Elena Skordelli

Background

Elena Skordelli (born c. 1968) was a Cypriot television presenter. In 2009 she was dismissed from her job at Sigma TV, after which she worked for CNC Plus TV. She was described as a well-known TV presenter. She was also described as having been cut out to be neither a Cypriot Judy Finnegan nor “a member of its Mafia underclass”.

People involved

Elena Skordelli was a former Sigma presenter and was one of the defendants in a murder trial. Tasos Krasopoulis was Elena Skordelli’s brother and was a defendant in the same case. Andreas Gregoriou was a defendant in the same case. Grigoris Xenofontos was a defendant in the same case. Fanos Hadjigeorgiou was described as the “fixer” in one account and as the getaway motorbike driver in another account; he gave evidence for the prosecution and was placed in a witness protection programme after turning state’s witness. Andis Hadjicostis (September 1968 in Nicosia – January 11, 2010) was a Cypriot businessman and media mogul. He served as CEO of the Dias media group and the CEO of Sigma TV, which he had created. He was 41 years old at the time of his murder.

The offence

Andis Hadjicostis was shot and killed with a shotgun on January 11, 2010, while leaving his home in the Engomi neighborhood of Nicosia. He was gunned down outside his home in Nicosia. The shots were described as being fired from close range, with testimony stating that he was shot twice, in the chest and the back, and died instantly. The shotgun casings found at the scene suggested the killer’s weapon originated from the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and there was speculation among some Greek Cypriots that Hadjicostis’s murder was linked to the island’s political dispute.

The prosecution alleged that Elena Skordelli, who had recently been fired, and her brother Tasos Krasopoulis conspired to murder Hadjicostis. Prosecutors said Skordelli was driven by revenge after she was sacked from her job as news anchor at his Sigma TV channel. Police alleged that Hadjicostis was murdered by a former employee, Elena Skordelli, a presenter on one of the victim’s television stations.

The trial heard that Skordelli and her brother held a share in Sigma and that they planned to kill Hadjicostis and hoped to take over his business after his death. The trial heard that the defendants’ motive included vengeance and corporate elimination of Hadjicostis, including the desire to gain a controlling interest in the company.

In witness testimony and other reported statements, Fanos Hadjigeorgiou said: “They took my money, I want him to die.” He also said she was the only woman he had met who had “such hatred for a man”. Skordelli interrupted his testimony by standing up and shouting: “Shame on you, get up and get out.” The trial heard that Skordelli and her brother ordered the hit on Hadjicostis for a 50,000 euro fee. In the reported leaked police statement context, Skordelli allegedly concluded the deal by saying of her boss, “I want this man dead”.

Investigation

Cypriot police alleged that business, money and revenge were the true motive, not politics. The prosecution’s case hinged on the testimony of Fanos Hadjigeorgiou. During the trial, the defence sought to discredit Hadjigeorgiou’s testimony and raised the possibility that Hadjigeorgiou was the one who shot and killed Hadjicostis and then pinned the crime on others to cut an immunity deal with authorities.

The court described the police investigation prior to the trial as unimpeachable, while authorities were unable to track down the murder weapon. The sawn-off shotgun used to fire the two lethal shots was never recovered, and the court dismissed the argument that failure to locate the weapon meant that no crime had been committed.

Detectives believed Skordelli dreamt up the plot to murder media tycoon Andis Hadjicostis on 11 January 2010. Skordelli’s lawyer, Michael Kyprianou, told the BBC that she was the victim of a “wall of hatred” whipped up by the police and media in Cyprus, and he claimed police failed to look into other scenarios. Kyprianou also said: “There were two or three other possible motives. There was a group making millions in illegal online gambling and the deceased was about to launch a legal online gambling site, and they were desperate to stop him.” Kyprianou said he believed Hadjigeorgiou was the actual gunman but he became a protected witness who was given immunity in return for his testimony against Skordelli. Kyprianou said it was nonsense to suggest she waited 16 months after being sacked to get “revenge” on Hadjicostis, stating: “What would she have gained? Nothing. The deceased had no shares but even if he had she couldn't have replaced him. It's a silly scenario,” and: “She was a very well known TV presenter but due to the adverse publicity they managed to build up a wall of hatred around her.”

A detective, Insp Marios Papaevridiadis, told the court: “She had a photo in 2008 (of Hadjicostis), that she gave to a psychic, through which positive energy was sent so that she could have sexual relations with him.” According to the trial account reported, after the psychic’s efforts failed to have the required effect, Skordelli fell out with Hadjicostis and his father and was fired for “insubordination”.

After arrest, Hadjigeorgiou named co-conspirators in a seven-page police statement in exchange for being put on a witness protection program. CCTV footage attached to the house of a British diplomat living some way from the killing showed the gunman escaping on a motorcycle ridden by Mr Hadjigeorgiou, described as the man who became the prosecution’s star witness.

Arrest

Skordelli was arrested in a blaze of publicity almost unprecedented in Cyprus. She had been in custody since February 2010. She was 42 when prosecutors said she was sentenced, and the Reuters account said she was “A Cypriot TV presenter ... sentenced to life in prison on Thursday”.

Trial

The trial took place before the Nicosia Criminal Court. On June 13, 2013, the Nicosia Criminal Court found Elena Skordelli, her brother Tasos Krasopoulis, Andreas Gregoriou and Grigoris Xenofontos guilty as charged of slaying Sigma boss Andis Hadjicostis. The decision was unanimous, and it took almost three hours to read out highlights of its 380-page ruling.

In another account of the court’s ruling, the four defendants were found guilty as charged of conspiracy to commit murder and of premeditated murder, a verdict described as carrying automatic mandatory life imprisonment. In that account, Xenofontos was described as the “fixer” and shooter, and Andreas Gregoriou was also described as a defendant; it also referred to “Fanos Hadjigeorgiou” and described him as the credible witness considered by the court.

Skordelli and her brother were described as shareholders in the Sigma television station who masterminded the assassination of Hadjicostis, whom they saw as impeding their plans to gain a controlling interest in the company. The court noted in its judgment: “They wanted to wipe him off the face of the earth,” and accepted that a meeting of the conspirators took place at Krasopoulis’ house in December 2009, with plans hatching as far back as October 2009.

The defence argued Hadjigeorgiou was not credible and raised constitutional arguments relating to delays in the start of the trial. The court dismissed the argument that the defendants’ constitutional rights had been violated due to the delay in the start of the trial. The court also dismissed claims that media coverage of the case may have prejudiced the trial.

During the trial, Skordelli’s lawyer, Michael Kyprianou, said there were other possible motives and said police failed to look into other scenarios. Kyprianou also argued that there was nothing sinister about her family owning shares in Sigma and that it was nonsense to suggest she waited to get revenge.

Sentencing

On June 13, 2013, Elena Skordelli, her brother Tasos Krasopoulis, Andreas Gregoriou, and Grigoris Xenofontos were sentenced to life imprisonment. Under Cyprus law, premeditated murder carried an automatic life sentence in one account.

The convicts were escorted into police vans and driven off straight to the Nicosia Central Prisons to serve their jail terms. A sobbing Skordelli had to be dragged into the van, and the commotion necessitated the deployment of the police’s counter-terrorism unit to assist with the transportation.

Outcome

Elena Skordelli was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on June 13, 2013.

Other details

Skordelli was described as having a motive involving revenge and interconnected with her desire to buy more shares in the company. Prosecutor Savvas Matsa said: “Ms Skordelli was motivated by her hostility against the victim because he terminated her employment at Sigma television,” and: “It was a revenge killing, motivated by her dismissal and interconnected with her desire to buy more shares in the company. ”

Skordelli had previously held a 21% share in Sigma, and it was claimed in court that she and her brother hoped to take over the channel in the wake of his death. Another reported account said they held a 20-odd per cent stake and purchased it for over three million euro.

The trial account described plans and roles: Skordelli and her brother began planning to kill Hadjicostis as far back as October 2009 and a meeting took place at Krasopoulis’ house in December 2009. It was reported that Xenofontos shot Hadjicostis twice and that “Fanos Hadjigeorgiou drove the getaway bike.”

One account reported that Hadjigeorgiou admitted participating in the crime then turned state witness, and that the testimony of key prosecution witness Fanos Hadjigeorgiou was described in the verdict as “not only true but emanates from his desire to tell the whole truth to investigators,”.

Skordelli was described as being from the village of Pera Orinis, as was her brother Krasopoulis, a civil servant. Gregoriou was described as a butcher from Tseri and Xenofontos as a plumber from Nicosia. Their ages were reported across the accounts as follows: Skordelli was described as 42, Krasopoulis as 37, Gregoriou as 33, and Xenofontos as 29. Another account described Hadjicostis as 42 at the time.

During the trial, relatives of the victim and relatives of the accused were present, and the victim’s mother Toula wept as the court recounted the circumstances of the killing. Pent-up emotions erupted once the guilty verdict was read out, with angry relatives of the accused yelling and jostling with police officers; police stepped in to break up the fracas and evacuated newsmen from a backdoor. Similar scenes unfolded outside, where some of the convicts’ relatives burst into tears, others fainted, while someone grabbed a photographer’s gear and threw it on the ground.

Skordelli’s lawyer said Skordelli had been in custody since February 2010 and that one of her two young sons had suffered psychological problems as a result of being separated from her. Skordelli said in evidence: “My children were children like all children of the world. They had their games and pocket money... My children are very upset after my arrest. I cannot talk to them from prison like I could from home.”

The Simerini newspaper printed an editorial headline: “Cowardly murder – they killed Andy Hadjicostis in cold blood.” After news of Hadjicostis’ murder, Sigma TV switched to classical music programming in one account.

In one account, another set of reported details included that Hadjigeorgiou testified that the murder had been planned by Gregoriou and that Gregoriou had been unable to shoot the media executive himself because he had been seriously injured when a bomb he was transporting in his car exploded prematurely; it was not clear whether the bomb was intended for the killing or for some other crime. A third hitman who had fled to Moldova was alleged to have taken his place.

In one reported interview context, Skordelli denied all charges and claimed her life was in danger due to “defamatory whisperings and publicity carried out at my expense”.