Judge’s family blames death on ambulance delay

A private forensic pathologist is calling for an investigation into the death of judge Costas Satolias, saying state medics were late and ill-equipped to handle the emergency.

Judge Satolias, aged 49, died Saturday morning after losing consciousness while in his residence in Paphos. 

His family had complained about a delay until the arrival of the state ambulance and local press said they reported the incident to police.

It was also reported that the defibrillator had not been in good working order, with the family saying precious time was lost in how first responders handled the incident.

Marios Matsakis, a private forensic pathologist who represents the family, told daily Phileleftheros that the circumstances into the judge’s death have to be investigated.

Police officers confiscated the defibrillator device, following the official complaint, while crime investigators began collecting witness statements.

The family also said they were making multiple emergency phone calls by dialing 112 from the judge's phone as well as from another phone, but they were not getting a response. 

Dispatcher says no calls were made to 112

An official from the Emergency Dispatcher service on Tuesday denied that calls were made to 112 by any member of the public at that precise time, except one phonecall from a state nurse at the Emergency Room of Paphos General Hopspital.

Satolias’ family said they called the police right after they had called the emergency number.

A post mortem conducted Sunday by forensic pathologist Eleni Antoniou revealed that Satolias died of an acute myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack.

A funeral service was held on Monday.