Update 3 | Victim's wife concludes her evidence

As the trial by jury of David Zerafa, who stands accused of killing Gozitan lawyer Michael Grech in May 2004, entered its third day, the star witness this morning told the court the accused had admitted with him to killing the victim.

Rodney Vella, 33, explained how he had arrived in St Michael's Ward when Zerafa was already there. Zerafa approached Vella in confidence and told him he believed his estranged wife was having an affair with her lawyer. He said that one night, around 10 pm, he and an accomplice ambushed the lawyer outside his apartment in Marsalforn. They shot the lawyer but missed.

"We caught him and hit him with a baseball bat", Zerafa had told the witness. The accused ran away from the scene when he thought passers-by had seen them.

While being assaulted, the lawyer had told the assailants that he recognised one of them. They continued hitting him with a baseball bat until he died.

On another day, Zerafa told Vella he had gone to a room at Ramla l-Hamra. Here he changed clothes as they were covered in blood.

During the stay at St Michael's Ward the accused used to insult the dead lawyer and swear 'at' him. He also called a radio station and dedicated songs to his ex-wife, asking her if there were any lawyers.

Zerafa had also made known to Vella his plans to murder his accomplice and his ex-wife. For this, he said he had tied a rope to the end of his axe so it would not slip his grasp.

Confronted by the accused at the police depot, Zerafa had insisted Vella was a liar. However. He then admitted to having spoken to the witness but said he was bluffing.

Cross examined by the defence, the witness reiterated that he never spoke to anyone about what Zerafa had whispered to him. Asked how Inspector Chris Pullicino knew that the accused had spoken to him, the witness replied that maybe it was through the intervention of the Holy Spirit.

The witness described Zerafa as a joker. "He used to act like he was practising karate and hang from the bars of the cell," Vella said.

Earlier this morning, Sunny Grech, the victim's brother, took the witness stand, saying he regarded the victim as a friend and father.

Grech had replaced the victim's wife at his legal office. Four days after the incident, the inquiring Magistrate passed all legal documents found at the scene of crime to Sunny Grech.

The victim was the lawyer who had filed the separation and annulment applications on behalf of Clemia Zerafa, wife of the accused.

She had filed for separation in 1999, and a year later applied for the annulment of her marriage.

A couple living on a farm told Former Assistant Commissioner Emmanuel Cassar how they almost ran over a hooded man in St Mary Street on the night the murder took place. The two passers-by had given confidential information to the police about Grech's murder. Two hooded men in boiler suits were seen on the scene of crime. One was carrying a bag of lemons; the other was carrying a long object wrapped in cloth.

The couple almost ran over one of the men when he knelt to pick up papers from the street.

Mario Micallef, the driver of the vehicle, testified how one of the hooded men ran into the garages to hide when he noticed the car.

Meanwhile, Steve Spiteri, one of five residents at St Michael's Ward, had told Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera he had befriended David Zerafa. Spiteri died from a drug overdose two years ago while serving a prison term.

He said that Zerafa, known as Il-Pixka, had given him details about a murder in Gozo. Zerafa said the murder had been long planned because the lawyer was sleeping with his wife.

He also explained how together with a man known as 'il-Hikka', he had assaulted the lawyer outside his house. After shooting him, they repeatedly hit him with a baseball bat and dragged him to a garage.

He said the accused and his accomplice left the scene in a Hillman Hunter and changed their vehicle when they got to Rabat. They then went to a room at Ramla l-Hamra in a Land Rover.

Two days after the crime, Zerafa went back for the Hillman. Before leaving the scene, Zerafa said he was aware of having been seen by a couple who drove down St Mary Street.

In his statement, Spiteri claimed Zerafa's brother-in-law had offered him money not to testify. Other offers were made by other people.

When the police confronted the witness and the accused, Zerafa started swearing and calling him a liar. Subsequently the accused had admitted to giving the details to Spiteri but claimed he was bluffing.

Spiteri had confirmed to the police that he was convinced Zerafa was neither joking nor bluffing as he had spoken to him in confidence and insisted he did not shout.

Lawyers Maurizio Cordina and Phillip Galea Farrugia from the Attorney General's office are prosecuting. Malcom Mifsud is acting as defence while Arthur Azzopardi and Kathleen Grima are appearing a parte civile. Judge Lawrence Quintano is presiding.

Fatal blow smashed victim's skull

According to forensic expert Mario Scerri, the fatal blow to Grech's head smashed the victim's skull.

He said brain tissue was found next to the body and there was a deep gash on the back of the victim's skull. On the side of his neck, a bruised wound was found.

Blood droplets and smudged blood were found on the bottom stairs of the lawyer's residence. Other droplets were found on the stairs leading to his apartment.

A trail of blood led to a blood pool in Triq ix-Xtut. X-rays taken during the autopsy showed a bullet lodged in the left lung. Other x-rays showed extensive fractures to the skull.

The skull damage was so significant that at the scene of crime the medical expert had initially suspected the victim was killed with a shotgun.

Analysis of the bullet's entry hole led forensic experts to believe the shooter stood at a higher level than the victim. The bullet penetrated Grech's neck and embedded itself in his lung.

Abrasions on the victim's torso prove that when the victim was dragged to the garages, he was still alive.

The autopsy concluded the gunshot would have placed the victim in critical condition if not operated upon, but it was the blow to the head that caused Grech's death.  

Former head of the homicide squad, Chris Pullicino, said it was Spiteri who told him the accused had probably spoken with Vella about the murder.

Pullicino said Vella had initially denied everything, but moments later came clean to the police.

Correctional officer George Attard explained how at the time there were five inmates at St Michael's Ward: Zerafa, Spiteri, Vella, Salvatore Mangion, Kalanc taz-Zejtun.

Zerafa spent a lot of time talking to Spiteri, but the officer said never heard what was being said.

The prosecution then read out statement that the late Aronne Grech, a correctional officer who passed away in 2005, had given during the compilation of evidence.

The officer had stated the accused sometimes complained about Spiteri. Once, while in the shower, Spiteri had shaved Zerafa's head but no complaint was filed by the accused against the other inmate.

Aronne Grech had also been to Gozo were he met Zerafa's brother. Allegedly, he had gone to Gozo to buy car parts.

Jason Spagnol was an inmate with Zerafa at St Michael's Ward.

This witness told the jurors that he was only aware of the case after Spiteri spoke to Inspector Pullicino. Spagnol recalled arguments between the accused and Spiteri.

Victim's wife testifies

Speaking to the court, the victim's wife Maria Grech said she and her husband were about to celebrate their wedding anniversary when he was killed.

Grech used to call her every day from his office, and on the fatal night had informed her he was on his way home. He had said he expected to be very busy at work the following day.

"On that stormy night in May, I was with my daughter Deborah in the kitchen. My son was watching television. At around 10pm I heard a gunshot in the common area followed by someone saying 'ajma ajma," she said.

A commotion followed and people were heard running outside her door. She opened the door.

"A hooded man was coming down the last two stairs. He looked at me. His face seemed to be covered in dark bandages apart from his eyes. He was wearing a boiler suit and surgical gloves. He pointed a gun at me. His brown almond shaped eyes looked straight at me. I still close my eyes and see these eyes looking at me," she said.

Her first impression was that the man was someone wearing a costume from the Nadur Carnival. She assumed he was a thief who had stolen in from the top floor and now wanted to break into her apartment. She managed to force the door shut.

Subsequently she called her neighbour to check if everything was okay. The young neighbour confirmed that she was fine but had heard the shot and the commotion. The neighbour also confirmed her brother Steve was not at home but was with his uncle at the cinema.

"Instinctively I started calling Michael's mobile because I did not want him to arrive and be faced with an armed man downstairs. He never replied."

She opened the door and saw her husband's suitcase, which gave her cause for concern.

Identifying the briefcase on the court table, the widow broke down in tears.

"The light in the common areas was on. I panicked and shouted to the children that their father was home but something was amiss. I kept

running up and down the stairs. I called the children to call the police. My daughter took the phone but kept asking for the number," she said.

She followed the trail of blood on the floor which led her to the garage.

"With my heart racing I entered the garage and found Michael dead on the floor in a pool of blood. I reached out to him and touched his back. He was still warm."

Mrs Grech heard a car coming towards her from the direction of Rabat. Scared that the assailant would return she tried to hide behind a wall in the garage. The car drove by.

She walked up the steps and met her children. "I told them I found their dad and I'm going next to him again. We all went next to Michael. I hugged my children and asked them for their support."

The lawyer's son told his mother to go back upstairs as she was going to faint. The police arrived on the scene. An officer told her to stay in the car, "but more than twice I went back next to Michael. I wanted to stay near my husband".

The street was littered with scattered documents and lemons. Grech's wife said the victim used to love farming and his wife had thought that he had brought them lemons.

She said her daughter Deborah found her father's phone on the street and gave it to her mother.

Conclusion of wife's evidence

Mrs Grech spoke of how her husband's death has affected her life. "My husband's loss affected me financially. I'm still struggling to close some of the chapters. Both my daughter and I are following criminology courses and had to ask for extensions as I cannot cope with everything," she said.

"The children never saw their father again. The loss affected their schooling. They still suffer from the trauma. If it were not for the children, my life would have ended when I found my husband dead. We never went back to the apartment in Marsalforn. I bought new household items in order not to go back. My parents took us in for the first five years," she concluded.

The police spoke to Mrs Grech and showed her photos. "I chose the second face. Those eyes were the eyes I saw outside my door. I recognise them again," she said pointing at the image on the screen in court.

Subsequently, the investigators asked her to attend an identity parade. "I looked at them all intently but number eight stood out. The police had assured me that the men could not see me yet I was scared. I asked number eight to move closer and felt his eyes stare at me. I was sure he was seeing me. I will never forget those eyes," she said.

When the Police asked her to attend the identification parade, they did not inform her a suspect was in custody.

The defence lawyer claimed everyone in the courtroom had almond shaped eyes. The witness reiterated the fear she felt when she saw those eyes at the identity parade. Mrs Grech insisted if she had not recognised the eyes she would not have said she identified them.

The prosecution, led by lawyers Maurizio Cordina and Phillip Galea Farrugia, declared it has no further evidence to present.