Magda pleads not guilty over murder of husband

A 32-YEAR-old Nicosia woman suspected of conspiring to kill her husband yesterday pleaded not guilty to premeditated murder and conspiracy charges.
Her Pakistani lover and a Chinese man were also charged in connection with the murder of 38-year-old contractor Pavlos Christodoulou.

They too pleaded not guilty.

Bank employee Magda Christodoulou, 28-year-old Zeesharr Asgmas Muhamad and his Chinese roommate Yu Hong Bo, 22, were arrested shortly after the July 17 brutal murder.

Muhamad and Bo are suspected of bludgeoning Christodolou to death and burning his body in the boot of his BMW.

The three suspects were yesterday formally charged before the Nicosia Assizes Court, which once more was packed with the victim’s relatives, who heckled Magda the minute the three judges walked out of the room.

“Murderer”, “If you didn’t kill him who did?” the bereaved relatives shouted inside and outside the courtroom.

During the process, which lasted around 20 minutes, the court approved legal aid for Bo, who, along with Muhamad, is also facing a car arson charge.

The trio had been scheduled to be charged last week until Bo filed a last-minute request for legal aid, which prompted the court to adjourn for a week pending approval.

The trial, dubbed the ‘Magda trial’, was set for February 14.

At the time of their arrest, the two named Magda as the person who had allegedly masterminded the murder.

She is said to have admitted calling her husband from a mobile phone asking him to go to the place where the other two lay in wait, and that she knew that Muhamad, who was her lover, was going to hit Christododoulou.

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