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| Mystery girl Maria's parents found in Bulgaria by DNA | Mystery girl Maria's parents found in Bulgaria by DNA |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| DNA tests have confirmed a Bulgarian Roma couple as the biological parents of mystery child Maria, found in Greece last week, Bulgarian officials say. | DNA tests have confirmed a Bulgarian Roma couple as the biological parents of mystery child Maria, found in Greece last week, Bulgarian officials say. |
| They identified the couple as Sasha Ruseva and Atanas Rusev. | They identified the couple as Sasha Ruseva and Atanas Rusev. |
| The officials are investigating whether the mother had sold the child - a claim she has denied. | The officials are investigating whether the mother had sold the child - a claim she has denied. |
| Maria was found at a Roma camp in central Greece. Police noticed the lack of resemblance between the blonde girl and the adults she was staying with. | Maria was found at a Roma camp in central Greece. Police noticed the lack of resemblance between the blonde girl and the adults she was staying with. |
| The couple, Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, have since been charged with child abduction. They have insisted the girl was given to them legitimately. | The couple, Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, have since been charged with child abduction. They have insisted the girl was given to them legitimately. |
| Maria - who was found near Farsala, central Greece - is currently being cared for by the Athens-based charity The Smile of the Child. | |
| There have been thousands of inquiries following an appeal to identify her. The case has also sparked concern over prejudice and racism towards Roma people. | |
| Mother's story | |
| The child's parents - Sasha Ruseva and Atanas Rusev - and their eight children, had been filmed earlier by Bulgarian television at their home in the Roma district of the central town of Nikolaevo. | The child's parents - Sasha Ruseva and Atanas Rusev - and their eight children, had been filmed earlier by Bulgarian television at their home in the Roma district of the central town of Nikolaevo. |
| Ms Ruseva, holding a child with red hair, told reporters that she and her husband had been working in the Greek city of Larisa four years ago when she gave birth to a girl. | Ms Ruseva, holding a child with red hair, told reporters that she and her husband had been working in the Greek city of Larisa four years ago when she gave birth to a girl. |
| The girl was seven months old when they had to return to Bulgaria, and she said she could not afford to take the child with her. | The girl was seven months old when they had to return to Bulgaria, and she said she could not afford to take the child with her. |
| She said she was talking to a woman she worked with who told her: "Give me this child, I will take care of it. You can come and take it back anytime you want. | She said she was talking to a woman she worked with who told her: "Give me this child, I will take care of it. You can come and take it back anytime you want. |
| "But I had other children to take care of and I couldn't go... I have never got any money for it." | "But I had other children to take care of and I couldn't go... I have never got any money for it." |
| Bulgarian officials said that during questioning Ms Ruseva said she had recognised Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou as the people she left her child with. | Bulgarian officials said that during questioning Ms Ruseva said she had recognised Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou as the people she left her child with. |
| Prosecutors have pressed preliminary charges against Ms Ruseva for "deliberately selling a child while residing out of the country". | Prosecutors have pressed preliminary charges against Ms Ruseva for "deliberately selling a child while residing out of the country". |
| In Greece, a lawyer representing the couple in the Roma camp near Farsala said on Friday they planned to seek legal custody of Maria. | |
| "Provided what we said is borne out, that it was not an abduction, then logically they will be released from prison and they will be able to enter a proper (adoption) process," Costas Katsavos was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency. | |
| "They truly and ardently want her back," he added. | |
| Greek news site zougla.gr earlier published what it said was Ms Ruseva's identity card and a birth certificate for Maria from a hospital in Lamia, not far from Farsala and Larisa. | Greek news site zougla.gr earlier published what it said was Ms Ruseva's identity card and a birth certificate for Maria from a hospital in Lamia, not far from Farsala and Larisa. |
| The birth certificate says the girl was born in January 2009. | The birth certificate says the girl was born in January 2009. |
| Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou told police Maria was four years old, but the Smile of the Child charity say medical examinations suggest she is more like five or six. | Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou told police Maria was four years old, but the Smile of the Child charity say medical examinations suggest she is more like five or six. |