Maricar autopsy points to neck injury

A post mortem on the body believed to be Maricar points to neck injury as the cause of death, pointing to similarities in other murders in the serial killer case.

(Murder description below - viewer discretion is advised)

On Thursday, a team of forensic pathologists, including Greek Cypriot and London-based pathologist Andreas Marnerides, conducted an autopsy on a body of an adult female that was retrieved from the red lake two days earlier.

According to reports, alleged serial killer Nikos Metaxas reportedly confessed to killing Maricar and dumping her body inside a suitcase at the red lake, in rural Nicosia.

Tissue and DNA samples have been sent to the lab for a series of tests, in order to confirm the identity of the victim, believed to be 29-year-old Maricar Valdez Arquiola who went missing in December 2017. Three other state forensic pathologists also took place in the post mortem that lasted nine hours, including Angeliki Papetta, Sofocles Sofocleous, and Nicholas Charalambous. 

The suspect, a Greek Cypriot army captain also known as Orestis, reportedly confessed to killing a total of seven females, all foreign nationals, including two children. One child is still missing, while five bodies have been identified so far according to media reports.

Previous reports said other victims in the serial killer case were killed by either strangulation or headlock. According to horrific details leaked following other autopsies in the case suggested that the alleged serial killer murdered some of his victims from behind after putting them in a headlock and choking them to death. But in one case, the cause of death was described as head trauma while it was not clear whether strangulation had also taken place.

It is understood, according to media reports, that the alleged serial killer may have varied his killing methods slightly and accordingly, depending on the circumstances and level of resistance from the victims.

Police are looking for three females who may have been possible targets, whose names are also found on a list of ten women who had online communication with Orestis. Four of these women are expected to be called in to identify the suspect in a police lineup.