Man charged with attempted murder of ex-partner's daughters

A man from Bormla has been remanded in custody after being charged with the attempted murder of two teenage girls.

In a barebones arraignment lasting less than five minutes before magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo on Tuesday, the man, 43-year-old Nazzareno - also known as Ronald - Dalli, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, illegal arrest and attacking the girls.

He was also charged with carrying a knife in public without a police permit and possession of a weapon during the commission of an offence, as well as with cocaine possession and acting as a private guard without a licence.

The court was asked to consider the defendant as a recidivist, although no previous judgments against or featuring the defendant appear to be online. 

Bail was not requested at this stage.

No details about the incident emerged during the very brief arraignment, but sources say that Dalli may have been high on cocaine at the time of the stabbing.

The man in the dock cut a distinctly odd figure, dressed in an oversize maroon smoking suit, open shirt and white trainers.

When asked by the court registrar what he did for a living, the 43-year-old simply replied “employed.”

He had been arrested after police officers had responded to a call for assistance at a residence in Triq San Tumas, Marsa at around 1:30pm on Saturday, according to an official statement issued by the police.

Dalli, reportedly the victims’ stepfather, had entered the property and attacked the two sisters, aged 12 and 15, with a knife.

The girls were taken by ambulance to Mater Dei hospital for treatment, where at least one of the girls needed to be treated in intensive care. The charges indicate that both girls suffered grievous injuries.

A 14-year-old boy who had also been inside the property at the time of the attack was treated for shock.

At the end of sitting, Dalli’s relatives hugged and patted him on the back, before he was led away from the courtroom, earning them a rebuke from the magistrate.

Inspectors Wayne Camilleri and Ian Vella are prosecuting, assisted by lawyers Etienne Savona and Manuel Grech from the Office of the Attorney General.

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Nicholas Mifsud and Franco Debono are defence counsel.