A convicted murderer serving a life sentence admitted escaping from custody but denied conspiracy charges during proceedings at Paphos Criminal Court on Wednesday.
Doros Theofanous, 42, appeared in court alongside a 26-year-old man from Limassol under heightened security measures.
Theofanous pleaded guilty to escaping from lawful custody but denied charges of conspiracy to commit a felony. His co-defendant, the 26-year-old accused of aiding his escape, pleaded not guilty to assisting a person in custody to flee but admitted disobeying lawful orders by contacting the prisoner.
The escape occurred on 26 September when Theofanous, who was on authorised leave to visit his family home in Choletria, Paphos, allegedly fled with assistance from the Limassol man. Prosecutors say the younger defendant transported Theofanous from the village to an area near Ypsonas.
The court scheduled the next hearing for 14 February 2025. The judge ordered Theofanous to be returned to the Central Prisons whilst the 26-year-old co-defendant remains in custody.
Theofanous was convicted in 2012 for the murders of his pregnant girlfriend, Julia Oporok, 24, and her three-year-old daughter, Viktoria.
The double homicide occurred in December 2011. Theofanous had shot his girlfriend and suffocated her daughter.
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