Tatar requests help from Greek Cypriots in finding woman’s killers

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Sunday requested the help of the Greek Cypriot side in finding two murder suspects, who are wanted for killing 45-year-old Ayca Alav in northern Nicosia.

The murder took place on Friday, and the two suspected killers are alleged to have fled to the state-controlled areas.

According to police in the north, Alav, who was working at Hit Bit exchange in Nicosia, had her hands tied behind her back and tied with a cable and duct tape by two assailants.

The suspects then shoved a rag in her mouth and put tape over it, covering her nose as well. A post-mortem a day later revealed that the woman had died from neck compression, and asphyxia from having her nose and mouth covered.

It was reported that Alav owned the exchange shop, and one of the main suspects in her murder is an African worker.

Police in the north were able to arrest two suspects in connection with the murder, two 31-year-old men, suspected of aiding the two murderers to escape.

The two 31-year-olds were brought to court on Saturday, where they were remanded for three days.

According to what was heard in court on Saturday, the two assailants after killing the woman, took money from the exchange office and fled.

The police investigator said that they were alerted to the incident, after Alav’s daughter told a principle at her school that her mother did not come to get her.

After their investigations, police found Alav at around 9pm at a bet office near the exchange office.

Police said that the two men in custody helped the murderers by taking them to their apartment after the incident, and later bringing them to an area near the buffer zone, where they are suspected of having crossed to the state-controlled areas.

The two 31-year-olds in custody are also suspected of throwing out the woman’s mobile phone in a bin near a supermarket.

Tatar requested help from the Greek Cypriot authorities in finding the two assailants on Sunday, after filing a request to the UN and through the bicommunal committee on crime.