Limassol Criminal Court on Tuesday jailed a 48-year-old man for 13 years for murdering his 80-year-old father, Giorgos Hadjigeorgiou, whom he fatally stabbed in Limassol in the early hours of 9 July 2025. The man had admitted the murder, one of the charges he faced.
In its unanimous decision, the court said the defendant could not be described as a heinous murderer. He attributes his act to what he says he experienced from his father, and the court noted that the act was not entirely unconnected to what he had experienced.
In his favour, the court took into account his admission, his remorse and his serious mental health problems. On entering the courtroom, he apologised for his conduct and expressed sorrow at the state he had come to.
The court also considered the circumstances of the offence, finding that he had acted without provocation and referring to the brutality of the act, though it found no evidence of premeditation.
The court heard that minutes after the stabbing, he called Limassol CID from his mobile phone, confessed and asked officers to come to his home and arrest him. He said that while in his bedroom using his computer, he began thinking about the suffering he claimed his father had caused him, and these thoughts led to a wish to harm him.
The court found no diminished responsibility, as it had not been argued that his mental health problems affected his ability to understand his actions. It ruled that he was aware of what he had done, as he called police minutes after the stabbing and then contacted his spiritual father to receive a prayer of absolution.
