Filenews 13 May 2023 - by Ioanna Mantzipia
The fact that not all the witness material was handed over to the defence lawyers of the defendants in the case of the disappearance and murder of 31-year-old Angelos Pericleous, was the reason for the proceedings to be postponed and set for May 16 before the Nicosia Court.
The three defendants, the 24-year-old hacker, his 71-year-old uncle and his 59-year-old mother, appeared yesterday before the Nicosia District Court, which was called to consider their detention request. The court had ordered their detention until yesterday in order to decide whether they would all remain under trial until the start of the trial.
During yesterday's proceedings, the Public Prosecutor of the Republic requested that the three defendants remain in custody until the beginning of the proceedings before the Permanent Assize Court of Nicosia, citing influence of witnesses, evasion of justice and the commission of other offences for the 71-year-old. The prosecutor's reference to the witness material and specifically to the testimony of the 71-year-old, who had revealed to the investigators of the ICF Limassol the horrible crime committed by his nephew, caused a sensation. As heard in court, the witness material includes his testimonies according to which the perpetrator had confided in him that he killed the victim, chopped him up and then buried him in a pit that he had dug days earlier.
During the proceedings, the Court and the defendants' defence lawyers found that they had not been provided with all the witness material of the case. Ultimately, the court ordered them to remain in custody until next Tuesday, with defence lawyers ready to argue about their clients' detention.
The indictment includes 13 charges, the most serious being the premeditated murder that the 24-year-old hacker faces, despite the fact that the victim's body has not been located to date.
He also faces the offences of conspiracy, kidnapping with intent to murder, possession of a firearm, possession of explosives, arson of a vehicle, malicious damage, possession of a quantity of cannabis and use. For his part, the 71-year-old faces the offences of conspiracy, aiding and abetting after committing, malicious damage and arson of a vehicle. His 59-year-old mother has been charged with the offence of aiding and abetting after committing a felony. The mother reportedly received blood-stained clothes from her 24-year-old son and kept them so that the latter could destroy them at a later time.
