Teacher testifies on abuse claims in inquest into teenager’s 2019 death

Local bullyingsocial welfareTop News Teacher testifies on abuse claims in inquest into teenager’s 2019 death Stylianos Id 1172334 Relevant News Teacher testifies on abuse claims in inquest into teenager’s 2019 death 3 July 2026 Cyprus temperatures to reach 37C on Friday 3 July 2026 From a Karavas cart dream to a business empire: the life of Nicos Shacolas 2 July 2026 Ernestos Mousas 3 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The eighth prosecution witness took the stand today at Nicosia District Court in the case concerning the death of 14-year-old Stylianos Konstantinou, with another of his former kindergarten teachers testifying about his behaviour during the 2009–10 school year, when he was nearly five years old and in pre-primary class. Nine people face charges in the case. Previous witnesses have included another kindergarten teacher who taught Stylianos in 2008–09 and described him as a neglected child subjected to threats from his father, and testimony has separately emerged that Cyprus Police Chief Themistos Arnaoutis was investigated over a possible failure to act on a 2013 domestic violence complaint filed by Stylianos’s mother, while he commanded Pera Chorion police station. The witness, identified in court only as PA, gave two statements to the criminal investigator in 2020. Her testimony again pointed to aggressive behaviour by Stylianos, which she said in her view stemmed from events at home. She also testified to self-harming tendencies from a young age, saying that even at around five, Stylianos would try to hurt himself. Violence, threats and self-harm In the first part of her statement to the criminal investigator on 17 February 2020, the witness said she became concerned from the earliest days after taking over Stylianos’s class. She described an incident in which Stylianos came to school carrying a knife. According to her statement, his mother whispered to her while dropping him off that the child had a knife on him, before leaving. Stylianos reportedly refused to hand the knife to his teacher that day, and turned it towards his classmates and teachers. The witness said she managed to take the knife from him after a short time, and that her initial impression was that he believed it was a game. Asked by prosecution representative Eleni Konstantinou to describe the knife, the witness said it was a pointed kitchen knife, unlike the curved blades common today. The witness’s first statement also referred to other behaviour, including an occasion when he hung from a curtain and instances of throwing chairs and tables at other children. Her assessment at the time was that this stemmed from events at home. She said other parents repeatedly complained about Stylianos hitting their children, and warned they would file a complaint against the school if the situation continued. On his appearance at school, the witness said his clothes were sometimes dirty, and that an unpleasant smell was more noticeable in winter than summer. She referred to a jacket she believed he also wore at a scrapyard he visited with his parents after school, which appeared not to be washed. She said Stylianos regularly used phrases such as threatening to hit others, use a belt, or have someone put in prison, when he was upset. The witness also testified to instances in which Stylianos tried to harm himself, including hitting his head and pulling his hair. When the witness saw the mother with injuries In her second statement to the criminal investigator, on 10 March 2020, the witness described an incident in which Stylianos arrived at school visibly upset. His mother told the witness that her husband had hit her, and the witness said she saw the mother with an injury to her lip and a bruise on her leg. The mother said she had not been beaten in front of the children, saying they had been asleep. According to the witness, her teaching assistant said Stylianos had already described what happened before she reached the classroom, saying his father had thrown cake at his mother and kicked her. The witness said Stylianos appeared “broken” that day and could barely speak. She said he struggled to walk, stumbling and falling, something she had not observed on other occasions. She said his condition improved gradually over the following days. The witness said she urged the mother that day to go to police and report her husband, and that the mother said she would. She said she later called the local police station to confirm the mother had done so, and police confirmed that she had. “Let me fall and die, let me be at peace” Elsewhere in her supplementary 2020 statement, the witness described an occasion when Stylianos left school and began climbing a nearby hillside. She said she asked him to come back and stop climbing so he would not get hurt. According to her account, he replied: “Let me fall and die, let me be at peace.” The witness said she did not believe those words could have come from a five-year-old’s own thinking, and suggested they may have echoed something he had heard his mother say while experiencing violence from his father. The parents and the school psychologist On the father, the witness said he was inaccessible and did not want contact with the school. On the mother, she said she appeared to have accepted her situation and remained financially dependent on her husband. The witness also referred to an occasion when Stylianos was very sad at school and reportedly told his speech therapist that his father hit his mother, and that he felt unwanted and hated by his father. The witness said she also recalled positive moments, citing a day the family held a party for the feast of Saint Stylianos, when the child arrived at school excited. The witness said she was the one who took the initiative to have an educational psychologist called to the school. The psychologist said Stylianos and his whole family needed support. The witness said she had requested approval for a daily companion for Stylianos, but this was not granted. The psychologist continued visiting the school in the following period to address the issue. Cross-examination of the witness by defence lawyers representing the nine defendants is scheduled for tomorrow at 11am. Read more: Teacher: Stylianos described threats, violence at home before his death Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Cyprus temperatures to reach 37C on Friday From a Karavas cart dream to a business empire: the life of Nicos Shacolas Digital TV switchover triggers surge of complaints across Cyprus Roadworks cause chaos in Germasogeia, Deputy Mayor declares “unbelievable inconvenience” Overnight pharmacies on Thursday, July 2 EU urged to prioritise heart disease prevention policy Father of Xylophagou boys found dead to face negligence charges Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.