Nicosia, Cyprus. A family liaison officer told Nicosia district court on Tuesday that many warning signs had been raised about the living conditions of Stylianos Constantinou, a 15-year-old boy who died by suicide in 2019. She was testifying for the prosecution in the trial of 11 people, including the boy’s parents and nine social welfare services employees.
Court testimony on neglect allegations
The officer said Constantinou had been subjected to a “very serious” case of neglect in the years leading up to his death.
She told the court her involvement began in 2010, when she was assigned to provide him with special education and speech therapy. From the first session, she said, she had realised that the case was not a simple matter of learning or speech therapy difficulties, but a very complex one.
Concerns raised from early stage
She said that five days after she began working with him, the question was raised of whether he should repeat a year of pre-school. According to her testimony, most of those involved supported the idea, but his mother did not agree.
In January 2011, she said, she was informed that the children in his home were “very dirty” and that there were mice, cockroaches and dogs in the house.
Allegations of violence in the home
The officer also told the court that she had been informed that the father was brutally beating the mother and that the mother was beating Stylianos.
She said the teaching assistant assigned to him had considered resigning after developing rashes which were attributed to dirt. She added that the child who sat next to him in class had developed similar skin problems.
School observations
On one occasion, she said, she had become emotional after seeing him at school because his appearance showed an “incredible lack of care”.
She told the court that he smelled and had black marks on his hands, fingernails and face.
Regarding his school performance, she said he had learning difficulties, fine motor difficulties, outbursts of anger, disorganisation, aggression and difficulties in relationships with other children.