Larnaca man jailed for 25 years for killing his sister

A Larnaca man was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday after he was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of his 21-year-old sister with his army-issue G3 rifle in May last year.

The incident took place on May 5, 2020 in the afternoon, in the family’s home in the village of Klavdia.

Elias Harpas, 24, had claimed he had been cleaning his G3 when it went off, the round hitting his sister Maria Harpa in the head.

The incident took place on the day of Maria’s birthday. She was two months pregnant and her fiancé had just proposed.

Investigators later discovered that the front brake lines on the sister’s car had been severed using a cutter.

The suspect admitted to cutting the brake lines, claiming he did so after a fight with his sister during which she had let the air out of the tyres of his car.

Harpas was charged with manslaughter, the theft of munitions from the National Guard, and malicious damage relating to tampering with the brakes.