THE decomposed body of a man found in the Kafkala area on the Ayios Theodoros coast near Larnaca, was identified on Friday as that of a 36-year-old Bulgarian national reported missing a week ago. Initial reports suggest there was no foul play in his death.
The man, who was identified by his father, had been reported missing by his wife last Saturday. The couple lived in Aradhippou.
The body was found by the shore with one hand and both feet individually wrapped with taped-up plastic bin bags, shortly after 5pm on Thursday by a 50-year-old Nicosia man who maintains a holiday home in the area.
“From further investigations made concerning missing persons, it was established that a report was made on September 10, according to which a 36-year-old was missing from his home,” police spokesman Andreas Angelides said, adding the man had left on foot.
“From the examinations and investigations that followed it appears the missing person is associated with the body found yesterday in the specific area. However, the identity of the deceased will be formally confirmed by DNA tests to be carried out,” he concluded.
The wife, who has a six-year-old daughter with the dead man, reported to Aradhippou police that he had been missing since September 6, saying it was not the first time he had left home without informing her where he was going, On the contrary, it was something he did quite regularly, usually returning two or three days later, which is why she delayed reporting him as missing to police.
She reportedly told Larnaca CID that he was a former heroin user who was struggling with alcoholism, while being treated by a psychiatrist.
The wife gave a description of her spouse as well as the clothes he wore on the day she last saw him.
Following Friday’s developments, the police are waiting for the coroner’s results which should shed light on whether the man’s death was a criminal act.
The post mortem at Larnaca hospital by state pathologists Sophoclis Sophocleous and Nicos Charalambous, in the presence specialists from Larnaca CID and police headqurters, started on Friday morning.
Pieces of the bin bags and tape have been sent for further forensic examinations DNA, while tissue samples from the corpse will undergo toxicological and other examinations.
X-rays of the body have not shown any injuries to the head or broken bones with investigators eliminating various scenarios as to the cause of death and the presence of his corpse in a remote area.
The identification of the Bulgarian put an end to speculation that the body may have belonged to 48-year-old Albanian Aleks Burreli, wanted in connection with the June 23 gangland killings of Phanos Kalopsidiotis and three others in Ayia Napa.
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