‘Wife’s blood was in suspect’s car’

THE NICOSIA Criminal Court yesterday heard testimony from a scientist of the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics in the trial of a man accused of killing his wife and her lover.

Dr Marios Kariolou yesterday told the three-judge panel that the wife’s blood had been found inside the defendant’s car, as well as inside the gloves he was wearing when he stabbed her lover at his apartment on August 1 last year.

Christoforos Charalambous, 27, denies two charges of premeditated murder against his wife Anna Vasileva, 30 from Kyrgyzstan, and her 45-year-old lover Yiannos Demosthenous.

Demosthenous’s decomposed body was found in his Nicosia apartment with 38 stab wounds. Vasileva’s body was never officially identified but charred skeletal remains and teeth were discovered in barrel outside the village of Askas – where Charalambous is from.

“We took DNA samples from the Anna Vasileva’s parents and have made a match with the blood found on gloves used in the killing, and in Charalambous’ car,” said Kariolou.

Police also found an earring in Demosthenous’ apartment building car park believed to have belonged to Vasileva.

Investigators suspect that Vasileva had tried to stop Charalambous from stabbing Demosthenous in the frenzied attack.

They also believe that he then turned the knife on his wife and killed her before dragging her to his car.

“The earring discovered appeared to have skin segments belonging to Anna Vasileva,” added the scientist. “The blood samples in his car match Vasileva’s blood and Demosthenous’…We cannot make a DNA match on the skeletal remains because they were so badly burnt.”

Officers believe Charalambous snapped when he found out that his wife planned to leave him to go and live with Demosthenous.

The trial continues on Thursday.