The Boutselis family welcomed the life sentence handed down to the man who was convicted of murdering Mrs Maria Boutselis and Mrs Georgie Paloyannides.
The man accused of killing the 84-year-old woman and her 64-year-old daughter at Beverly Hills Manor in Beryl Street, Observatory, was convicted on February 18.
A gardener, who had worked on the property, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and 15 years for robbery.
The women’s bodies were discovered in their home on July 30, 2013.
The two women were handcuffed and cotton wool had been inserted into their mouths.
There were no signs of forced entry and nothing was taken from the house.
Maria’s sons, Peter and George Boutselis, are happy that their mother and grandmother, Georgie, have received justice. Sadly, it will never bring them back.
“At times I feel a sense of emptiness as it will not bring my parents back. It does however, close a chapter in our lives. The sentence of two life sentences for murder and 15 years for robbery, fits the crime.
“This conviction means the criminal who committed this act is in jail and he won’t go killing someone else’s family member,” said Peter.
The two women were robbed and strangled to death at their home on July 30, 2013.
He said it has been difficult for him and his brother since the incident. It was not the first time the family lost a loved one to crime.
Their father was also a victim of crime in December 1996, when he was shot and killed in a robbery.
“My mother was neurotic about safety, particularly after my father was murdered. Losing another loved one to crime is difficult. Luckily we have families of our own who can comfort us, but there will always be emptiness in our hearts,” said Mr Peter Boutselis.
He misses his parents and grandmother, and the things they did as a family.
“They loved my brother and I dearly and they loved their four grandchildren even more. My mom and grandmother stayed on their own and had nothing much to do during the week but go shopping and going to the market. Every Saturday I would go visit them with my two children. My mother would make us lunch and most Sundays I would take them out for lunch with my family,” said Mr Boutselis.
The EXPRESS asked Peter about the safety of elderly people living on their own and allowing potential workers onto their properties.
“He (the man convicted for the double murder) was trusted by everyone in the complex as he had worked there for more than five years. The guy never gave us a reason not to trust him. My mother and grandmother were very cautious and constantly checked that the doors were locked and the alarms were set. Perhaps the vulnerable elderly should rather opt for a service (garden service, cleaning service) instead of committing to one person.
“It would also be safer for them to carry panic buttons linked to armed response. The elderly who live in retirement villages are also, in my opinion, safer than those living on their own,” he said.
