Second autopsy for Petra tou Romiou victim ready – but findings not published

The outcome of the second post-mortem on the body of 28-year-old Lysia Bykova, who was found dead near Petra tou Romiou is ready and the case file will be with the attorney general on Friday, police said on Thursday.

The 28-year-old Ukrainian woman was found dead near Petra tou Romiou (Aphrodite’s Rock) on March 11.

Her partner was arrested following the results of the first autopsy, which concluded there were signs of sexual abuse and strangulation.

On Tuesday, Paphos district court renewed his remand for three more days pending the outcome of the second autopsy, which was said to be pivotal for the investigation.

Ordered by the legal service, the second autopsy was performed by Greek medical examiner Chara Spiliopoulou last week in the presence of state pathologists Angeliki Papeta and Orthodoxos Orthodoxou, who performed the first autopsy, and former state pathologist Marios Matsakis representing the 31-year-old suspect.

Paphos CID chief Michalis Nicolaou said the police have so far received a number of lab test results, as well as the outcome of the second autopsy, the contents of which, however, “cannot be announced”.

He added that as the information stands, the case file will be with the attorney general on Friday for further study.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday case examiner Kyriakos Charalambous told the court that with the approval of his lawyers, the suspect had given a second statement to police which was said to contradict his previous one.

His remand order is set to expire on Friday.