Politis says it may have solved the mystery of the identity of an elderly woman hurriedly buried in an existing grave in the north in 1974, and that it might be the great-grandmother of murdered businessman Phanos Kalopsidiotis, it reported on Sunday.
Two weeks ago the paper published a photo of what appeared to be the only intact grave in a churchyard in Genagra in Famagusta after a Turkish Cypriot had come forward and told them he had been given a body of a woman wrapped in a sheet to dispose on August 19 or 20, 1974 by Turkish soldiers.
He, then aged 20, and other Turkish Cypriots from the village placed the body in the grave of a man called Demetris Kyriacou who had died aged 62 in January 1973 and added extra soil to the tomb, staying silent about the story until this year, the paper said.
Following through on its investigation, Politis says it may have established that the woman – who was not on the list of missing persons – was named Evegenia Panayi from Genagra who was killed at aged 80 during the second wave of the invasion.
The paper said it had established that Evgenia had had two sones, Minas and Panayi. Minas emigrated to London, and died there, and had no children. The second son, Panayi had a daughter and a son, Koulla and Andreas who lived in Cyprus.
Andreas died six months ago, it said, while Koulla Theofanous, now aged 75, is the sole grandchild of Evgenia, and lives in Limassol. Theofanous is the mother Phanos Kalopsidiotis who was gunned down last year in a Ayia Napa restaurant during an assassination that also killed a police officer and his wife. One of the shooters was also killed.
After their initial report, the paper contacted the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) to report the presence of the second body in the grave. They collected evidence and identified the grave and that it had been disturbed, and established that two people were buried there.
However, Politis said, the CMP could not investigate further because the woman was not listed as a missing person.
Then, it said, Koulla Theofanous stepped forward after recognising the name of her grandmother and the village she came from.
She told Politis she knew her grandmother had been buried somewhere in the village but did not know where.
Theofanous is to offer a DNA sample to confirm identification and to have the remains brought to the government-controlled areas for burial, the paper said, calling on the state to assist.
