Remand of double murder suspect renewed, third man arrested

Police said Tuesday they arrested a 44-year-old man in connection with the double murder of two Russian women in the district of Limassol in November.

The suspect is being questioned, police said in a tweet.

Earlier, a Limassol court extended the remand of a Syrian man who has confessed to the killing of the two women.

The 32-year-old admitted to killing Alraeesi Khaiat, 43 and Mariia Gazibagandova, 33, who had been reported missing from their Larnaca residence on November 17.

Police have also detained a 30-year-old in connection with the case.

The defence did not ask for a closed-door hearing on Tuesday as it had done previously to protect the suspect’s private life, but it requested for the particulars of the case not to be read in court.

The judge ordered that only eight people can be present in the courtroom, so the hearing was not covered by the media.

The suspect said he had spent the night with the two women at a house he was doing some construction work on in Amiantos.

He claimed he went hunting and when he got back at about 7am he heard the two women mocking him, got angry and shot them.

He told police he dug a hole in the yard and buried the women there, 10 metres away from the house. After burying the women there, he covered the area with gravel.

The women had arrived in Cyprus as tourists, one at the beginning of summer, the other around two months ago.