Mother and sister leave murder trial courtroom in tears

Edilson Zingara’s mother, sister and former girlfriend testified in the murder case over his death in Kársnes, Kópavogur, and his mother and sister left the courtroom in tears, mbl.is reported.

The women were asked about Zingara’s relationship with them, his cocaine use and whether he had suffered from depression. They said they knew little about his cocaine use. The defence for Georgios Ntentes has argued, among other things, that Zingara may have taken his own life.

Zingara’s sister and former girlfriend went to his home on December 1, about three days after he is believed to have died. His former girlfriend saw through a window that he was lying motionless on the floor. She called him but got no answer, then contacted his sister, who arrived within five minutes. They got a man to help break a window to enter the home.

Once inside, they realised Zingara was dead. His sister began to cry during her testimony. When the judge asked if she wanted a break, she replied: “I just want to know whether my brother suffered.” She later said she believed Ntentes owed her brother just over 100,000 krónur, though she could not say whether the sum mattered to him. She had thought the two men were friends.

Zingara’s former girlfriend said many people owed him money, but she could not identify them. She also testified that she had seen Zingara and Ntentes pressing cocaine to dilute it. Her account was consistent with Ntentes’ statement that he believed Zingara sold drugs.

Ntentes’ wife told the court that her husband often had cuts on his hands from work, including in the period before the evening of November 28, when Zingara is believed to have died. She recalled cleaning a pair of black Adidas shoes that police seized in the days after November 28, but said she knew nothing about the white Nike shoes Ntentes was reportedly wearing earlier on the day of Zingara’s death.

She said they had been throwing things away at Sorpa, a disposal facility, as they prepared to move abroad.