A FIERCE family argument ended tragically yesterday morning after a 50-year-old man killed his own son with pick-axe.
The incident took place at around 7.45am on Rodopis Street in the Nicosia suburb of Makedonitissa.
According to witnesses, the incident occurred after 21-year-old Yiannakis Charalambous began shouting at some of his relatives, who live on the same street as the victim and his family.
The dead man is reported to have had a history of violence. Last December, the 21-year-old was sentenced to one month in prison after being found guilty of assault by a Military Court while serving in the army.
Yiannakis is alleged to have picked up a stick, gone to his aunt’s house and began threatening some of his relatives and smashing various things. He is then said to have confronted his father Christodoulos. An argument ensued and according to reports, Yiannakis began attacking him with the stick.
It was then that the father allegedly picked up the pick-axe which was lying in the road and swung it at his son delivering him a fatal blow to the back of his head.
Yiannakis was rushed to Nicosia General Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival at 8.45am.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail yd, a police source said: “All we know so far is that the young man is dead as a result of a hefty blow to the head with what is believed to have been a pick-axe.
“We are still not sure as to what exactly happened but we do know that the suspect has sustained some injuries during the incident.”
The same source also confirmed that the father was yesterday being treated for major head injuries at the General Hospital. Christodoulos Charalambous was received stitches to his head and arms, with doctors ordering that the suspect be kept under observation.
It is still unclear as to whether he has been questioned by police or officially placed under arrest.
An acquaintance of the family yesterday told the paper that father’s lawyer will plead self-defence, stating that he swung the pick-axe to protect his own life.
“However, it ended in tragedy: not just for the victim but also the father who will have to now live with the memory that he killed his own son.”
It is still unclear as to whether the father will be fit to appear before a court today for his
remand hearing.
One neighbour said yesterday, “We saw these people everyday and to think of what just happened is simply unbelievable. I cannot begin to think what the family must be feeling right now.”
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