Police evidence linking three suspects to the murder of businessman Stavros Demosthenous was presented today at Limassol District Court.
The custody hearing for the three men arrested yesterday, aged 58, 39 and 30, has just concluded.
Two of the suspects are Greek Cypriots from Nicosia, while the third lives in Limassol and is of Greek origin. The first two suspects are allegedly connected to the high-powered scooter that the killers reportedly used to escape after the murder.
The scooter belonged to a 44-year-old Greek Cypriot former footballer who has been in custody for eight days since Sunday. This individual allegedly told Limassol CID investigators that he had sold the scooter to a third party around the end of September.
One of the Greek Cypriot suspects, the 30-year-old, has previously been known to authorities. In 2024, he escaped from Lakatamia police detention facilities in a manner that highlighted security gaps.
He had removed a glass block from his detention area using an iron bar he had taken from a toilet in the facility. At that time, police issued a public wanted notice with his details while searching for him.
Stavros Demosthenous, 49, was shot and killed on Friday, October 17 near his home in Limassol. The chairman of second division football club Karmiotissa FC was traveling in a car with his 18-year-old son when attackers opened fire. Police estimate he was hit by at least three bullets out of approximately 13 shots fired.
According to police investigations, the attack appears to have been carefully planned. Evidence suggests two perpetrators drove ahead of Demosthenous in a white van that had been reported stolen. When the van slowed down, one assailant exited through the rear door and allegedly shot Demosthenous with an automatic weapon.
The arrests have now brought the total number of people in custody to four, including the former footballer detained on Saturday night. Investigators believe the suspects fled the scene after setting fire to the white van, using the high-powered scooter which was later found abandoned in a car park in the Agios Tychonas area of Limassol.
Outside of football, Demosthenous ran DEMOCARS, a Limassol-based luxury car dealership specializing in high-end brands.
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