Imniehru murders | Victim’s grandfather testifies in his son’s case

Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona warned the prosecution in the compilation of evidence against Jason Galea, accused of the murder of Mario Camilleri and his son Mario, that he will not tolerate procrastination in any proceedings while the accused is in custody.

Galea and his half-brother George Galea are facing charges of murdering Mario Camilleri 'l-Imniehru' and his son in August 2013. In separate proceedings Jason Galea and Ronald Urry are charged with the murder of taxi driver Matthew Zahra, whose remains were found buried in the same field as the Camilleris' were.

The Magistrate said that Galea had a right to an expedite trial and that it was his duty to hear the compilation of evidence as fast as possible, given that th etwo men were being kept behind bars in preventive custody." Procrastination will not be tolerated, nor will playing for time be allowed in my hall," he said.

Defence lawyer Gianella de Marco today raised the issue of bail being granted to the accused. Appearing for co-accused George Galea, the lawyer argued that contrary to the conclusions of the Attorney General, the accused does not have a voluminous criminal record.

"He has a number of traffic contraventions and a case relating to illegal lotto ganmes," she said. Quoting previous cases, De Marco said the severity of the case was no hindrance to the granting of bail, now that all main witnesses had been heard.

Dr Joe Giglio, appearing for Jason Galea, added that the same circumstances applied to his client.

Prosecuting inspector Fabian Fleuri said another 30 witnesses were yet to be heard, and that the Attorney General had not yet reached a decision as to whether witness Alfredo Attard would be charged as an accomplice. Attard, currently receiving chemotherapy treatment, is the sole eyewitness in the murder of taxi-driver Matthew Zahra in August 2012. Allegedly he is the man who disposed of Zahra's remains.

Jason Galea's father Carmelo, 80 years old, chose to give evidence in the compilation of evidence after the magistrate informed him he had a right not to testify in his son's case.

Sitting in a chair behind the witness stand, the distraught-looking man took his oath and then recalled how his son and Emanuel Farrugia, known as 'L-Iskrun', had arrived at his house wearing dirty clothes. "Jason told me he had argued with his wife after going home drunk. She had kicked him out of the house and not even allowed him to shower," the witness said.

While the accused was showering, Farrugia left the residence, after planning to meet with Carmelo the same evening. "I don't recall if he took anything with him or threw out any garbage bag. He said he was leaving for work and his wife was waiting for him," he said.

The elderly man said he gave his son one of his t-shirts and €50 as he had no cash with him. "Before Jason left he kissed me, and I told him to go fix things with his wife and stay away from alcohol."

Carmelo Galea concluded his testimony saying he knew murder victim Mario Camilleri senior quite well, as he was married to his daughter, Mona. "When Mario was serving time, I used to spend days at Mona's residence cooking for her and Mario jnr. I loved cooking and enjoyed being with them. However I had not seen my daughter's husband for about 10 months," the witness said.

Police unearthed bodies

Police sergeant Andrew St John, of the CID, recalled that on the night of 18 July 2013, when he was informed that the Camilleris went missing, the police spoke to Emanuel Farrugia, who them to Birzebbugia.

They drove towards Qajjenza, down a dirt road and stopped at the opening of a lane leading to a field. Part of a gate was seen on the ground, giving open access to the field.

Farrugia led the police to a place beneath some trees, where two heaps of soil - deduced as shallow graves - could be seen. A strange odour was also present in the air. "I started digging using my hands and then used a tray with a blunt edge as the soil hardened, and I didn't want to get cut with any sharp object in the soil. Sudden a hand appeared through the soil and I informed my superiors. Further digging revealed the Camilleri's bodies. We didn't leave the field before 2am," St John said.

The witness explained that the following day, field owner Alfredo Attard was arrested and taken to his field. From inside a corrugated iron shed, the police officers retrieved a paper bag containing a Glock handgun, a watch and a white mobile phone. A baseball cap, three small calibre, spent cartridges, a bullet-head and a broken gun were found in another bag.

Attard also showed investigators were he had disposed of the bones belonging to murdered taxi driver Matthew Zahra back in 2012.

The last witness in today's sitting was freelance accountant Noel Muscat, who provided services for Jason Galea's housekeeping business. "The last time I spoke to Jason was about VAT fines incurred by his daughter. We were supposed to meet but as Jason had no car, he told me to meet someone on his behalf... I believe the fines were something personal and not related to Jason's company," he said.

Through his line of business, the witness also knew Mario and Mona Camilleri. The couple had terminated the operation of their own cleaning company, and Muscat was taking care of their VAT documents. At around Easter last year, the Camilleris approached their accountant with the idea of bringing their company back into operation.

The Camilleri had unclear intentions of mixing their business with that of the accused Jason Galea. However the witness did not recall any specific details the Camilleris shared with him on any alleged deal.