The cause of death of Erato Athanasiou, the 75-year-old woman who had been missing from the Nicosia district community of Tsakistra since August 23, remains unknown after a court-ordered autopsy carried out today at Nicosia General Hospital.
The autopsy found no bone injuries on her body, but did not establish how she died. A forensic pathologist collected samples for histopathological and toxicological testing in an effort to determine the cause of death.
Morphou Police Directorate is investigating the death as unnatural, with all avenues open and no evidence so far pointing in a specific direction, police said. According to philenews information, there was a delay between the last time Athanasiou was seen and the time her disappearance was reported to police.
Philenews sources said considerable valuable time was lost as a result, meaning the 75-year-old was “staying ahead” of search teams for several hours. One factor hindering efforts to determine the cause of death is the condition of the body, which was found by forest rangers in a wooded, hard-to-reach part of the village, several kilometres from Tsakistra.
She was also not carrying a mobile phone or bag, which hindered efforts to trace her phone signal, at least at some points, since there was no mobile signal in the area where she was found. Morphou Police investigations are continuing, with witness statements being taken, while the forensic report on the test results is awaited.
It is noted that the 75-year-old had been staying in Tsakistra on holiday with her husband, as their permanent residence is in Nicosia.
