Tired and confused - accused

A man who stands charged with the murder of his 59-year old aunt said yesterday he was telling the truth when he told his father he had killed his aunt but immediately added he was feeling very tired and confused.

Ivan Cauchi, accused of killing his aunt Elisabeth Cauchi in Xewkija on February 24, 2004, and stealing over Lm1,000, also insisted that the two men wearing carnival masks who were with him on the fateful day were not relatives. But he would not reveal their identity. He said the men were wearing masks of a donkey and a crocodile and he was not wearing any masks.

Mr Cauchi was being cross-examined by prosecutor Anthony Barbara, after on Thursday he spent a day testifying in his own defence, and Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono repeatedly reminded him he was testifying under oath.

Mr Cauchi said he never wanted to kill his aunt and he had told the other two to take what they wanted from her house but to refrain from killing her.

The accused said he used to go to sleep at his aunt's house after his grandfather had died but she used to get cross when he remained out late at night and so he stopped sleeping there. He said he still respected her and went to lend a helping hand whenever she needed it, even though he no longer slept there. Yet, he was still determined to rob her, not because he had any particular financial commitments but because he wanted the money to spend it as he pleased.

Mr Cauchi said the idea about the theft was purely his, but, because she was a strong woman, he needed help. He said he did not take anything from the booty after the theft took place.

While describing what happened before the theft, the accused said he was in a good mood and was playing a musical instrument at Il-Bahri at about 10 p.m. He then left to meet the other two men to rob his aunt, and the other two were meant to wait for him before making a move as his aunt only opened the door if she knew who was knocking. He insisted his aunt did not recognise anyone.

In his replies to a series of questions by the prosecution, Mr Cauchi kept insisting he did not steal anything, leading the prosecution to ask: "How can we believe you did not take anything when it was your idea?" The accused did not reply.

Mr Cauchi said his aunt had struggled with the two masked men but he did not wrestle with her. He also said he did not know what was being stolen by the other two. All he knew was that they had two bags each.

On insistence by the judge, the accused said he saw the man wearing the crocodile mask steal a choker his aunt was wearing.

He denied having bound his aunt. However, in a confrontation with the accused, Police Superintendent Pierre Calleja said that when he had interrogated him on March 6, 2004, the accused had confessed he had bound her wrists with a cable tie. He had told the police he had taken two cable ties with him, used one, which he cut off again before leaving and took it with him but had forgotten the other behind. But yesterday he said he could not remember, even when shown a cable tie found by the police on the scene of the crime.

Mr Cauchi said the other two were kneeling on his aunt as she lay on the floor and he had stood at the entrance of the house. The judge reminded him that on Thursday he had testified that he too had looked for money inside his aunt's house. Mr Cauchi then said he too had searched for money in her house.

In a confrontation within the accused, Police Inspector Antonello Grech said it was not true that the accused had denied killing his aunt. On the contrary, when they disembarked from the Gozo Channel ferry after being interrogated in Malta, the accused had told his father it was he who had killed her.

At this point, the accused said "his brain was tired", prompting the judge to ask: "How is it possible you feel tired after just 40 minutes?"

The prosecution asked the accused whether he lied when he told his father he had killed his aunt. And the accused said he had not lied to his father.

The prosecution said it had no more questions to make.

Defence counsel Joseph Mifsud asked to intervene to be allowed to ask whether the accused had understood the question and Mr Cauchi said he was not feeling well and was tired.

In starting its address to jurors, the defence stressed that one had to be presumed innocent and that the prosecution had to prove the case. The accused was not obliged to prove anything.

Dr Mifsud stressed the point that the prosecution had to produce the best possible evidence and that the police had failed to prove the victim was 65 years old, as claimed, as her birth certificate was not produced. The age factor was important because crimes committed on elderly people carried heftier penalties.

The trial continues on Monday.