Ugly accident turned cocaine addict into family man - wife

A woman yesterday told a court how her husband had changed from a cocaine addict to a family man when he survived an "almost fatal" traffic accident.

Amanda Agius took the stand as a defence witness in the compilation of evidence against her husband Jean who is pleading not guilty to conspiring to deal in cocaine and trafficking the drug on the night of November 20, 2002 and in the previous 10 months.

Answering questions by lawyers José Herrera and Roberto Montalto, Mrs Agius told Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani Grima that throughout the great part of her marriage she lived in London with her husband.

Round about the time when her husband's brother, Ray, died things started going downhill.

She explained how her husband became a cocaine addict leaving her alone to look after the children and worry about the bills.

"By the time I realised what was going on, he was badly hooked on the drug. We tried to carry on with a normal life." But, she explained, his addiction had a strong effect on her life as she had to struggle to make ends meet.

She explained that she joined her husband in Malta after he was involved in an almost fatal accident. "Since then, he has changed into more of a family man. I know for a fact that he no longer takes drugs. If he were, I wouldn't be here as there is only so much a person can take."

The case continues.