The Limassol Assize Court sentenced a 25-year-old man to two consecutive life terms on Monday for the premeditated double murder committed in Arakapas on 30 July 2024, imposing the harshest penalty available under Cypriot law on each of the two counts.
The court ruled that the two killings constituted separate criminal acts, a finding that has direct implications for any future application for release, which under Cypriot law cannot be sought until at least 25 years of the sentence have been served. In explaining the decision on consecutive sentencing, the court said the defendant had "plunged two families into grief" and that "the shots were fired within a very short time but were separate acts."
The 25-year-old, identified by his initials A.M., had admitted his guilt. Following the sentencing, prosecutors announced he will be called as a prosecution witness in the upcoming trial of a 21-year-old co-accused, who denies the charges against him.
The crime
The bodies of Andreas Kouzoupis, 39, from Arakapas, and 38-year-old Slovak national David Chmelar were discovered on 31 July 2024, charred beyond recognition inside a burned-out vehicle on a dirt road between Pareklissia and Kellaki. Post-mortem examinations established that both men had been shot in the head with a hunting rifle before the car was set alight, leading police to treat the case as premeditated murder from the outset.
According to facts presented in court and admitted by the 25-year-old, he and another person drove to an area near the water reservoir in Arakapas village late on the night of 30 July, carrying a hunting rifle. At around 11.30pm, the two victims arrived at the agreed location in a car driven by Chmelar. Both victims were then shot in the head in quick succession. The 25-year-old clarified in court that he was not the person who handled the hunting rifle during the killings.
The two defendants then drove the victims' vehicle to the Listovounos area, where they pushed it down a dirt slope until it struck a tree. After obtaining flammable material, they set the vehicle alight, destroying it entirely and incinerating the bodies of the two victims.
Two young men, then aged 19 and 23, were arrested in connection with the case. They had initially blamed each other for the murders.
The trial of the 21-year-old co-accused, who continues to deny all charges, is yet to be scheduled.
