Police look for connection that led to fatal altercation

Additional reporting by Karl Stagno-Navarra.

Police are working on the theory that Duncan Zammit and Nicholas Gera had known each other, before unexplained circumstances led them to a fatal altercation when Gera entered the Zammits' penthouse early in the morning, sources close to the investigation have told this newspaper.

While police and the families of the two men have agonised over the connection between the two men, two sources say police are not ruling that the two men were acquaintancies.

"It is clear this was not a burglary," one source said. "In a situation where two men have been left dead, the key lies with the third person. The field is open, but after the autopsy, investigators are not discarding the possibility that both men must have known each other to arrive to this tragic conclusion."

A post-mortem yesterday determined that Zammit had more than 20 stab wounds while Gera had more than 10.

The violent assault appears to have taken place with both men facing each other, stabbing each other in the neck.

It is unclear what Gera, 26, was doing inside the Zammits' apartment. Relatives of the Gera family told MaltaToday police ruled out a break-in.

Other sources closer to the Zammits say both Duncan Zammit, 32, and his wife had been asleep in bed when the incident happened.

Both families have however stated they are unaware of how the two men could have known each other, while sources close to the Zammits are adamant that Duncan Zammit died fending off an unexpected intrusion.

The mother of Nicholas Gera told MaltaToday her son was a "loving, family boy" and expressed her shock at how he could have been involved in the incident which left both him and Duncan Zammit, a father of two, dead. "We do not know the Xuereb family, so I cannot understand how the two could have known each other. My heart goes out for them as I am sure their heart also goes out for us too. Maybe it was a silly, stupid argument that got out of hand," Tanja Gera said.

"I am shocked because Nicky was not the type to get involved in such an argument and use a knife," she said.

On his part, Zammit's father-in-law Anglu Xuereb, the entrepreneur, told The Times that Zammit was a hero who died "defending [his family] from an aggressor."

Police are searching for a motive as to why Nicholas Gera, who worked the New Year's Eve shift at a Paceville restaurant on Saturday night, made his way to the Zammits' penthouse in Falcon House, Sliema early in the morning. He was reported by his relatives to have spent the night in a St Julian's bar after work.

His employer spoke highly of Gera. "He was a very shy, reserved person. He was a very good employee... I still cannot believe what happened, and none of my other employees understand the connection between the two."

Like his three other brothers, Gera had been adopted from Eastern Europe by his mother Tanja. He attended St Edward's College. Other sources who spoke to MaltaToday said Gera was "very quiet" and could not understand how he could have found himself involved in such a violent incident.

Zammit and Gera were both left dead after stabbing each other in the assault. Police have confirmed there was no break-in inside the house, discarding initial reports of an attempted burglary. 

The Zammits' three-month old twins were sleeping in another room when the incident happened. A source close to the Xuereb family says Zammit was in bed when the incident took place, having previously hosted a New Year's Eve party at his penthouse.

Duncan Zammit was the father of three-month old twins, Millie and Jack.

Zammit is the husband of Claire Zammit Xuereb, the daughter of entrepreneur Anglu Xuereb and the managing director of The Palace Hotel in Sliema, which is just a few steps away from Falcon House.

Neighbours who spoke to MaltaToday on condition of anonymity on Sunday morning claim they overheard arguing inside the apartment building's Block C as early as 5:30am. An hour later, screaming could be heard from the Zammits' apartment.

The same neighbours knocked on the door, but nobody answered. They then phoned the police, who later found the two men dead inside the penthouse.

Contacted by MaltaToday, another neighbour residing in Block C who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that she had been woken up by the sound of banging but originally thought it was a drunk person entering the building. "I heard a lot of loud banging coming from upstairs but when we tried to leave the apartment a policeman said there was a double murder and to stay inside. I heard the wife screaming upstairs too," the resident said.