Newsreader orders 'revenge killing' of TV channel boss, court told

A newsreader hired a hitman to assassinate her former employer to get revenge for her sacking, and to help achieve her goal of becoming a media mogul, a court in Cyprus has been told.

Elena Skordelli, 42, is accused of having arranged the killing of Andis Hadjicostis. He was gunned-down at his home in Nicosia, the Cypriot capital, on January 11.

The 43-year-old was the chief of Dias Group, the largest media company in Cyprus.

Ms Skordelli, her brother Tassos Krasopoulos, and an alleged hitman were charged after a fourth accomplice, Theophanis Hadjigeorgiou, was arrested and had agreed to supply evidence.

Hadjicostis's death was "a revenge killing," state prosecutor Savvas Matsa told the Sunday Telegraph.

"(It was) motivated by her dismissal and interconnected with her desire to buy more shares in the company."

It is alleged that Ms Skordelli, who with her brother already owned a 20 percent stake in Dias, attempted to buy-out other shareholders after Hadjicostis's death.

Ms Skordelli, described as an "airhead" by a Sigma television colleague, took on the role of a television news presenter after years of hosting lifestyle programmes and light entertainment.

The promotion surprised her colleagues. "She was so obviously out of her depth," a Sigma journalist told the Sunday Telegraph. "You just felt sorry for her."

- NZ HERALD ONLINE