THE 40-YEAR-old Briton who was left in a comatose state following a violent stag night brawl in Ayia Napa was yesterday taken off the ventilator, police said.
Larnaca general hospital doctors yesterday removed Anthony Stephenson from the ventilator although his condition is still serious.
According to police, the news was a positive sign that the Briton, injured in the early hours of Sunday morning when his 39-year-old friend’s stag night turned into a nightmare, was on the mend.
Officers told the Cyprus Mail that in their experience this meant doctors would likely revive the patient in a day or two.
“They usually wait a few days until the wounds heal a bit more before reviving patients completely,” police said.
Staff at the general hospital’s Intensive Care Unit refused to comment on Stephenson’s condition, but did not deny what police had said.
Famagusta district CID deputy head Detective John Kapnoulas said the 40-year-old’s statement was crucial to their investigation.
“His evidence is very important, so we will want to speak to him. We expect it to give direction to the investigation,” he said.
“At the moment, we are focusing on the statements of the other three men injured in the incident as they are now in a better state and more able to clarify certain things,” Kapnoulas added.
The men are Danny Candlin, 39, whose wedding had been due to be held on Monday and had to be cancelled, Dean Martin, 41, and his 17-year-old son Luke.
“They might say something that will change the charges, because at the moment we are investigating attempted murder,” the detective said.
The four had been out celebrating at the Ambassaden bar in the town square when the incident occurred. Things escalated out of control after an incident between the bar’s bouncer and 17-year-old Luke over a British girl.
One eyewitness contacted the Mail and said she had never seen anything like the fight before.
“It was frightening. I was at the bar having a drink and suddenly all hell broke loose on the dance floor. It was absolutely crazy, with bottles being thrown about and then the bouncer got out his wooden baton. It was insane,” she said.
The Britons were then chased off the premises until they reached Ayia Napa monastery where in pitch-blackness they jumped over a wall and dropped five metres to the ground on to rocks beneath. Whether they jumped or were pushed is still to be determined.
Two men have been remanded in custody on charges of attempted murder for the incident. They are the bar’s bouncer and the bar owner.
The brawl left 40-year-old Stephenson in a coma and with a fractured cheek. Martin sustained a broken arm and fingers as well as stitches to his head and chin, while Candlin suffered a broken arm, and Martin’s son Luke suffered a fractured nose.
