Newsroom
The main suspect in the murder of a Romanian homeless woman in Nicosia has purportedly placed himself at the scene of a crime during interrogation by police, with investigators still seeking security camera footage to ascertain the identity of any other persons who may have had access to the vacated property.
A 64-year-old Romanian male, who was arrested earlier this week on premeditated charges, was remanded in custody on Thursday for eight days in connection with the death of 55-year-old Liliana Niteanu also from Romania.
Niteanu’s body was found on Tuesday afternoon under a pile of clothes on the second floor of an abandoned midtown house in Nicosia.
Local media said the suspect was known to have had friendly relations with the victim, with the two of them also having shared a different residence in the past.
Although the man had been on law enforcement radar at the outset of a death investigation, police waited until a positive identification of the body before requesting a warrant for his arrest
Media reports also said the body was found on Tuesday afternoon around 4:30pm, when a realtor and another person went to the property on Atho Street to paint walls. An official statement from police said they were notified two hours later about a dead body.
Investigators also said they had learned from witnesses that a man was seen exiting the abandoned home at least one day prior to the discovery of the body.
Reports said Niteanu’s face had been battered and bloodied beyond recognition, with a post mortem pointing to hemorrhagic shock resulting from blunt force trauma as the cause of death.
Although the 64-year-old had been on law enforcement radar at the outset of a death investigation, police waited until a positive identification of the body before requesting a warrant and making the arrest.
Local media on Thursday said the detained man, who was remanded in custody for eight days, was purported to have placed himself at the crime scene while police declined to clarify whether he remained the only suspect in the case.
There were conflicting reports as to whether the house was abandoned or recently vacated, with witnesses telling media the property was frequented by junkies and homeless persons.
CID Nicosia said they were seeking evidence including security camera footage from the area to ascertain the identities of individuals who may have had access to the property before and around the time of the murder.
The exact time of death was not disclosed by authorities but police officials said the murder likely took place hours or a day before Tuesday afternoon.
