Murder suspect in suicide bid

TWENTY-nine-year-old murder suspect Eftychia Zari yesterday tried to hang herself in her police holding cell.

Zari, who is being held for the murder of her 25-year-old sister Eleni, used the bed sheets from her Lakatamia police holding cell to try and end her life at around 8.30am.

A duty officer at the Nicosia district station was alerted to the suspect’s intentions and managed to stop her just in time.

Zari has not given a reason for why she tried to commit suicide, police said. She had been due to speak to a doctor about Saturday’s shooting.

The police leadership was notified about the private teacher’s suicide attempt and immediate instructions were issued to increase supervision of her cell.

On Tuesday, Zari allegedly confessed to shooting her sister in the head at close range. She has denied the killing was premeditated, but there have been reports that the pair had an unhealthy relationship and that Zari had in the past threatened to poison Eleni, their older sister and their parents.

Meanwhile police are continuing to gather evidence regarding the case and are taking statements from witnesses. Zari is up for re-remand on Sunday and police are expected to ask for a further eight days to continue with their investigations.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.