Suspects deny hunting death charges

By Martin Hellicar

A MAN and his son-in-law yesterday pleaded not guilty to charges of killing hunter Marinos Spyrou near Kantou in the Limassol district in November last year.

Labourer Georgios Vassiliou, 48, and builder Lazaros Sofocleous, known as Rakis, 27, both from Limassol, were brought up before Limassol Assizes Court and charged with manslaughter.

Spyrou, 25 from Limassol, was killed by shot-gun pellet injuries to the back and hand that he received while out hunting in the dry Kouris river bed early on Sunday November 15, 1998.

The court heard that the two accused were arrested late the next day after ballistic tests on their hunting rifles showed that spent cartridges found in the vicinity of the killing had been fired from their guns.

During an earlier remand hearing, police said Vassiliou and Sofocleous had confessed to shooting Spyrou, but they denied the charges yesterday.

One of the two suspects, Rakis, is a special game warden.

Police say the shooting occurred after an argument between Spyrou and the two accused and that there had been an exchange of gunfire.

Spyrou’s body was found by his father Costas, who was out hunting with his son but was not with him at the time of the incident.

The court set the start of the two men’s trial for March 26.

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