A popular events promoter who was gunned down in Ayia Napa had been receiving death threats throughout the summer, his family has claimed.
Unknown killers shot at Gary Christodoulou while he was driving in Cyprus around three weeks ago.
The 33-year-old’s car veered off the road, before he was cornered while he tried to escape through shrubland.
Gary, who had a five-year-old son, was shot twice in the head and twice in the back in an execution-style killing.
The Walton man’s body was recently brought back to Merseyside from the Mediterranean island after his devastated family managed to fundraise £4,500 to bring him home.
His family have now said that Gary, who had worked in Cyprus on/off for the last handful of years, had been subjected to death threats, and believe that he had been targeted because the events company he was working for was performing exceptionally well.
His sister Sofia, 27, told The Liverpool Echo: "In February, Gary had gone back to Cyprus.
"I went out to see him in May and he told me he’d received death threats and had been getting them for a number of months.
"Gary was doing so well and some people didn’t like it.
"He had around 10 to 15 workers who were driving round in jeeps, and generally the business was performing very well."
Four people, all Cypriots and aged 27, 35, 36 and 44, have been arrested in connection with the murder. They are set to appear in court over the next few days.
Sofia said some local island media reports had suggested Gary was involved in drugs rackets in Cyprus.
She said: "I want to clear his name. He got mixed up with the wrong people through no fault of his own."
The family had initially said they believed his death was a case of mistaken identity.
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Gary has a five-year-old son called Lucas. He had also spent several years living in Sweden with his Scandinavian girlfriend.
His father is Greek, and his wake will take place in a local Greek restaurant in Wavertree.
His funeral is scheduled for Monday at the Greek Church in Toxeth. Family from "all across Europe" are expected to attend.
Gary, who had been working seasonally in Cyprus since 2010, had been driving back to Ayia Napa from Larnaca when he was shot at.
Police were alerted after a member of the public discovered his car, which had been run off the road between Ayia Napa and Rizoelia and was found with its engine running, headlights still on and a bullet lodged in the passenger seat.
It is believed Gary tried to escape but was fatally shot in a nearby acacia grove.
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