Greek-Cypriot military officer Nicos Metaxas, 35, has shocked the island nation becoming the country’s first ever serial killer.
His fourth victim was pulled out of a highly toxic man-made ‘red lake’ from a suitcase containing a block of cement following his directions. He has also confessed to killing and dumping the bodies of five foreign women and two young girls, aged six and eight, in the area. So far the total number of recovered bodies are four, however there may be more victims than Metaxas is admitting to.
The suspect had initially denied killing the third victim, Filipina Maricar Valtex Arquiola, 31, missing since late 2017. He later confessed to her murder, and said that he killed a total of seven over the past three years. He later told investigators where to find the body of an unidentified woman of Nepalese or Indian descent.
A new dimension has been added to the case after a woman from the Philippines filed a complaint that she had been raped by the suspect in 2017. She filed the complaint after the accused was arrested, however local reports also show that the police had received a preemptive complaint from Metaxas against his accuser on 28 February 2017. According to Kathimerini, Metaxas filed a complaint with the police stating that he had received threats from a “former girlfriend’ seeking revenge.
Media reports state that the suspect met his victims on an online dating site. Police have told local media that he may be linked to a total of 30 cases of missing foreign women as transcripts of chats had been found on his computer. A number of women had been reported missing, but were assumed to have returned to their countries and their disappearances had not been properly investigated.
Cypriot authorities are facing criticism for not properly investigating reports of the missing foreign women.
AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou has called for the resignation of the Cypriot police chief and Cyprus Justice Minister.