Nicolette Ghirxi murder suspect mocked police when they called him in for questioning

Screenshots published by murder victim's lawyer show that last April, Johnston laughed off the police’s request for a meeting regarding a report filed against him by Ghirxi

14 August 2024, 6:00pm
by Matthew Farrugia

1 min read

Edward William Johnston

Nicolette Ghirxi’s lawyer has blasted the police for failing to act at the right time, leading to Ghirxi’s murder.

Nicolette Ghirxi had reported her would-be murderer to the police over emailed insults in April. She was found dead in her Birkirkara apartment in the early hours of Monday and the man suspected of killing her, Edward William Johnston, 50, from Ireland was later shot by the police in St Julian's.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the victim’s lawyer, Joseph Borda, published email exchanges between her murderer and the police. The screenshots show that last April, Johnston laughed off the police’s request for a meeting regarding a report filed against him by Ghirxi.

Johnston first replied by telling the police that he was about to board a flight heading for Dubai, adding, “I will be back in July for some fun in the sun.”

The police seemingly tried to contact Johnston again, but once again, he shrugged the police off.

“You will just have to red flag me and notify Interpol. I want to top up my tan in Dubai before I come back to Malta,” Johnston replied to the police.

In a police press conference on Monday, Police Commissioner Angelo Gafá told reporters that the victim's last contact with the police was last Thursday when she reported her suspicion that Johnston could be in Malta after some time abroad.

Borda argued that Johnston's refusal to comply with the police's orders earlier this year are punishable by law, and that if they had done their job properly, Ghirxi might still be alive.

Matthew Farrugia is a staff reporter at MaltaToday