Son of double murder victims was terrified says neighbour   

The neighbour of the 15-year-old boy who sought refuge at her house after his parents were killed in a botched robbery in Strovolos last April 18 testified before the Nicosia criminal court on Monday.

According to Athena Sideri, on the night of the murder she and her son had been asleep in her home, when at 1.35am she heard the doorbell ring, and opened to find the terrified 15-year-old wearing only his underwear.

The 15-year-old told her that thieves had entered his home and killed his parents. They then locked him in the basement from which he managed to escape before running to her door to ask for help, she told the court.

The witness added that the 15-year-old had told her that one of the two suspects, who did not cover his facial features, told the boy that he would not hurt him as he had a son of his own.

Sideri described her neighbours and victims of the botched robbery, Giorgos Hadjigeorgiou, 60, and Dina Sergiou, 59, as kind, quiet people.

On trial for the double murder are Loizos Tzionis, considered the mastermind of the crime, his half-brother Lefteris Solomou, and friend Marios Hadjixenophontos.

The three face two counts of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit felony, burglary, robbery and abduction. Premeditated murder carries an automatic life sentence.

A fourth defendant, Tzionis’ ex-girlfriend Sarah Shams was sentenced to four years in jail in February on a single charge of conspiracy to commit robbery.

 

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.