Death of a young woman - Bowdler's case

During three intense days of evidence the jurors heard how on May 12, 2001, Jason Decelis met Rachel Bowdler and the two went to Mrs Decelis' Bugibba apartment.

After some time, at about 6 p.m., the young woman lost consciousness and started frothing at the mouth and wheezing.

Jason Decelis panicked, phoned his father and asked him to go to the apartment. When his father arrived, he started wetting Ms Bowdler's face and chest in an attempt to revive her.

Then, at about 10.30 p.m., Mrs Decelis arrived home from work to find her husband tending to an unconscious stranger.

Some time later her husband, from whom she is separated, left for his Pietà apartment where he spent the night worried about the young woman, according to his testimony. In her testimony, Mrs Decelis told jurors that she stayed up all night tending to Ms Bowdler, whom she had never met before, and treated her like she treated her son when (in the past) he lost consciousness after taking drugs.

The following morning, at about 6 a.m., Carmel Decelis called to check on the young woman and then went back to the Bugibba apartment where he saw that she was still in a bad state.

As Mrs Decelis realised that Ms Bowdler was no longer breathing, she decided that the young woman's body had to be taken out of her apartment.

Carmel and Jason Decelis carried Ms Bowdler down the stairs and into the back seat of Carmel Decelis' car. Jason Decelis sat next to her and gave directions to his father at the wheel. Mrs Decelis sat in the passenger's seat.

When they arrived in a field in Mgarr they placed the young woman on the soil and drove back home. Mrs Decelis said she stopped to call 196 to inform them about the body but the police did not find a record of any such phone call.