Filenews 11 December 2025
The Paphos District Court ordered on Wednesday that the 58-year-old suspect in the premeditated murder of 26-year-old Alexandros Antoniou remain in custody until the start of his trial before the Permanent Criminal Court, which will meet in Paphos on January 29, 2026, at 09:00.
The Court, after studying all the witness material, set out a legal approach regarding the seriousness of the offenses faced by the 58-year-old. The Court stated that premeditated murder is one of the most serious offenses of the penal code and in case of non-detention of the suspect there is, as he said, the possibility of not appearing.
Regarding the witness material, the Court referred to the testimony given to the Police by the 58-year-old's daughter, with whom the victim had a relationship in the past, according to which the 26-year-old allegedly sent her a threatening message. The suspect's daughter then notified her father. This was preceded by a complaint he had made with his daughter about the damage caused to the tyres of her vehicle by the victim. The 58-year-old then returned back to Konia where his daughter lives.
The Court also referred to the closed surveillance circuits at the kiosk where the murder was committed on the afternoon of November 19, from which - as it was said in the courtroom - the image of the 58-year-old having his hand in his front pocket and going in front of the kiosk to the vehicle in which the 26-year-old was riding is allegedly recorded, opening the door and hitting him with the knife, inflicting critical blows.
He also referred to the testimony obtained by the Police from a person, who on November 19, at 18:18, was talking on the mobile phone with the victim at the time in question and during their conversation, he heard a male voice saying on the phone "if you hurt E... I will not kill you."
The spokeswoman of the Prosecuting Authority, Sotiroula Papalazarou, noted that the Police also have testimony according to which the perpetrator and the victim were arguing and heard the victim say "what do you want? What did I do?" With the 58-year-old suspect answering "did you hear what I told you? Leave her alone."
As reported in Court, he then heard the 26-year-old shouting and then the call was interrupted. The above person tried to call the 26-year-old again by phone but no one answered his call.
In addition, the Court also referred to the genetic material found in the back of the driver's seat where the victim was sitting, which according to the tests of the Institute of Genetics belongs to the 58-year-old, but also to the forensic examination, which showed that the death of the young man was caused by a blow and a cutting instrument in the carotid artery.
The Court at today's hearing also gave instructions to the Police if any medical treatment is needed to be given to the suspect.
It is noted that the defense attorney of 58-year-old Ilias Stefanou, who appeared at the previous hearing together with lawyer Maria Papadimitri, described the incident as tragic and the loss tragic. However, he claimed that the first action of the 58-year-old was not to inflict a blow on a key part of the 26-year-old's body, which is why the alleged perpetrator said according to testimony that during the time in question and during the 26-year-old's conversation with a witness, the witness heard a male voice saying on the phone "if you hurt E... I will not kill you." However, he had not objected to his client's detention.
CNA
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An employee of a company based in Larnaca reported today to TAE Larnaca that his company was the victim of online fraud, resulting in the extraction of the total amount of €111,370.
This company had undertaken to process payments on behalf of a partner company in Cyprus, also based in Larnaca, to a Spanish company.
The communication between the two companies was managed by a law firm in Spain.
Around mid-September 2025, unknown persons allegedly gained illegal access to email correspondence between the law firm and the Spanish company, sending invoices with falsified bank account details.
The illegal interference was not noticed and the invoices were normally forwarded to the Cypriot company for the execution of payments.
On October 29, 2025 and November 4, 2025, the Cypriot company made two transfers of €68,120 and €43,250 respectively, to the suspicious bank account.
Subsequently, during the communication with the Spanish company, it was found that the specific account did not belong to it and so they realized that they had been deceived.
The Financial Crime Investigation Office of TAE Larnaca is investigating the case.
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The Police arrested two young people, as they were found with burglary tools and drugs. The two tried to escape arrest and fled, driving dangerously with their vehicle, for which they did not have insurance and a license.
According to the Police, around 3:30 in the morning today, members of the Corps spotted a car moving suspiciously in the area of the village of Tsiakkilero in Larnaca.
After a signal was given to the driver of the vehicle using beacons and a siren to stop, he developed speed, driving recklessly and dangerously, committing various traffic violations.
The members of the Police followed the suspicious vehicle which was finally stopped in an area in Livadia.
During the inspection that followed, it was found that the driver was a 25-year-old man with a 25-year-old passenger. Both the occupants of the car and the car were taken to the Aradipos Police Station for further examinations.
There, it was found that the 25-year-old was driving the vehicle with a deprived driver's license and without a safety certificate.
A search of the car followed, where various burglary tools were found, while two knives were found in the possession of the 25-year-old.
In the possession of the 25-year-old, a glasses case containing a small amount of a crystalline substance, a folding bat, six pairs of branded sunglasses as well as a wristwatch were found. For the above objects, the 25-year-old was not able to give satisfactory explanations regarding their origin and possession.
The above persons were arrested for spontaneous offenses while this morning they are expected to appear before the Larnaca District Court for the detention process.
The Aradipos Police Station continues the examinations.
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The axe fell heavily for a 28-year-old man with multiple problems, who was facing a case of booth robbery and three attempts. A district judge in Nicosia sentenced him to three years in direct prison.
The young man, who was operating under the influence of drugs in the Strovolos area,had managed to steal only €20 from one kiosk, while from the other three he did not manage to get anything.
The 28-year-old admitted five charges related to three attempted robberies, one robbery and possession of an offensive weapon, i.e. a knife. As stated in the decision, he entered the kiosks without covering his face and tried to steal the kiosk by pointing a kitchen knife.
However, even though he did not encounter resistance, he left empty-handed without stealing anything. Only in one case did they give him €20 and he left.
According to a report cited by his lawyer, at the time of committing the offenses, the accused was using drugs extensively, as a result of which he was sleepless, psychologically deregulated and with his ability to distinguish right from wrong affected.
The Court took into account the fact that the 28-year-old had a clean criminal record, the childhood injuries he carried, which include the fact that for a number of years he lived with a foster family and the deaths of both his parents, the dire financial situation in which he was, etc.
The Court, although acknowledging the young man's personal circumstances, nevertheless stressed at the same time that it can only bring to the fore the seriousness of the offenses committed by the accused and the need for deterrence, which in this case and in view of the number and temporal dimension of the incidents, extends to the purposes of special deterrence.
The decision points out that the accused pointed an offensive weapon at his fellow shopkeepers and attempted to rob them.
His psychological state, the judge notes, may explain to some extent the cause of his actions, but the consequences were felt in the same intensity by the victims, regardless of the causes and motives.
After these findings, he sent the 28-year-old to prison for three years for the robbery case and 2,5 years for the attempts. The sentences will be concurrent.
