Scarred for life in acid attack on wrong man
Mistaken identity sees father caught up in family’s feud
A fATHeR has been disfigured for life after acid was thrown in his face in a case of mistaken identity.
Andreas Christopheros, 30, suffered severe burns and was blinded in one eye in the doorstep ambush.
David Phillips, who yesterday admitted the attack, had travelled 300 miles to carry it out but went to the wrong house.
‘We believe it was a revenge attack and he got the wrong person completely,’ said David Thorne, the police superintendent who investigated the case.
‘He felt a member of his family had been seriously hurt. He felt aggrieved and thought he needed to take revenge against the person who had done it.
‘But he got the wrong address and injured the wrong person. He thought he had the right address – but as it turns out he was in completely the wrong area.’
Mr Thorne said that Mr Christopheros had been left ‘significantly disfigured’ by the car battery acid suffering burns to his face, arms and body.
He added: ‘The whole thing was ill-prepared and ill-thought out. The end result is an innocent victim who has been left with serious life-changing injuries.’
Mr Christopheros attended the hearing at Truro Crown Court yesterday with his face partly concealed by dark glasses and a plastic mask.
He was prepared to give evidence as a witness but before the assault trial could start Phillips confessed to unlawfully and maliciously causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
When asked to enter a plea by the clerk, the 49-year-old father of three replied: ‘I am ashamed to say guilty ma’am.’
His wife Nicole, 45, had been accused of perverting the course of justice but the charge will now lie on file. Phillips had refused to comment during police interviews and detectives said his guilty plea was the first indication of him admitting to anyone what he had done.
Mr Christopheros was treated in a specialist hospital in Swansea for his injuries, which at one stage were life threatening.
His wife Pia was burnt by the residue of the acid when she went to his aid.
Phillip Lee, prosecuting, told the court yesterday: ‘ The Crown’s case has always been that Mr Christopheros was an innocent man who was targeted wrongly.
‘The victim was left with very serious life- changing injuries.’
No further details about the incident that took place in Truro last December were given in court.
It is understood that Mr Christopheros, who has one child, will return to court to hear why he was targeted when his attacker is sentenced next month.
Phillips was described as ‘a family man’ who had lived in Cornwall before moving to Hastings in east Sussex.
His defence lawyer Mohammed Bashir said: ‘There are underlying reasons why this offence occurred taking into account background and family life. It is essentially his first offence.’
Mr Christopheros attended King’s College, a private school in Taunton, before studying at Plymouth University.
He has several business interests and helped organise the Run to the Sun event, a custom car and dance festival which attracts around 100,000 motoring fans to Newquay in Cornwall every summer.
‘Life-changing injuries’