Limassol double murder motive financial

Two suspects arrested in connection with the gruesome discovery of two charred bodies in a car in Limassol, are being brought before the district court on Friday.

Meanwhile, investigations continue to confirm the identity of the second victim, which police say has been clarified.

Police arrested the two suspects, aged 19 and 23, on Thursday night with a court warrant.

Evidence indicates that they murdered the two victims at the spot where the car was found aflame shortly after midnight on Wednesday, police spokesman Christos Andreou told the CyBC.

Andreou said the case was on the point of being fully clarified with a financial dispute as apparent motive.

All involved were living in Arakapas and the wider vicinity, Andreou said.

He added that authorities had found several shotguns at the home of the 19-year-old, one of which is believed to be the murder weapon.

Authorities confirmed identity of one of the two victims, as Andreas Kouzoupis, 39, from Arakapa. The victim was identified through DNA testing, after an earlier lead that he had gone missing from his home.

Police have strong leads and information as to the identity of the second victim, but are awaiting confirmation from DNA testing, Andreou said.

The second man appears to have been a foreign resident on the island and the registered owner and driver of the burned-out Opel saloon found on a dirt side road off the main Pareklisia – Kellaki road.

Earlier a legal autopsy had confirmed that the victims had died from craniocerebral injury caused by a shotgun.

Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis and police chief Stelios Papatheodorou had been briefed over developments at the city’s central police station.

The case is under ongoing investigation by Limassol CID.