Cypriot hacker accused of murder without a body – first case in the country
Joshua Polloso Epiphaniou, known as "the little hacker", faces charges of premeditated murder for the disappearance of Angelos Perikleous in April 2023, despite the victim never being found. This is the first case in Cyprus where prosecution is pursued for murder without a body.
Cypriot hacker accused of murder without a body – first case in the country
Joshua Polloso Epiphaniou, known as "the little hacker", faces charges of premeditated murder for the disappearance of Angelos Perikleous in April 2023, despite the victim never being found. This is the first case in Cyprus where prosecution is pursued for murder without a body, according to Cyprus Mail.
The 27-year-old defendant was previously recorded as the first Cypriot citizen extradited to the United States. In March 2021 he was convicted there for cybercrime extortion and served a sentence of one year in a federal prison. The case involved attacks on websites during the period 2014-2016, including five American ones, with extortion for concealing stolen user data.
Epiphaniou's first arrest took place in 2017, when he was still a teenager, for a cyber attack against Cablenet in Cyprus which had taken its systems out of service for several days. After nearly four years in custody, he agreed to extradition to the United States.
In 2022, Epiphaniou filed a complaint that he had been abducted and extorted in the buffer zone by criminals pretending to be Turkish Cypriot police. According to a report by KNews, he claimed that the same group had attempted to persuade him to penetrate the network of businessman Alexis "Alexoulis" Mavromichalis, who was murdered in 2023.
In the current trial for Perikleous' murder, the evidence includes testimony regarding financial differences between the two men, partially burnt clothing worn by the alleged victim, evidence that they were together on the day of the disappearance, and testimony from the defendant's uncle. The uncle claimed that his nephew confessed to the crime whilst forcing him at gunpoint to help burn Perikleous' car. Both the uncle and Epiphaniou's mother, Vivina Polloso, are being prosecuted as accessories after the fact.
Police confirmed to Cyprus Mail that the investigation has been completed and that the body is no longer being sought. The defendant is now representing himself in court after two of his lawyers withdrew due to disagreements over defence strategy. The trial was at the eighth witness out of 96 that the prosecution has scheduled, with the defendant conducting detailed cross-examinations of witnesses and consulting extensive notes.
Epiphaniou has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Michael Chambers, the lawyer who represented him during extradition, told Cyprus Mail that his client had been arrested with €70,000 in cash and a significant amount in bitcoin, but had not spent anything on himself. According to Chambers, Epiphaniou engaged in criminal activities for financial reasons related to his family.
Source: Cyprus Mail