Stylianou case: Speech therapist testifies about beatings, hunger and mice in home
Stylianou's speech therapist testified before Nicosia District Court about beatings, hunger and appalling living conditions. The witness became emotional, temporarily halting proceedings.
"Can you become my mum, please?" — Shocking revelations in Stylianou trial
Stylianou's speech therapist testified before Nicosia District Court that the child had asked "countless times" to become her mother. According to Philenews, in a written statement she had recorded in 2020, the child repeatedly asked: "Can you become my mum, please?" Referring to these pleas, the witness became emotional in court and proceedings were temporarily suspended to allow her to continue her main examination.
As the trial continued, the speech therapist — a prosecution witness — revealed the picture of a child who, according to what he had confided in her, spent nights working on the farm, went to school hungry, and lived in constant fear of his father.
"Imagine being chased by a lion"
In describing Stylianou's learning difficulties, the witness stated that he presented serious problems with expression, an exceptionally poor vocabulary and significant literacy deficiencies. Particularly shocking was her observation that "the only vocabulary groups he knew were farm animals".
When questioned by the prosecution, Elena Konstantinou, about the conditions affecting his learning, the speech therapist used a striking analogy: "Imagine you are in a jungle, being chased by a lion, and you have to solve a mathematical equation". She explained that a child in constant fear and panic is unable to concentrate.
Night in the "ditches" after beating
The witness made particular reference to an incident in which Stylianou, as he had confided to her, had left home following a beating from his father and had walked all night through the "ditches" to school. When he arrived, he was exhausted, with eyes completely red.
That same day, his mother had appeared at the school with her two younger children. According to the witness, she expressed fear that her husband would go there to beat them. Following the incident, the Welfare Office was informed, the mother and children were taken to the police station, and Stylianou gave a recorded statement.
"My stepfather beat me with a belt yesterday"
Reading from her written statement, the witness also referred to other instances of violence. Stylianou had told her at one point: "My stepfather beat me with a belt yesterday". When questioned by the prosecution, the speech therapist clarified that when they lifted his shirt, they found black, diagonal marks on his back — bruises which, in her assessment, matched what the child had described to her.
On another occasion, Stylianou told her "Miss, I am very afraid of my dad" and that he tried to obey him so as not to receive beatings.
Rashes, dirt and unsuitable clothing
The witness described Stylianou as a child who came to school neglected — with dirty clothes, blackened hands, nails and teeth, and a strong odour. The clothes and shoes were not his size. She also mentioned that she remembered only one occasion when Stylianou was freshly washed, and he himself had announced this with joy.
His hands were covered in rashes, which the child attributed to animals, while he told her that his parents did not take him to the doctor. The witness described the rashes as large and red, with the child saying: "I told my mum and she won't take me".
"I didn't eat yesterday, I'm hungry" — Mice and broken refrigerator
According to the witness, Stylianou had told her that mice circulated in the house, the refrigerator was broken, and there was often no food. In every lesson of hers he would tell her that he was hungry and exhausted: "I didn't eat yesterday, I'm hungry. I worked on the farm all night, I was cutting [hay], I was milking the cows".
"School was his haven"
Despite what he experienced, the speech therapist noted that Stylianou had a desire to learn. "Teach me to write and read, I want to become something," he would tell her. "School was his haven," she noted, explaining that he had improved academically, though in her assessment the picture of neglect had not changed.
When asked about Social Welfare Services, she stated that despite the notification that had been made, she herself had never spoken with one of their officers.
Her overall conclusion, based on what Stylianou had confided in her from time to time, was that he was experiencing difficult times without support and love from his mother. Regarding his father, she testified that he beat him, shouted at him and swore at him, whilst he kept him permanently as a worker on the farm. "For Stylianou, his father was fear and terror," she concluded, adding that the relevant authorities knew what people close to the child had conveyed to them.
Concluding her testimony, the witness said: "Unfortunately it took Stylianou's death for some people to understand what they should have done from the beginning".
Source: Philenews