Souleymane murder case: Magistrate warns inconsistent witness

The cousin of one of the men accused of the racially-motivated murder of Lassana Cisse Souleymane has been warned by the court to tell the truth during cross-examination, after inconsistencies in his testimony emerged.

21-year-old Francesco Fenech and Lorin Scicluna, 22, both former AFM soldiers, stand charged with killing Soulaymane, as well as the attempted murder of two other persons who were walking back home in Ħal Far back in April. 

The men have also been charged with the attempted murder of another man from Chad in February.

Fenech’s cousin, Dillon German, took the stand today telling Magistrate Ian Farrugia about how he had only met Scicluna for the first time in April.

German had met Scicluna in Marsaskala when Scicluna’s white Toyota Starlet had developed a fuel related problem and which he had helped him solve. At his garage they had started talking about sport shooting. “I went to the range with him several times, shooting clay pigeons and other times firing a semi automatic handgun that belonged to my cousin.”

READ MORE: Young soldiers accused of Souleymane murder plead not guilty

“Over time, after the 20 of April, I noticed changes in his behaviour…certain words to indicate that he was a racist.” German however struggled to remember details about incidents when Lorin had passed racist comments.

After the murder, Scicluna had approached him, telling him that he had wanted to blow the barrel of his CZ P10C handgun. When a barrel is blown, the rifling inside it is destroyed, making it impossible to link to ammunition which went through it, he told the court.

The witness had deduced that Scicluna was connected to the incident, he said. He had asked why he wanted to destroy the weapon and Scicluna later told him that he had been drinking at the pastizzi shop where he worked, picked up his handgun from home in Paola and then went to Ħal Far and then “what happened happened”.

“All he said was that he fired seven or eight rounds at black people, one jammed and he drove off. As he saw me get scared he told me: ‘your cousin Francesco was with me’.”

German said that the next day he had spoken to Francesco who had denied any involvement, he said, but had mentioned an incident involving a bicycle where he and Scicluna had got out of the car to attack its rider, who was black.

Scicluna had told him that the next day he had gone to throw away his ammunition in the sea at Delimara. He hadn’t told him why.

“I was brought up with him…Francesco never said anything about racism, he was never violent,” said the cousin.

German testified that he had sent a message to Francesco, telling him to be careful of the company he kept or he’d have him to answer to.

Asked by Inspector Keith Arnaud why he had said that, he replied that he had earlier been told by his cousin about “an incident with some black people” and that they had been out driving the Toyota Starlet. He had joined the dots following media reports about the car, he said.

The witness was grilled at length by lawyers Giannella Demarco and Franco Debono, but stuck to his story. However, inconsistencies started to emerge and he was warned by the magistrate that he would be detained if did not tell the truth. 

Asked for the umpteenth time by lawyer Franco Debono whether he and Lorin Scicluna were alone when the accused told him about the shooting, he replied: "Yes, I'm sure, I'm sure, I'm sure."

But Inspector Keith Arnaud then asked him about a confrontation with his cousin (the other accused, Francesco Fenech) in police custody. The inspector explained that the witness had said then that his cousin had told him about the shooting himself. 

"Sorry, I forgot something," the witness said, this time adding that his cousin had told him he had been at the pastizzeria, where Scicluna worked, before the shooting. The magistrate, sensing that the witness was being evasive and inconsistent, threatened to have him detained in the court lockup.

“Was it Lorin Scicluna, alone, who told him about the shooting, as the witness said in court today? Or was it his cousin, Francesco Fenech, as he had allegedly said on an earlier occasion in police custody?” asked the magistrate.

The witness insisted that the correct version is what he said today under oath, that Scicluna had told him everything. "I had been under shock, and under arrest, when I said Francesco had told me about his involvement," he says. "I wanted to put pressure on him. I didn't know who was telling the truth."

A police sergeant told the court that Scicluna had resisted telling the truth to avoid putting his friend in jail, but he later had broken down during questioning and confessed that “Francesco fired, Francesco fired.” 

The case continues.

READ MORE: Soldier accused of Souleymane murder admitted he didn’t like black people