Sentence of man who killed father reduced

The Supreme Court has agreed to an appeal reducing the prison sentence of a man who killed his father in Lefkara from 16 years in jail to 12.

The decision, published on Wednesday, details the domestic violence, strained relations and subsequent psychological issues the son had, as mitigating factors.

The defendant was arrested in August 2020 after the badly decomposed body of British Cypriot Frederick George Clifford, 64, was found at his home in Lefkara.

At the time, the suspect, aged 25, made a voluntary statement in which he explained that strained and troubled family relations over the past few years are what led him to murder the 64-year-old.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to jail for 16 years.

Specifically, the son said the reason he killed his father was because he had found out that he had been seeking custody of his younger sister. He was alarmed that his sister would not be safe if the father got custody and so walked to his house to speak to him.

The son carried a knife with him which he said was out of fear and necessity to protect himself, due to the violence he had previously experienced from his father. During the discussion, the matter became heated, and the father turned to go back inside the house, where his son stabbed him in the back multiple times.

The family had grown up experiencing violence from their father and the son has been diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder, ADHD and anxiety, for which he takes medication.

Out of the five children in the family, all but one have psychological issues and two are institutionalised.

In weighing the appeal, the Supreme Court considered the domestic violence that existed due to the father, the son’s immediate admission of the crime and his cooperation with authorities. It deemed the son was not a risk to the public as the issue lay with the father, upbringing and family life. Prior to the murder, the son had been trying to help his sister.

Taking the factors into account, Supreme Court agreed to reduce his sentence from 16 years to 12.