Witness statements missing from road death cold case file

Witnesses in the fatal accident of a young man, who was hit by a car that swerved to avoid a mystery vehicle a decade ago, insist they gave descriptions to investigators but those statements had vanished from the police report.

A cold and forgotten case going back to September 2012, when 17-year-old Andreas Loizou was fatally wounded in car crash in Limassol, made headiness this year after a popular parody account on Twitter suggested there was a police cover up.

Police have denied allegations of a cover up after local media picked up the story, including information about a white Audi possibly involved in the accident. An incident report with references to the convertible could not be found on the police website but officials said this was due to a technical issue.

A second incident report about the case at the time raised doubt over references to a white Audi convertible driven by a female.

But a death report in 2015 made references to witnesses who gave a specific description of the vehicle.

Witnesses recently also came forward after the case reopened, with local media saying some of their statements were not included in the police file.

Investigators probing the matter are reportedly trying to ascertain whether statements from witnesses have gone missing or even included in the first place, after at least two witnesses said they had spoken with police after the incident and gave a specific description.

According to media speculation, a female who left a night club at 5am was driving the Audi under a bridge bypass in Mouttagiaka while being intoxicated, with the convertible overtaking six young men, two on each of three mopeds, when a car in the opposite lane hit one of the passengers during a maneuver to avoid a dead-on collision.

A tweet by the well known parody account on Twitter, Jho Low the Presidential Godchild, prompted discussion online and more speculation.

“So, here is a brain teaser. Who was the ‘unknown woman’ who was having fun with what female friend at a club until 5am and drove while being intoxicated her convertible causing an accident and the death of a 17-year-old and then disappeared,” the online jester asked.

Other insinuations online reportedly made references to other political figures, including former justice minister Emily Yiolitis, who “may have been at the club” with the “unknown woman” according to the tweeter.

Yiolitis, a social media influencer who was a corporate lawyer in Limassol before becoming minister, weighed in on the conversation saying this was “a very serious accusation.”

“I had nothing to do with a road fatality and I call on those who published or reposted to prove or apologize,” the former minister wrote.

Yiolitis, a known friend of former president Nicos Anastasiades’ daughters, had a fallout with the commander in chief in 2021 which led to her resignation.

No individuals have been named by authorities while critics have called on police investigators to interview all persons of interest in order to solve the cold case.