Newsroom
A 30-year-old man initially charged in connection with the murder of Stavros Demosthenous was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in prison, but not for the killing.
The Limassol Criminal Court imposed the sentence after the man admitted stealing a Mitsubishi Colt belonging to a priest. Prosecutors subsequently discontinued the remaining charges he had faced in the wider murder case.
The vehicle, valued at about €4,000, was stolen from near a Limassol church on Oct. 5, 2025. The priest had gone inside for an evening service and left the keys in the car.
According to the facts presented in court, the 30-year-old arranged the theft with another person, knowing the priest was in the habit of leaving his keys inside the vehicle.
That person allegedly went to the church, took the car, and later drove it to Nicosia. The court heard that he met the 30-year-old near the former State Fair grounds and was allegedly paid €300 for the theft.
The car was recovered on Oct. 14, three days before Demosthenous was shot dead near his Limassol home. It was found parked close to his residence and the eventual murder scene, with two containers of flammable liquid inside.
Prosecutors believe the stolen Colt formed part of the preparations for the killing. CCTV footage allegedly showed people using the car and other vehicles to repeatedly follow the route toward Demosthenous’ home in the days before the attack, movements investigators viewed as possible rehearsal runs.
That evidence pulled what initially appeared to be an ordinary car theft into the much wider murder investigation. However, the 30-year-old was convicted only of arranging the theft and not of participating in the killing.
During an earlier hearing, prosecutors told the court that the 30-year-old had four previous convictions for theft-related offenses.
His defense asked judges to consider his personal circumstances, his guilty plea, and the fact that the vehicle was eventually returned to its owner. Lawyers also pointed to the time he has already spent behind bars. He has remained in custody since Oct. 19, 2025.
The murder trial will continue before the Limassol Criminal Court against the remaining defendants.
The person accused of physically stealing the priest’s car is expected to appear as a prosecution witness in the continuing trial.
