Second autopsy carried out on Ukrainian woman

The second postmortem on the body of 28-year-old Lesya Bykova, who was found dead on Saturday near Petra tou Romiou, was completed on Wednesday, with officials saying no statements would be made for the time being.

The second autopsy was carried out by medical examiner Chara Spiliopoulou in the presence of former state pathologist Marios Matsakis on behalf of the suspect, and state pathologists Angeliki Papetta and Orthodoxos Orthodoxou, who carried out the first postmortem.

Paphos CID chief Michalis Nicolaou said that no statements would be issued until Spiliopoulou can visit the scene where the woman was found.

“Any statements will be made after Dr Spiliopoulou has evaluated all evidence at hand,” he said. “To be able to have a complete picture she must finish the autopsy at the scene, but also the examination of the 31-year-old suspect”.

The victim’s 31-year-old partner is currently in custody, and is suspected of murdering and sexually abusing her.

He maintains she slipped and fell while attempting to take a selfie however the findings of a six-hour long postmortem on Sunday revealed a fractured hyoid bone – indicating strangulation, after which he was arrested on suspicion of murder.

She also bears injuries consistent with those of sexual abuse, police said and other external injuries that do not reflect the story that she slipped and fell.

Bykova, from Ukraine, has been living in Cyprus since January when she secured a special residence permit due to the war in Ukraine. Her partner is a Greek national and permanent resident in Cyprus.