Father found guilty in son’s death

A 71-year-old man has been found guilty by the Limassol Criminal Court for shooting his own son to death back in 2015, following a minor domestic dispute.

The victim, 19-year-old soldier Odysseas Themistokleous, was shot dead outside his home in Paramytha, Limassol, on 14 October 2015. He had refused to hand the car keys to his father, Timoleon Themistokleous, who then run inside and grabbed a hunting rifle.

According to reports, both the mother and brother of the victim were very nervous during the sentencing trial. At one point, the mother screamed at her husband.

“You are a murderer,” the mother told the defendant.

Police say Alexandros, the 21-year-old brother of the victim, had heard the commotion during the dispute but made nothing of it as he was having his meal, realising that his brother was basically refusing to hand over the car keys. But when things got serious, he run outside and at that moment he saw his own father shooting his brother in the stomach.

Alexandros had told police after the incident that his father was furious with them.

“Do you think you can do whatever you want with me?” screamed the father, based on the brother’s recounting of the incident. 

In a rather odd twist, the defendant had made an effort to blame his surviving son for the death of Odysseas, but Alexandros dismissed the claim.

“You are a liar,” he told his dad in court.

The prosecutor in the case initially brought premeditated murder charges but then they got reduced to manslaughter. The judge in the case will hear the defence on 27 March before sentencing.