I could never forget killer's face - eyewitness

Silvano D'Agostini, a chef who worked with Vittorio Cassone, who was shot in cold blood during a hold-up at Chef Italy, in St Julians, told the court yesterday he never had doubts that it was Melchior Spiteri who killed his colleague on January 13, 1993.

Testifying at the start of the compilation of evidence against Mr Spiteri, who stands charged with Mr Cassone's murder and a hold-up, Mr D'Agostini said the day after the murder he was called to the police headquarters to see if he could identify anyone in an ID parade.

"As soon as I saw Mr Spiteri, I immediately recognised him both when I was shown several men wearing a woman's stocking over their heads and without it," he said.

Mr D'Agostini said that although he was certain it was Mr Spiteri whom he had seen during the hold-up which ended in his colleague's murder, he had told the police he was "99 per cent sure" because he was afraid that Mr Spiteri would pay him back one day.

"I had heard that Mr Spiteri could easily escape from prison and that people spent only short periods of time behind bars here and I was afraid he would kill me too," he said.

Testifying in Italian, Mr D'Agostini said he was "relieved" when the police had sent for him recently to speak to him about the case. "I had this burden, this guilty conscience that I had not told the police that I was 100 per cent sure it was him. But I was afraid at the time. Still, Mr Spiteri's face was imprinted in my mind and I can never forget his features," he said.

"The thief stood perhaps a metre away. Even though he had a woman's stocking on, I could see his clear eyes, fair complexion and facial features. How could I ever forget that face?"

When asked by the defence, Mr D'Agostini said he had a relationship with Mr Cassone's wife and they would probably eventually get married.

He said Mr Cassone seemed to have had a premonition that something was about to happen to him because shortly before he was killed the victim had told him that if something happened to him he should take care of his wife and children.

"After the murder, I started visiting Mr Cassone's family and took care of the children and the widow. After about three years, this developed into a relationship which got steadier over time," the witness said. He added that they never discussed Mr Cassone's murder as such and he was not pressured by anyone to testify.

"Had the police approached me three years ago I would have said what I am saying now," he insisted. Mr D'Agostini said he recalled that on the day the hold-up took place it was getting dark when a man wearing a black jacket and a woman's stocking over his head ran into the shop. He was brandishing a small pistol "which looked like a toy". Mr D'Agostini said Mr Cassone put his hands up in the air and he himself turned round to fetch a knife to use it to threaten the robber.

"Then I heard a shot and saw Mr Cassone falling down," he said.

Mr D'Agostini said he then went to the cash register and gave the robber some Lm150 and the intruder ran away.

Mr D'Agostini said there was no blood visible on Mr Cassone's clothes but when he opened his shirt he saw a small hole in the area where the heart was.

The victim was 58 years old.

Assistant Police Commissioner Emanuel Cassar testified he had been the investigating officer. He said that in several identification parades made in the presence of Magistrate Carol Peralta, six eyewitnesses had either singled out Mr Spiteri or had indicated both him and others as possible suspects.

Following arguments with the defence about the photos and reports related to identification parades which did not form part of the inquiry report, Mr Cassar said he had kept detailed notes in the police investigations file and copies of these had been given to the duty magistrate at the time.

Mr Cassar said that while he was not in a position to say why these were not included by the magistrate in the report, he could easily go to the police headquarters and fetch them if the court felt this was necessary. Mr Cassar was asked by the court to do so and he returned with the documents within a few minutes.

Police Inspector Christopher Pullicino, prosecuting, gave the background to the investigative work he carried out, which eventually led to Mr Spiteri's recent arraignment.

He said there was another witness who, like Mr D'Agostini, had recognised Mr Spiteri but he too had refrained from speaking about the case at the time as he was afraid of retribution. But when he had spoken to him in the course of the investigations recently, he too said he wanted to speak about the case as he had no doubt it had been Mr Spiteri who shot the Italian cook.

There was also another Italian national whom the police had established was in Rome and who the police still wanted to speak to about the case, Mr Pullicino said.

Lawyer Franco Debono is defence counsel.