Cyprus Justice Minister has resigned over the serial killer case after lapses in investigating missing persons' reports had emerged.
"I informed the president of the republic that I am resigning for reasons of political sensitivity," Justice Minister Ionas Nicolaou told reporters after meeting President Nicos Anastasiades.
The resignation takes place amid public outrage over the way the local police had been handling the disappearances of foreign women and two children.
Nicolaou added that Anastasiades accepted his resignation. He also said that despite his resignation he bore no responsibility in the "apparent lapses" by police in handling the cases of missing people.
The bodies of four women have been found dumped in three locations west of the capital Nicosia in the past three weeks. Investigators are now looking for three other missing people, including two girls aged six and eight.
A 35-year-old career army officer, named Nicos Metaxas, is in custody. Police say he has already confessed to seven killings in total. The suspect said he had connected with the women on an online dating site.
If convicted, Metaxas would be the first serial killer in the history of Cyprus.
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