Police say Strovolos suspect admitted to murders

Police say the main suspect in the Strovolos double murder, during a written deposition admitted to killing the couple but many gaps in the convoluted investigation still remain unanswered.

The 33-year-old man appeared in the Nicosia District Court with his lawyer on Friday, where he was re-remanded in custody for eight more days in connection with the murders of 60-year-old Yiorgos Hadjigeorgiou and his 59-year-old wife Dina Sergiou.

Speaking on behalf of the police, crime lead investigator Koumettos Koumettou requested that the main suspect remain in custody, telling the judge that the crimes were one of the most serious in the penal code and investigations regarding the suspect had not yet been completed.

“During custodial interrogation, the suspect gave a written statement, and after investigators drew his attention to the law, he admitted to killing the two victims ,” Koumettou said.

The suspect, who was arrested one week ago, initially had no lawyer and admitted some involvement in the case during his first remand hearing. The following day he told investigators he knew what had happened up to a point and had good knowledge about the motives behind the crime.

Police, who are building the case against the suspect, are relying on incriminating statements against him made by the other suspects in custody, outside tips, as well as evidence from the crime scene.

The other suspects in custody are the 33-year-old man’s 21-year-old girlfriend, his 23-year-old brother, and another 22-year-old man, whose remand hearings are also set to expire in the coming days.

But no evidence has linked the suspect directly to the murders.

Some crucial gaps still exist in the story but investigators believe DNA samples 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 still evaluating evidence

Police told Knews on Friday that a second autopsy, performed by Greek forensic professor Chara Spiliopoulou, will be evaluated properly along with lab test results and phone records which are currently being examined.

It is understood that there were not significant differences between the two autopsies, one done by Spiliopoulou and an earlier one conducted by state forensic pathologist Eleni Antoniou. According to police, both will be assessed by crime investigators when they have the bigger picture.

“The second post mortem exam will be assessed in relation to the overall developments in the case,” said police spokesman Andreas Angelides.

Angelides also told Knews that a previous unsolved case at the residence, a theft attempt, was not believed to have any links to the double murder case. Investigators in the double murder case believe the suspects were taking part in a burglary but nothing was found to be stolen, except that the male victim's wallet is missing.