Double expat murder suspect remanded for another eight days

A TURKISH Cypriot court has ruled that Ufuk Degnekli, the 17-year-old held on suspicion of murdering British couple Lyn and Reece Mahony, should be held in custody for another eight days while enquiries continue.

The court also ordered he be submitted to psychological tests.

Degnekli admitted to carrying out the double murder shortly after the decomposing bodies of the murdered couple were found at the doorway of their Lapithos home on Friday morning. Police say the couple had been murdered several days before.

According to police reports, Degnekli says he killed the couple on the previous Sunday evening using a switchblade, which he then threw into the sea. Police, however, say the blade was later found among Degnekli’s possessions.

The 17-year-old also claimed he had not intended to murder the couple and that he sought only to burgle their home. According to his statement, he was disturbed during the burglary and the Mahonys had used “bad language” against him. It was then that he carried out his frenzied attack.

A post mortem on the couple said they both died of blood loss from multiple wounds caused by a sharp implement.

At Tuesday’s hearing in Kyrenia district court, the judge ordered that Degnekli be held for a further eight days so that a number of other individuals could be interviewed and further laboratory studies on evidence collected from the suspect’s home and from the scene of the crime could be carried out. The judge also said Degneki would be sent for psychological tests to assess whether he was fit to stand trial.

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.