A 30-year-old father and his 38-year-old partner have been remanded in custody for three days by the British Bases Court in Dhekelia, as police continue investigating the deaths of two young brothers found inside a car in Xylofagou.
The two boys, aged 10 and eight, were from Bulgaria and had travelled to Cyprus to spend their summer holidays with their father, who lives and works on the island.
The Sovereign Base Areas Police had requested a four-day remand, but the court ordered that the two suspects remain in custody for three days to facilitate investigations. They are being investigated in connection with causing death through a negligent act.
The case centres on how the two children were left without supervision for several hours and how they ended up locked inside their father’s vehicle, where they were found dead on Sunday afternoon.
Investigators are taking statements from residents in the area, examining footage from nearby CCTV cameras and collecting forensic evidence in an effort to establish the full sequence of events.
The court was told that police have obtained footage showing the children playing in the area before the tragedy. Around 25 statements are expected to be taken, including one from the children’s mother, who is in Bulgaria.
A key part of the investigation will be the statements of the father and his partner, particularly over the circumstances in which the children appear to have been left unattended. Police are also assessing information that the father’s brother was living in the same residence. If confirmed, investigators are expected to examine where he was at the time and whether the children were under anyone’s supervision.
Authorities are also evaluating information that, after the children were found, an argument allegedly broke out between the father and his brother.
The vehicle will undergo a detailed inspection by a specialist to determine whether there was any fault in the locking mechanism that could explain why the children were unable to get out.
One scenario being examined is that the two brothers entered the car while playing, possibly through an unlocked door, and were then trapped inside. Police are also investigating whether they may have fallen asleep in the vehicle.
According to evidence gathered so far, the father went to work early on Sunday morning and his partner left for work shortly afterwards. Under circumstances still being investigated, the two boys later entered the car, which was parked in a field next to the apartment building where they were staying.
The father’s partner alerted the British Bases Police after returning from work and finding the children unconscious inside the locked vehicle. As the car keys were reportedly with the father, the windows had to be broken so the children could be removed.
An ambulance crew attempted to provide first aid, but the boys could not be revived. A forensic pathologist also carried out an examination at the scene.
Burns were found on the children’s bodies, believed to have been caused by prolonged exposure to high temperatures inside the vehicle. The exact cause of death will be determined by post-mortem examinations.
In a separate development, a cousin of the father, who said he had arrived in Cyprus with the children, told television reporters that the boys had come to spend the summer with their father and that the family still did not know exactly how the tragedy unfolded.
He said the car had been locked, although it appeared one door may not have been properly secured, allowing the children to enter. He also said the father’s brother lived in the same home but did not appear to have been there at the time.
The investigation remains ongoing, with police seeking to clarify the circumstances that led to the deaths of the two children.
