Police officers face disciplinary action in Metaxas case

Fifteen police officers are facing disciplinary procedures over their alleged failings in investigating the reports of missing women who were later discovered to have been murdered by Nicos Metaxas.

They face a range of accusations, from negligence to misconduct, following the independent police watchdog’s review into the case and orders from the attorney general.

Police spokesman Christos Andreou told local media that the process is already underway and many of those accused have already been charged in writing.

He added that among the ranks are not just ordinary cops but also more senior officials such as officers and sergeants but reiterated that all are innocent until proven guilty.

The 35-year-old army officer, Metaxas, killed five women and two children over a period of two years. The killings emerged in April 2019, after the body of one of the women was found in a mine shaft at Mitsero.

April 14 marked three years since the first body was discovered.

Police came under heavy criticism for allegedly mishandling the cases of the women and the two girls when they were reported missing by friends and families, and for not treating the disappearances seriously.

By June 2019, police had recovered the remainder of the victims at the mine, in a nearby lake, in a field near a firing range, and at another lake some kilometres away.

Metaxas was sentenced in June 2019 to five consecutive life sentences for the premeditated murder of the five women and two concurrent life sentences for the murder of the two girls.