The trial of a 58-year-old man accused of the murder of Alexandros Antoniou was postponed by the Paphos criminal court on Monday, with proceedings adjourned till May.

The court granted the postponement following a request from the prosecution, which cited outstanding material including a video reconstruction of the incident and expert reports that are not yet finalised.

State lawyer Andreas Hadjikyrou informed the court that the preparation of “a video recording how the incident unfolded” remains incomplete.

The court ordered that the defendant remain in custody until the next hearing, where he is expected to respond to the charges.

The prosecution argued for continued detention due to the severity of the charges and the risk of non-attendance.

Defence lawyer Elias Stefanou did not object to the postponement, requesting that all additional evidentiary material be provided ahead of the next hearing to allow adequate preparation.

The court directed that this material be disclosed to the defence before proceedings resume.

The case relates to the fatal stabbing of the 26-year-old victim in November of last year in Konia.

According to evidence presented in earlier proceedings, the incident occurred outside a kiosk shortly when the victim was seated in his vehicle.

Prosecution evidence includes CTTV footage which, according to police testimony, shows the victim arriving and remaining in the driver’s seat while speaking on his mobile phone.

Minutes later, a man is seen approaching on foot, opening the driver’s door and grabbing the victim by the shoulder.

The footage reportedly shows the attacker striking the victim in the neck with an object.

Further footage indicates that the assailant moved behind the kiosk and washed his hands before re-entering the premises, where the injured victim had collapsed after exiting the vehicle.

A kiosk employee identified the accused as the individual involved in the attack, while another witness reported hearing the suspect confront the victim, telling him he had warned him “not to bother his daughter”.

A separate witness, who was on the phone with the victim at the time, told investigators he heard a male voice threatening that “if he molested his daughter again, he would kill him”.

A post-mortem examination concluded that death was caused by a blow to the neck which severed the carotid artery, inflicted with a sharp or cutting instrument.

The accused was arrested shortly after the incident and, during questioning, admitted involvement while reportedly maintaining that the act was not premeditated, describing it as a matter of “bad timing”.

Earlier proceedings heard that tensions between the two men were linked to a prior relationship involving the defendant’s daughter.