Victim's mother 'disliked accused from the start'

The mother-in-law of a man standing trial for allegedly pushing his wife off a cliff yesterday told a court she had always told her daughter that her husband was not to be trusted but she did not pay her any attention.

Lucy Debrincat said she had disliked her daughter's husband Ronnie Vella from the start because she knew his type.

"That man is not to be trusted. I always knew it but my poor daughter did not listen to me... Her marriage was not a happy one but she has now gone before God," Mrs Debrincat said.

She testified before Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono in the trial by jury of Vella, 30, who is pleading not guilty to the wilful homicide of his wife Jane by pushing her off a cliff at Tas-Sanap, limits of Munxar, on December 4, 1999 at about 5.30 p.m.

Mrs Debrincat claimed she and her husband were not on speaking terms with Vella. He treated her daughter badly even before their wedding and had not informed her and her husband when she had given birth to a son, Joseph.

The mother said her daughter had suffered from depression after giving birth but she loved her son and never hit him

She also said that when her daughter was younger they had occasionally argued but her daughter had never hit her. They had sometimes pushed each other.

Mrs Debrincat said Jane used to visit them every Thursday but could not visit more often because Vella did not want her to and she was afraid of him. She did not let Vella inside her house because things went missing every time he went in.

The last time she saw her daughter, on November 25, 1999, she had several bruises on her thigh.

Mr Justice Galea Debono then asked Mrs Debrincat if she had heard from her daughter since November 25, 1999.

"Dead people don't talk, do they? How could we have heard from her if she was killed?" she replied.

Earlier, Mrs Debrincat's husband Joseph said his son-in-law had directed his water and electricity bill to their house. He also claimed that Vella only provided his wife with Lm10 a week.

Mr Debrincat said he and his wife did not interfere in their daughter's marriage but he used to tell Vella to find a fixed job.

Asked if he had seen or heard from his daughter since her disappearance, Mr Debrincat said that he had not.

Clinical forensic physician Mario Scerri said he was appointed to examine the area of the cliffs from where Vella allegedly pushed his wife and did so on December 6, 1999.

Dr Scerri said he noticed that one had to walk a considerable distance from the road to reach the area and concluded that there were no signs to show that Jane Vella had been in the area.

Dr Scerri said he then went to the Victoria police station to examine Vella and his son Joseph for wounds since allegations had been made that Jane Vella beat them.

While he was examining Vella, at about noon, Dr Scerri said he mentioned the distance between the road and the site and asked Vella if he was sure of the area and Vella replied: "I swear. I threw her from there."

Dr Scerri said he found two dry abrasions on Vella's left arm, compatible with scratches made by fingernails. Dr Scerri said that due to the location of the abrasions he could not tell with certainty whether they were caused by Vella himself or someone else.

The expert said he had concluded that the abrasions had been caused between 24 and 36 hours before the examination.

He found an abrasion on the left side of Joseph Vella's face, a laceration on his chin and several abrasions on his upper chest, stomach and both arms and legs.

He concluded that the boy was well looked after, his clothes were clean and he detected no signs of neglect or violence on the boy.

The abrasion on the boy's face was compatible with scratch marks made by fingernails and the lesion on his chin could have been caused in a fall or by a blow.

Dr Scerri said the abrasions were probably caused by the boy himself because he had eczema and probably scratched himself to relieve himself from itching.

Under cross-examination, the doctor said abrasions could be caused even if someone wore clothes but explained that the thicker the clothes the more difficult it was to cause an abrasion.

Answering a question put by a juror, Dr Scerri explained that it would take about 5.5 seconds for a person to fall down 400 feet to the sea.

A person falling off a cliff could die on the way down or when he or she hit the water. The person could also have managed to swim back to the surface and survive.

Dr Scerri explained that if Jane Vella screamed as she fell and emptied her lungs, she would sink.

If she knew how to swim, she could swim back up to the surface unless she was unconscious or dead.

Captain Alex Dalli said that in December 1999, he was in charge of the rescue coordination centre at the Armed Forces of Malta.

On December 4, 1999, the wind was blowing from the south west at 15 knots and the sea was moderate with a low swell. The next day the wind blew from the north west at 20 knots and the sea was rough with a low swell.

The AFM had searched for Jane Vella's body for 36 hours between December 5 and 9, 1999.

Regina Zerafa, Vella's aunt, said that Vella took his son to her house nearly every day and every Saturday. On December 4, 1999, Vella and his wife dropped off their son at her house at about 5 p.m. but she did not meet them because she was upstairs at the time.

At about 6 p.m. Vella went back to her house alone and asked his brother Julian to shave his goatee with an electric shaver. Vella then collected his son and went home, giving his brother's girlfriend a lift.

Under cross-examination, Mrs Zerafa said that Vella and his wife loved each other a lot and never fought or argued in front of her.

She had been on good terms with Vella's wife who had never mentioned suicide to her. Neither had Vella mentioned wanting to kill anyone.

The trial continues this morning with an on-site inquiry on the cliffs at Tas-Sanap.

Assistant Attorney General Dr Anthony Barbara is prosecuting.

Dr Malcolm Mifsud is appearing for Vella while Dr Chris Said and Dr Georgina Scicluna are appearing in parte civile.