Woman denies failed knifepoint hold-up

A 27-year-old woman has denied involvement in a failed hold-up in Sliema, despite DNA evidence linking her to the scene of the crime.

 Police arrested Miriam Elabed after she was identified as a suspect in the 2015 botched hold up in Graham Street, Sliema.

Police inspector Saviour Baldacchino told Magistrate Victor Axiaq that the woman was wanted for her involvement in an attempted armed robbery of a couple and armed robbery of an elderly woman. She was charged today with those crimes, as well as holding the victims against their will, possession of a knife during the commission of a crime.

The court was told that the couple were opening the door to their home in Sliema when they were approached by a masked individual who was waving a knife about. In the ensuing struggle, the 50-year-old male victim suffered two knife wounds. The would-be thief fled empty-handed.

Not long afterwards, somebody who fit the description of the assailant was involved in another incident in nearby St John Bosco Street, Sliema. A 73-year-old woman was also injured when she also resisted a demand for cash.  The assailant ran off with some €50.

DNA analysis on a hat dropped by the robber dropped before fleeing the scene revealed that the blood belonged to a female.

Police had considered the two crimes to be linked and had continued to build a profile of the robber.

The accused was recently arrested and her DNA was found to match. It is not her first brush with the law - Elabed was arraigned in 2019 and charged with aggravated theft and bodily harm after allegedly mugging a woman who was then beaten by a male accomplice.

Defence lawyers Franco Debono, Amadeus Cachia and Francesca Zarb requested bail, arguing that police investigations had been concluded months ago. The prosecution objected to the woman’s release, on the grounds of her character and her previous convictions.

Magistrate Axiaq granted the accused bail against a €100 deposit and a €10,000 personal guarantee, also ordering her to sign a bail book twice a week and observe a curfew