84-year-old gets seven years for killing wife

In a case that shocked Cyprus society, an 84-year-old Limassol man was sentenced to seven years in prison for killing his 82-year-old wife with a hammer after a heated argument earlier in June.

The Limassol Criminal Court on Wednesday, after the 84-year-old pleaded guilty to the charge of murder, handed him a seven-year jail sentence.

The court considered the accused’s serious health problems, clean criminal record, and age in passing sentence.

The court noted that the wife’s killing was committed without motive, while the defendant showed complete indifference.

On June 6, the pensioner turned himself into the local CID, telling officers he had killed his wife, later identified as Georgia Charalambous, at their house in Ayios Ioannis, Limassol.

Police found an 82-year-old lying dead in a pool of blood in the yard of their home.

Her husband confessed to hitting her multiple times with a hammer on the head.

He delivered five blows to his wife’s head, with evidence indicating that he had struck her from behind.

The couple allegedly had a heated argument over personal money matters when things turned violent.

Reportedly, the man told officers he had killed her to rid himself of her moaning, saying she had called him stingy after refusing to give her money to go to the grocer.