New details brought to light in Demosthenous murder case

Details that were so far unknown were presented on Friday by the prosecution during court procedures to file a case regarding the murder of businessman Stavros Demosthenous, who was gunned down last month a few metres from his Limassol home.

On Thursday, it was announced that four suspects accused of involvement in the murder are set to face direct trial before the Limassol criminal court on January 29.

The case file includes a testimony by a person behind the white van that was torched after the murder. This person said the window on the right back door of the van was broken and there was another car in the area that could not pass from where the van was. He also said a second man at the scene was wearing what he described as a ‘Zorro-style’ hat and glasses.

The prosecution said that laboratory tests confirmed that DNA found on the hat the perpetrators lost belonged to the 31-year-old, who is considered to be the person who pulled the trigger.

The state laboratories also found traces of forensic material indicating that the hat had also been used by a person holding a gun or was close to the point where a gun was fired.

Presenting the facts, the prosecution said the case file contained many testimonies and requested that the suspects remain in custody.

The testimonies include details about the movements of the perpetrators and other information, for example that the shooter was wearing a skin-colour full face mask that made him look like an old man.

The suspects include two 30-year-olds – one alleged to have purchased and sold the motorcycle used in the perpetrators’ escape, and another, a convicted prisoner, accused of having ordered the murder from within the central prison.

The remaining defendants are a 51-year-old whose DNA was found in a stolen vehicle linked to the case and a 31-year-old – identified as a Georgian – who allegedly acquired fake licence plates for the same vehicle and helped two 28-year-old Georgians flee Cyprus, alleged of being involved in the case.

The embassy of Georgia in Nicosia clarified on Friday that these individuals are not Georgian nationals but “Pontian Greeks – persons of Greek origin born in Georgia who hold exclusively Greek citizenship.”

The two 28-year-olds were arrested in Thessaloniki in late October under a European arrest warrant and are currently awaiting extradition. They are expected to be added to the trial at a later stage.

Shortly after their arrest, police located a car with Cypriot plates at one of their residences. The vehicle, registered under the name of the 31-year-old suspect, contained documents indicating their intended departure from Cyprus by ferry to Turkey.

In total, the indictment contains 17 charges, 16 of which are common to all four defendants.

These include premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit murder, arson, conspiracy to commit a felony, vehicle theft, participation in a criminal organisation and the illegal possession, use and transport of firearms and explosives.

The 51-year-old suspect additionally faces a charge of receiving stolen property. He remains free after the court rejected a police request to extend his detention on November 5, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to justify continued custody.

The case has been given a serial number, however it is expected to be withdrawn if and when in a separate procedure the case against the two 28-year-olds is filed.

Then the two separate procedures will be withdrawn and refiled as one so that the case is tried in its entirety.

The indictment includes 104 prosecution witnesses, including three people who had been arrested in connection to the case only to be released later.

Stavros Demosthenous was shot dead while sitting in a car next to his 18-year-old son in the Ayios Athanasios area of Limassol on October 17.

Police investigations have so far revealed that the bullets that killed Demosthenous were probably fired from a van that was driving right in front of the car that he and his son were in.

The vehicle was later found to have been set on fire, while a motorcycle, which is believed to have been used in the killing, was found abandoned in the Limassol area.

As of November 7, at least eight suspects were detained in relation to the investigation, although some have since been discharged due to lack of evidence.