Suspect remanded after murder confession

By Athena Karsera

LIMASSOL district court yesterday remanded a man for eight days after he confessed on Monday to murdering his supervisor.

Investigating officer George Aristidou told the court that Kyriacos Theodoulos Papaconstantinou, 59, from Pyrgos near Limassol, had already confessed to killing 58 year-old Adamos George Christophis.

Papaconstantinou faces charges of premeditated murder. He had initially told police he was not involved.

Later on Monday, however, he led police to his brother’s home where he had hidden an automatic weapon believed to be the one used in the killing, the clothes he had worn and unused shells.

The court heard that Christophis was found in a pool of blood at approximately 7.20am on Monday when another colleague heard the sound of gunfire.

He had been shot twice at close range in an office next to the car-park of Limassol’s Thera Complex, where both men had worked as gardeners.

Police said the victim, originally from Larnaca, had been shot once in the chest while sitting at his desk and again in the right eye once he had fallen to the ground.

In his confession, Papaconstantinou told police he had killed Christophis because he believed him to be personally responsible for a letter of dismissal he had received a few days ago, informing him he would lose his job at the end of the year.

Aristidou also told the court that the police had testimony that Papaconstantinou had threatened Christophis in the past and that the two men had not had a good relationship.

The officer said that the evidence had been sent to Nicosia for scientific examination.

Christophis, a married father of three, is to be buried in Larnaca this morning.

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