The justice minister of Cyprus, Ionas Nicolaou, resigned Thursday after police were criticized over their handling of a suspected serial killer’s crimes.
The bodies of four murdered women were found in locations around the capital Nicosia over the past three weeks, and police are investigating three other disappearances, including of two young girls, Reuters reported.
A 35-year-old career army officer is in custody, and police say he has confessed to seven killings in total after having connected with the women via an online dating site. Most of his adult victims were foreigners employed on the island as domestic workers.
“I informed the president of the republic that I am resigning for reasons of political sensitivity,” Nicolaou told reporters, adding that President Nicos Anastasiades has accepted his resignation.
Authorities have come under fierce criticism for not thoroughly investigating reports of the women disappearing. The first of the alleged victims disappeared in September 2016.