findings on the body of 19-year-old Alkis Kampanos, the medical examiner Katerina Apostolidou expressed, testifying at the Mixed Jury Court of Thessaloniki as a defense witness on behalf of one of the 12 defendants.

The medical examiner distanced herself from the findings included in the forensic report, which was prepared by Leda – Kalliopi Kovatsis, expressing her own scientific opinions. Focusing on the points where she disagrees, Mrs. Apostolidou assessed that Alki’s death came from hemorrhagic shock, a result of the hit to the femoral artery, which she characterized as “accidental”, describing it as an “accident”. She added that she does not consider the craniocerebral injuries suffered by the 19-year-old to be fatal (in her opinion, Mrs. Kovatsi stated that his death was caused by the confluence of injuries to the lower limbs and the head).

The three points of contention

Drawing her conclusions from a review of photographs, she said, and not from an examination of the body of the dead young man, the medical examiner pointed out in court the points where she disagrees with her colleague Ms. Kovatsis, whom she said “we have been working together for years and it is My girlfriend”.

As he testified, two wounds are described on Alki’s left thigh, which are presented as two different ones. “It is, however, a penetrating wound, with an entry and exit gate. The injuries are similar. It looks like a wound from an instrument that has a curve,” said the witness, emphasizing that “any forensic service you turn to will tell you it’s a penetrating wound.” Regarding the fatal wound, described in the forensic report as having “abnormal lips”, Ms Apostolidou noted that “its outline is completely smooth”.

Subsequently, the witness referred to the injuries on Alki’s head, stressing the following: “We have not hit the deceased with a crowbar. It is a thlon instrument, punch or kick type. Even if the head was covered, a rod would leave a mark. The trauma to the occipital bone could have been caused by a fall,” he said.

Regarding the cause of death, the medical examiner – technical consultant formulated her next disagreement. As he said, death came from hemorrhagic shock, stressing that if the femoral artery had not been there, “the scale is tipped in favor of him living.”

“We have two comminuted fractures, but they did not cause death. We had no extensive bleeding. If we only had head injuries he wouldn’t have died. The swelling in the brain was pre-mortem, due to the collapse of the organism. Because he was losing large amounts of blood. The swelling cannot be created in 10 minutes. We do not dispute the swelling, but it is not of traumatic etiology. In craniocerebral injuries, the victims, in the first hours, have communication,” said Mrs. Apostolidou, emphasizing that the 19-year-old suffered defensive injuries as he tried to protect his head with his hands.