Teacher testifies in trial over 2019 death of Stylianos Constantinou

Nicosia, Cyprus. A former first-grade teacher testified on Monday in the trial concerning the circumstances surrounding the 2019 death by suicide of Stylianos Constantinou, saying the boy had reported violence at home and displayed signs of possible neglect at school.

Eleven people, including Constantinou’s parents and nine social welfare services department employees, are standing trial.

Teacher’s testimony

The teacher, appearing as a prosecution witness, read a statement she had given to criminal investigators in 2020.

She said Constantinou, who was 15 when he died, had been in her class during the 2010-2011 school year and had a personal learning support assistant throughout that period because of behavioural problems.

According to her testimony, he would push desks, injuring other pupils, and had a tendency to run away. He also regularly did press-ups during class, saying he wanted “to get strong and beat them up”.

The teacher said he appeared to admire his father but also feared and hated him because of his behaviour towards his mother. She said he had told her that his father “beats everyone, and my mother, and the sheep, and me”.

School observations

When Constantinou began first grade, the teacher said she had been informed that he had been unable to follow the class schedule in nursery school and had displayed aggressive behaviour.

During the year she taught him, she said, he had limited vocabulary and general knowledge and did not have the expected access to books and educational materials for his age.

She described him as polite, composed, thin and well behaved on the first day of school. In the following weeks, however, she said marks appeared on his face and hands.

She also said he frequently wore the same clothes for several consecutive days, eventually giving off a bad odour. He usually did not bring food to school, she said, and his learning support assistant often provided food for him.

Welfare services informed

The teacher said the social welfare services department had been informed about concerns observed at school, including cleanliness and nutrition issues and the child’s reports of violence at home.