Lawyer turns witness in fatal car accident case

Photos taken at the crime scene of a fatal accident were not compatible with the dynamics of the incident, court expert Mario Buttigieg told a court today.

The expert was testifying in the court proceedings on a collision between three cars that took place on 16 July, when a couple driving a Chevrolet in Triq l-Infetti, Mdina collided with a BMW driven by Clayton James Fenech, 26, who was injured in the accident.

Another car, a Toyota Vitz, driven by Paulina Buhagiar, 55, crashed into the two cars after the initial impact, injuring the woman in the Chevrolet.

Jean Guy Legendre, 67, of Quebec, Canada, was originally charged with seriously injuring three people, including his 63-year-old wife Renée Pelland. After the wife succumbed to the injuries, Police Inspector Kevin Farrugia asked the court to raise the charge to involuntary homicide. Lawyer Clayton Fenech is accused of similar charges before another magistrate.

In his testimony today, expert Mario Buttigieg said he had examined 12 photos submitted by Clayton Fenech, showing a trail of mud from the right-hand side of the road up to the Chevrolet, but no mud on the car's mud-shields.

Buttigieg said he inspect two of the cars involved in the incident in August at the police compound, but neither the BMW nor the Chevrolet had any mud residence. The expert said there should have been mud splatter, but this could have been removed by a power wash. The conclusion led the witness to conclude that the photos presented by Fenech were not compatible with the dynamics of the accident.

Buttigieg maintained that it was Fenech, driving the BMW, who was responsible for the accident.

Legendre's defence counsel, Stefano Filletti, argued that if the photos were taken prior to the arrival of the police on the scene, one had to ask where the mud had come from. Since the court expert could not explain the mud seen in the photos, Filletti said tests should be held to prove the veracity of those photos.

Fenech, who is appearing in parte civile in the proceedings against Legendre, and is also a lawyer, claimed that the iPhone he used to take the photos with was no longer in his possession and the sole copies of the photos were the ones on his personal computer.

In an unexpected turn of events, lawyer Kathleen Grima, appearing for Fenech, herself took the witness stand and under oath confirmed that the photos exhibited in court had not been tampered with. Dr Grima held that she met Fenech at the wedding of a colleague and he mentioned the incident and showed her the photos on his phone. She confirmed that the photos exhibited were exactly the same as they appeared on the iPhone.

Asked by Legendre's defence as to how come, as a lawyer herself, she had not advised Fenech on the importance of retaining his iPhone, Grima replied that she probably had told him so. "I would advise anyone I care about of the importance of photos taken a tempo vergine, however since I'm under oath I will not say I'm sure I told him," she said.

Lawyer Stefano Filletti is appearing on behalf of Jean Guy Legendre.