Greek police say someone tried to delete key evidence in the investigation into the death of singer Giorgos Mazonakis, but investigators managed to recover it. The disclosure came from Konstantia Dimoglidou, press spokesperson for the Hellenic Police (ELAS), who said the Forensic Investigation Directorate retrieved the deleted material.
"It appears an attempt was made to delete some evidence, but police officers have recovered it. I cannot tell you the content of this evidence, but it is very important for the course of the investigation," Dimoglidou said, speaking indirectly about what she described as significant findings.
Giorgos Mazonakis was a well-known Greek singer. He died following an incident at a private clinic in Kolonaki, an upscale district of central Athens.
Police response after the death
Dimoglidou said the police's rapid response after being informed of the singer's death played a decisive role in the investigation. Officers were sent to the hospital, to Mazonakis's home and to the private clinic where the incident had taken place.
She said the case shows how important it is for police to react immediately, adding that despite the swift mobilization of authorities, attempts were made to conceal evidence.
She also highlighted the presence of Forensic Investigation Directorate officers at the scene, saying they were able to identify specific findings on site and immediately inform the responsible prosecutor verbally. She said the directorate's capabilities proved crucial, since it managed to locate and recover data despite what she described as a prior attempt to delete or hide it.
The contradictions that raised suspicions
Dimoglidou said contradictions identified by police from the earliest stages of the investigation also played a central role in how the case developed. She said differences between what was initially stated and information police already had were among the first signs that the real picture of what happened at the clinic might be different from what they were told.
"It was a very important element for us to move the investigation forward and to realize that we were not being given information as it actually happened at that location," she said.
According to Dimoglidou, these contradictions emerged as early as the first statements taken, when officers compared what they had been told with information they had already gathered from the wider area around the clinic.
She placed particular weight on a discrepancy over the time Mazonakis arrived at the clinic. The time initially communicated orally to police did not match the actual time the singer arrived and entered the premises, she said.
"There was a large discrepancy between the time given orally to the Hellenic Police and the actual time this person arrived and entered the clinic," Dimoglidou said.
She said this time discrepancy, combined with the other contradictions and the recovered evidence, led police to widen the investigation and seek more information about what happened inside the clinic before Mazonakis's death.
Authorities are now working to establish a precise timeline of events, assessing witness statements, findings from the locations searched and the data recovered by the Forensic Investigation Directorate.
