Main suspect in Stovolos murders still in custody as police build case

The 33-year-old suspect in the horrific Strovolos double murder was remanded for eight more days on Friday, with police saying there is still a lot of investigative work to do.

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Crime investigator Koumettos Koumettou told Nicosia District Court that police needed more time to carry out the investigation, managing to secure a remand renewal for the suspect based on incriminating statements against him as well as pending lab test results. 

According to local reports, Koumettou told the judge that the suspect made a confession during statements to the police. Upon his initial arrest, the main suspect had told police he knew what had happened, up to a point, and that he also had knowledge of the motives behind the double murder.

Investigators are relying on statements against the 33-year-old made by three other suspects, his 21-year-old girlfriend, his 23-year-old brother, and another 22-year-old man, whose remands are also set to expire in the coming days.

Police initially got to the suspect following a tip to police, saying he was seen in the area the night of the murders. 

The case has puzzled authorities and local media with a convoluted storyline that is unprecedented for Cypriot society, where the savage stabbings of 60-year-old Yiorgos Hadjigeorgiou and his 59-year-old wife Dina Sergiou around midnight between April 18 and 19 shocked the public.

Investigators believe the teenage son of the murdered couple was an eye-witness to the crime. Initial statements about uncertainty in some of the statements coming from the boy were later retracted after authorities said they were dealing with a very sensitive case.

Some crucial gaps still exist in the story but investigators believe DNA and phone records will soon help crack the case wide open and get more conclusive evidence as to the identity of the killer. Two objects with confirmed DNA belonging to the 33-year-old were found at the scene, although they have not yet been linked to the murders. 

The suspect also admitted that a pair of shoes without laces, which was found outside the house, did in fact belong to him but maintained he was being framed. 

Police are investigating the scenario that a planned burglary went very wrong but are keeping a tight lid on the case without ruling out other possibilities.