With the testimony of speech-language pathologist Niki Prodromitou, the trial regarding the death of 14-year-old Stylianos Konstantinou in September 20 continued on Friday before the Nicosia District Court19. Among other things, the witness referred to incidents that, as she testified, Stylianos had described to her. She also claimed that both his mother and the relevant authorities were aware of the abuse of the 14-year-old and that he himself had told her that “my stepfather beat me with a belt.”
The prosecution witness confirmed the content of her testimony, which she read aloud before the Court, noting that she had worked with Stylianos when he was in the third grade at Agia Varvara Elementary School, at the age of eight.
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As she stated in her testimony, at the beginning of the school year she conducted an assessment in which she identified difficulties Stylianos was facing with spoken and written language.
“I noticed that he had low self-esteem and self-confidence. He would come to school looking unkempt. He was unkempt, smelled very bad, and his teeth were unbrushed and stained. He had rashes on his hands,” the witness stated.
She added that “he often came to school on an empty stomach and was almost always tired and sleepy. He told me he didn’t bathe because they didn’t have hot water at home.”
Continuing to read her testimony, the witness stated that “Toward the end of the school year, Stylianos’s mother came to school with her two children and was in a state of panic. After being beaten by his father, Stylianos left home and was missing all night.”
“She told us that he left home to escape. ‘I walked along the riverbeds all night and made it to school on foot,’ he told us.”
As the witness stated, Stylianos had given a videotaped statement regarding this specific incident.
“Stylianos didn’t come to school for a week. The week after that, I was informed that Stylianos’s mother had decided to return home,” she said.
As she states in her testimony, she realized that “the mother was withholding important information since she knew that Stylianos was being abused by his father.”
“Even the young children were unkempt, while the mother was clean,” she noted.
She also said that Stylianos told her there were mice in the house.
“Stylianos had goals and dreams for his life. School was his safe haven. ‘I want to learn, but I’m sleepy, ma’am,’ he would tell me.”
The witness then stated that on another occasion, Stylianos had told her that “my stepfather beat me with a belt,” adding that she had seen the marks on his back.
“My overall impression was that he was going through difficult times and situations and wasn’t getting any support from his mother. His father beat him and kept him on the farm all the time. For Stylianos, his father was a source of fear and terror,” the witness said, visibly shaken.
“The relevant authorities were aware of all this; they knew about the abuse Stylianos suffered,” she asserted.
During the witness’s direct examination, the representative of the prosecution, Elena Konstantinou, asked her to describe the language deficits she observed in Stylianos, as well as how she determined that he had low self-esteem and self-confidence.
The witness stated that Stylianos “had language deficits in speech processing and expression. He had an extremely limited vocabulary.”
Regarding his low self-confidence and self-esteem, the witness said that he would say, “Ma’am, I’m not good enough; I won’t be able to do it.”
“His words were the first indication. The next clue was his body language. He was always hunched over, his gaze was downcast,” she added.
When asked to describe Stylianos’s appearance, the witness stated that “he had dirt on his face and neck. They were dark spots; they almost altered the color of his skin. The boy hadn’t washed in a very long time.”
The witness stated that “he took a bath only once. It was the day they moved into their renovated house; he came in very happy and told me, ‘Ma’am, I took a bath.’”
When asked to describe the rashes on his hands, the witness stated that “they were large red rashes, which he told us were caused by the animals. And a coworker caught this skin condition from Stylianos.”
“He told me himself, ‘I asked my mom to take me to the doctor, but she didn’t,’” the witness stated.
When asked how she knew that Stylianos was coming to school on an empty stomach, the speech therapist replied, “He would tell me, ‘Ma’am, I didn’t eat yesterday; I’m hungry. I worked all night at the scrapyard and was sorting through the scrap. I was milking the cows and was late getting home.’”
The witness noted that “his eyes were red; it was obvious he hadn’t slept enough.”
She then stated that “he told me himself that his father made him work at the scrapyard. He’d say to me, ‘Ma’am, I’m really afraid of my dad; if I don’t do what he tells me, he beats me. I try to listen to him so he won’t beat me.’ He told me this very often—if not every day, then at least once a week.”
Regarding the marks on Stylianos’s back, the witness said that “they were bruises consistent with what the child said—that he had been hit with a belt.”
“‘Ma’am, teach me to read and write; I want to become something,’ he would tell me. Because he didn’t come to school having done his homework, he felt bad about it,” the witness said at another point.
When asked what she expected would happen after those specific incidents, the witness stated that “I expected the child to leave home and the place where he had been abused. He had been away for a week, but then he returned.”
When asked how she realized that the mother was withholding information, the witness replied that “when the mother came to school, she usually focused on academic matters. When we brought up the lack of sleep and eating, she denied all of it. She said he had eaten and that he had never been hit.”
She emphasized that “in the 25 years I’ve worked in elementary schools, I’ve never seen a more neglected child. It was obvious that the mother had concealed Stylianos’s neglect.”
Regarding the assistance offered to the family, the witness stated that “clothes and shoes were provided for all the children, even new clothes. Food and milk were provided. It was mainly material goods.”
When asked about the insults Stylianos received from his father, the witness stated that he called him “a bastard and a good-for-nothing.”
“He would come to my class full of joy and smiling because there he felt love and security—something he apparently lacked at home. He’d take a little piece of paper and write to me, ‘I wish you were my mom,’ ” the witness said at another point.
The next court hearing was set for next Monday at 11:30 a.m., during which the defense attorneys will cross-examine the witness.
It should be noted that the case concerns the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of 14-year-old Stylianos Konstantinou, with the Court examining potential liability both within the family and on the part of government agencies. The defendants are the minor’s parents, as well as government officials from the Social Welfare Services.
Source: CNA
