Three family members found guilty by jurors of their involvement in the death of 18-year-old Rachel Bowdler will today be facing judgment after their lawyers yesterday made their final submissions on punishment.

Last week Carmel and Concetta Decelis, both 57, and their 29-year-old son Jason stood trial for the murder by omission of Ms Bowdler, whose lifeless body was found by a farmer in a field known as Ras Il-Gebel in the limits of Mgarr on May 13, 2001.

After seven hours of deliberation, jurors on Friday found Mrs Decelis guilty of murder by a 7-2 vote and Jason Decelis guilty of the same crime by six votes to three.

Carmel Decelis was however cleared of murder and found guilty of involuntary homicide by seven votes to two.

The jurors' verdict indicates that they believe that although all three family members were somehow involved in the death of the young woman who died of a drug overdose, Mrs Decelis played the strongest part.

The verdict also suggests that, while Mrs Decelis and her son had acted with a positive, indirect intent to kill Ms Bowdler, the father had acted negligently and did not predict the consequences of his actions.

Jurors unanimously requested Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono, presiding over the trial, to show mercy towards Carmel Decelis because he had shown that he was very sorry, was present for short periods of time on the night when Ms Bowdler died and had genuinely tried to help the young woman.

As a mother, Concetta Decelis, did what she could to protect her son even though it led to the death of the young woman and she too should be shown mercy.

As for Jason Decelis, jurors called on the judge to give him all the help he needed to overcome any social problems he might have.

Yesterday Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono heard the submissions on punishment.

Lawyer Chris Soler, for Carmel Decelis, noted that his client had been found guilty of involuntary homicide, a crime that fell under the jurisdiction of the Magistrates' Courts, and yet had undergone the trauma of a trial by jury.

The lawyer added that, if the law in force at the time of the crime was applied, his client faced a maximum two-year jail term and, in light of all the circumstances and the jurors' request for mercy, he asked the judge to hand down the minimum punishment possible.

Mrs Decelis' lawyer, Malcolm Mifsud, also requested the minimum punishment. Mrs Decelis, he said, ended up at the wheel of the operation because there had been an "abandon ship" situation in which she was forced to solve a problem she did not create.

He said his client was not a danger to society and added that she was the first to cooperate with the police indicating that she believed she had not caused anyone's death.

Dr Mifsud asked the judge to take note of the juror's unanimous request for mercy. He said Mrs Decelis had instructed him to tell the court that she would be a mother till the end and for this reason she was asking the court to show mercy towards her son.

Lawyer Martin Fenech for Jason Decelis stressed the outcome of the verdict which, he said, reflected that jurors recognised that he had social problems.

But Assistant Attorney General Anthony Barbara rebutted saying that Jason Decelis was detrimental to society as his criminal record (which was never revealed to jurors) showed several instances of drug trafficking.

"Rachel Bowdler got into trouble because of drugs and Jason Decelis placed lives of others at continuous risk... Drug trafficking brings about this type of tragedy."

Speaking about Mrs Decelis, he said that the verdict showed that she was the one mostly at fault for Ms Bowdler's death. She showed a total lack of respect for life and a strong sense of egoism. Dr Barbara said Mrs Decelis and her son were to be jailed for "a very, very, very long time".

As for Carmel Decelis, he said, he had played an active part in the death of the woman and deserved the maximum jail term allowed.

The case was put off for judgment to today at noon.