A new post-mortem on the body of Lesya Bykova, 28, found that the woman’s death was an accident, disputing the findings of a first state autopsy which point to murder.
The new autopsy was ordered by the Law Office of the Republic at the request of the main suspect, a 31-year-old man who was with Bykova when she fell to her death off a cliff at the picturesque Petra tou Romiou (Aphrodite’s Rock) on March 11.
An initial autopsy by state coroners Angeliki Papetta and Orthodoxos Orthodoxou had found that her death was the result of a criminal act. The first state autopsy also showed signs of sexual abuse and strangulation.
This led police to open a premeditated murder case, however, the 31-year-old, Bykova’s partner, insists that she slipped and fell to her death while trying to take a selfie.
Private medical examiner Marios Matsakis, on behalf of the suspect, disputes the findings of the first autopsy, noting that the abrasions found on the man’s body were because he was trying to save Bykova.
The second state autopsy on the body of the deceased was carried out last Wednesday by medical examiner Hara Spiliopoulou from Greece, with Matsakis being present.
The 31-year-old remains in custody, with the remand for his arrest expiring tomorrow.
The findings of the new autopsy will be handed to the Law Office of the Republic on Friday for further study.
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