Prosecutor challenges murder suspect with blood evidence

A man accused of killing a friend on Kársnes denied the charge in court, describing his visit to the victim as an ordinary social gathering. Prosecutors cited blood evidence and alleged inconsistencies in his account, mbl.is reported.

Georgios Ntentes is charged with killing Edilson Martin Zingara at Zingara’s home on Skjólbraut on the evening of November 28. The indictment alleges Ntentes stabbed Zingara three times in the abdomen, cut him and stabbed him several times in the neck with a sharp instrument, then struck or pressed the front of his neck. Zingara died from extensive blood loss. Ntentes denies the charge.

Testifying at Reykjanes District Court, Ntentes said he had known Zingara for six or seven years. He met him while working as a sous-chef at a restaurant where Zingara was his kitchen mentor.

Prosecutor Karl Ingi Vilbergsson questioned Ntentes about what he said were inconsistencies in his testimony and presented video recordings and forensic findings from the scene. Ntentes said he had smoked cannabis repeatedly that evening but that nothing unusual had happened before he left Zingara’s home.

Ntentes said he went home to his wife and children, then went out again. He initially planned to go swimming but decided to buy more cannabis instead, driving to Kjarvalsstadir in Reykjavik, where he knew a dealer. The prosecutor questioned why he took a route that passed Zingara’s home. Ntentes said he had driven around while unsuccessfully trying to contact his dealer.

The prosecutor also pointed to video recordings that appeared to show Ntentes wearing different shoes and trousers from earlier on November 28, and bandages on his right hand. Ntentes said he could not remember how he had injured himself, but thought he might have cut himself at work two or three weeks earlier.

Vilbergsson said the wounds appeared fresh the day after the killing. Ntentes said he was preparing to move from Iceland at the time and had been taking belongings to Sorpa, a place where he said he disposed of items, almost daily. He added that he and Zingara had been doing renovations at Zingara’s home and that the wounds might have reopened during the work.