Boy who killed sister released from Athalassa

A teenager who was locked up in a mental hospital is going home one year to the day after stabbing his sister to death in Larnaca.

According to local media, a judge rejected on Thursday a request by state prosecutors who were seeking to extend mandatory treatment at Athalassa Psychiatric Hospital for the 14-year-old boy who murdered his 9-year-old sister during a sibling fight in November 2018.

The lawyer for the family, who raised objections over the request, said later on a TV news program that there was “no basis” to keep the 14-year-old at the mental hospital and so the boy was going home.

“There was no support at the psychiatric hospital that would have been expected in a juvenile delinquency programme,” the lawyer said.

Last year Cypriot society was shocked upon hearing reports that the boy killed his sister while her screams could be heard in the Agios Ioannis neighbourhood, downtown Larnaca, but nobody rushed to her aid.

The young girl had been stabbed multiple times by her brother, while their divorced father -who was not at home at the time- arrived 40 minutes later and found his little girl dead in pool of blood.

Neighbours said some residents became complacent with constant yelling coming out of the household while state authorities were criticized over lack of support towards families with children who had mental health issues and other needs.

Officials warned law enforcement last year that Athalassa was not appropriate for the teen but police said they had nowhere else to take the boy, who could not be arrested due to his young age.

A plan to create a juvenile delinquency programme and detention facilities for minors remained in the works for several years.