A 31-year-old man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of another man in Oroklini last year, which also saw a six-year-old boy injured.
Appearing at the Larnaca Criminal Court, he admitted to the attempted murder of a 42-year-old man, following the dropping of the charge of the attempted murder of the 6-year-old, which he had denied in the July 3 session of his trial.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the indictment was amended and the charge of attempted murder of the child was removed.
The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of the 42-year-old, which as a result endangered the life of the child, conspiracy to commit murder and four other charges relating to possession and transportation of a firearm and ammunition.
The court set October 6 as the date for sentencing.
The 31-year-old also implicated in his testimony a 35-year-old man from Sotira, who has been wanted by police since December 6.
A 34-year-old businessman, also arrested in connection with the case, was released last year.
Investigations started after gunshots were fired at a moving car driven by the 42-year-old man with the boy and a 40-year-old man as passengers. The incident occurred at around 5.30am on December 4 as they were going hunting.
The 42-year-old suffered an abdominal wound and leg injuries while the child suffered a fracture to his right leg. Both underwent surgery.
The third person was not injured because he reportedly managed to get out of the car once the shooting began.
During the 31-year-old’s remand renewal at the Larnaca district court, it was heard that the wanted 35-year-old suspect was reported to police as a missing person on December 7 by his sister. His vehicle was found abandoned in Ayios Nikolaos on the British bases.
The sister reportedly said her brother had revealed to her he had conspired with the 34-year-old to commit the murder and that he would receive the sum of €40,000 from the 34-year-old, however in the end received only €20,000.
The woman also told police that her brother handed her a mobile phone, which she turned over to authorities as evidence.
According to the investigator, the 34-year-old suspect was not tied through DNA to the weapon, or the balaclava found at the scene, and that nothing suspicious was found at his home.