Why has murder suspect not been charged despite confession?

Police have yet to charge the suspect in their murder investigations in order to ensure their case is as airtight as possible once indictments are issued, an expert has told the Cyprus Mail.

Andreas Kapardis, emeritus professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Cyprus, was asked to comment on why authorities have to date not pressed charges against the main suspect, 35-year-old Nikos Metaxas, despite his confessing to seven murders.

Instead, Metaxas has been remanded and re-remanded in custody.

He was first arrested on Thursday, April 18, in connection with the disappearance of Mary Rose Tiburcio, 39, a Filipino national.

Tiburcio’s body has since been retrieved from a mine shaft.

According to Kapardis, by law a person may be remanded in custody for a maximum of eight days. The remand may be renewed for two more times, meaning an individual can be kept in custody without being charged for a total of 24 days.

The 24-day limit concerns one specific investigation.

“Theoretically, and given that this individual is a suspect in seven separate investigations, he could be kept in custody for 24 times 7 days,” Kapardis said.

“I suspect police are working all the angles – forensic etc – to make sure all the cases stick when they are brought to court.”

By comparison, in the UK the police can hold you for up to 24 hours before they have to charge you with a crime or release you.

They can apply to hold you for up to 36 or 96 hours if you’re suspected of a serious crime, for example murder.

In the UK, you can be held without charge for up to 14 days if you’re arrested under the Terrorism Act.

 

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.