Nicosia, Cyprus. Defence attorneys on Thursday sought to challenge the testimony of a family liaison officer who said Stylianos Constantinou, the teenager who took his own life in 2019, had suffered severe neglect at home. The cross-examination took place at Nicosia criminal court, where 11 defendants are on trial.
Ongoing trial
The court is hearing charges that the boy’s family, along with the social welfare services, were responsible for the circumstances leading to the suicide. Those on trial are Stylianos’ parents and nine social workers.
Due to the sensitivity of the case, witnesses’ full names are not being published and only their initials are being used.
Witness testimony
The family liaison officer, testifying for the prosecution, repeated her view that the social welfare services could have done much more to help Stylianos.
During questioning, she rejected a defence suggestion that the boy may have been dirty because he had been playing in the school sandbox. She said the issue was his overall condition of neglect.
Statements discussed in court
According to the witness, Stylianos had at one point told a teacher that he was unclean and that his mother did not take care of him. She said that when the matter was later raised with the mother, the mother denied it.
The witness also described the boy’s behaviour following a certain incident, saying that he became introverted, did not speak, and appeared very sad.
