Mazonakis Death Probe: Antidote Vials Traced to Athens Clinic, Reports Say

by · Greek City Times

Investigators looking into the death of singer Giorgos Mazonakis have traced two vials of a sedation antidote, seized from the Kolonaki practice where he collapsed, back to a major Athens hospital, according to Greek media reports on Monday 26 October.

The vials, believed to contain Anexate (flumazenil), had originally been supplied by the manufacturer DEMO to Euroclinic, a large private clinic in Athens, To Vima reported, citing its police reporter Vasilis Lambropoulos. Investigators now want to know how the drug ended up in a private practice on Karneadou Street.

What happened on 9 September

Mazonakis, one of Greece’s best-known singers, died on Wednesday 9 September, aged 54, after collapsing during a plasmapheresis session at the Karneadou Street practice in the upmarket Kolonaki district.

Plasmapheresis is a procedure in which blood plasma is separated and removed from the body.

Read more: Mazonakis Memorial Nears as Toxicology Tests Guide Investigation

The two doctors who ran the practice, Ioanna Gaka and Ilias Theodoropoulos, were initially prosecuted for exposure resulting in death. After their testimony to the 32nd investigating magistrate, they were remanded in custody on an upgraded charge of homicide with possible intent by omission.

Both doctors deny the charge. Their lawyers called the upgrade “completely unjustified” and said they would appeal against the detention. According to Kathimerini, a police forensic report found that the emergency call to the ambulance service EKAB was made about 50 minutes after the plasmapheresis machine’s first alert.

The couple have argued that EKAB bears responsibility, saying paramedics arrived with a carry chair rather than a stretcher and that CPR was interrupted while the singer was carried down to the ambulance.

Toxicology and the antidote

Toxicology tests ordered by the singer’s family found eight substances in his blood, including the sedative midazolam, the anaesthetic propofol and flumazenil, which reverses the effects of midazolam.

Results from the state’s own tests at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki were still awaited at the time.

On 15 October, on the investigating magistrate’s orders, police searched the Karneadou Street practice again in the presence of a prosecutor and the defence lawyers. They found two vials that appeared to contain Anexat

How the vials were traced

According to MEGA, as reported by Enikos, the University of Athens toxicology laboratories checked the codes on the vials and corresponded with DEMO. That is how they identified Euroclinic as the place the vials had first been supplied to.

The same reports say an anaesthetist who worked at that clinic was the person the accused doctor contacted while she was looking for an antidote to midazolam. The key question for the authorities, To Vima reported, is how the drugs got from the clinic to the Karneadou Street practice, and whether the anaesthetist removed them without the clinic management’s knowledge.

Investigators are examining that possibility, but it has not been confirmed, Newsit reported. The reports say a new check was carried out at the clinic within the past few hours to trace the drugs’ route.

The reports do not suggest any wrongdoing by Euroclinic’s management. At the time of writing, GCT could not find any public comment from the clinic.

Differences in the test results

Lambropoulos also reported differences between the family’s private toxicology tests and the official state investigation.

The private tests detected the midazolam antidote, which so far does not appear in the state findings. The state tests reportedly found an additional toxic substance that the private analysis did not record. Investigators will assess the findings alongside the rest of the evidence in the case.

The investigation is continuing.

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