Stabbing suspect asks to be sent to Athalassa

A MAN accused of stabbing a teenage girl in a phone box row was yesterday remanded for eight days.

Gavriel Gavriel, 36, was remanded in custody by Larnaca District Court, accused of causing grievous bodily harm to 15-year-old Nicoletta Georgiou.

Georgiou was stabbed outside a phone booth in Larnaca’s John F. Kennedy Square on Saturday. She was taken to hospital, while her assailant escaped on a motorbike. Gavriel was arrested 15 minutes later with blood on his shirt cuff and a knife in his possession.

The court heard that, just prior to the incident, Gavriel had been seen drinking at a coffee shop. He had had the knife in his possession at the time and had shown it to other customers.

A government psychologist also testified that Gavriel, from Vryssoules, was a paranoid psychotic who had refused to accept treatment after his arrest.

The judge granted the eight-day remand order, but when he heard the decision, the suspect began demanding to be taken instead to Athalassa Mental Hospital.

The judge denied his request, and Gavriel will be held in normal police custody.

Police have already taken seven statements from witnesses, and say they intend to take between 25 and 30 more.

Georgiou sustained a one-inch wound to her right side, but there were no internal injuries. She was still in hospital yesterday.