A 22-YEAR-OLD Limassol man was yesterday jailed for 15 years for killing his neighbour over the way he had parked his car.
Eleftherios Constantinou, who suffers from mental problems, stabbed Apostolis Athanasiou, 23, in November last year because the latter had parked his car outside his Kato Polemidia home.
After an exchange of words, the victim moved his car, but Constantinou came out with a knife and stabbed the 23-year-old in the heart and lungs.
The Limassol Criminal Court took the defendant’s mental state into account, but pointed out that he had not been complying with his doctors’ orders regarding his medicinal treatment.
After his arrest, police had said the defendant had been involved in similar incident in 2011. Constantinou had stabbed and injured a 48-year-old man under “similar circumstances”.
After being examined by a psychiatrist, he was referred to Athalassa Psychiatric ward in Nicosia where he remained for some time. That case was set to go to trial in March 2013.
After the November stabbing, the welfare services said they had taken all steps stipulated by the law
The case bears similarities to a murder that took place in Nicosia in January, 2012, when a 25-year-old man, who was also under the care of the welfare services, killed his sister following an argument over a laptop. He was sentenced to 12 years in jail in May.