Global InformationMitsero murders information
 | This article needs to be updated. (September 2021) |
| Date | September 2016 – August 2018 |
|---|---|
| Location | Mitsero, Nicosia District, Cyprus |
| Deaths | 7 |
| Convictions | Nikos Metaxas |
| Sentence | 7 life sentences |
The Mitsero murders were a series of killings committed by Nikos Metaxas, a military officer in the Cypriot National Guard, between September 2016 and August 2018. Five of his seven victims were female foreigners he had met on the online dating site Badoo.[1] The remaining two victims were young children and were the daughters of two of his adult victims.[1]
The victims' remains were found over a period of three months in 2019. Unusually heavy floods in April led to the discovery of the first victim, Mary Rose Tiburcio, at a mine shaft near the village of Mitsero. Another body was soon discovered at a firing range by Orounta.[1] Three other victims were stuffed into suitcases and disposed of near Mitsero in Red Lake.[2] The last body, that of Tiburcio's six-year-old daughter Sierra, was found in Lake Memi near Xyliatos.
After he was named as a suspect, multiple women accused Metaxas of crimes such as rape, and he was formally charged with evidence tampering and obstruction of justice; however, critical evidence for these charges was believed to have been destroyed or lost.[3] Metaxas told investigators that he had strangled two of his victims and their daughters because he suspected that the women were planning to "pimp out" their daughters, and he wanted to punish the women and "free" the children.[1] He pleaded guilty on 24 June and received seven life sentences, the largest sentence ever handed down in Cypriot history.[1][3]
The murders sparked criticism of the Cyprus Police, including by the then Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, regarding the force's indifferent attitude to the initial disappearances of the victims.[4] As a result of the case, Minister of Justice Ionas Nicolaou resigned and police chief Zacharias Chrysostomou was fired.[4] As of July 2019, an investigation into the Cyprus Police's handling of the reports was underway.[4]
- ^ a b c d e Hadjioannou, Bouli. "Mitsero murders: Metaxas pleads guilty to killing 5 women, 2 children".
- ^ "Mitsero murders: New plan for the Red Lake".
- ^ a b "Serial killer's SIM card points to more women | Kathimerini". www.ekathimerini.com.
- ^ a b c Hadjioannou, Bouli. "President slams 'sheer negligence' in investigating disappearance of serial killer's victims".