Jurors to decide on mental state of man accused of wife's murder

The second trial by jury held to determine the mental state of a man accused of stabbing his wife to death while she lay in her hospital bed began yesterday after the first trial had to be declared null because of an irregularity.

In May last year, jurors had decided that Anthony Schembri, 61, from Sliema was not in a state of insanity when he fatally stabbed his wife Doris in September 2005.

Mr Schembri had pleaded insanity when the compilation of evidence was being heard in the Magistrates' Court and a mental health assessment by three court-appointed psychiatrists concluded that he was not in the right state of mind when he allegedly committed the crime. Police Inspector Chris Pullicino testified that Mr Schembri had told him in a police statement that his wife used to make constant fun of him because he became impotent as a direct result of drugs he used to take to combat his mental illness.

Mr Schembri also told him that during their separation in 1991 he was very angry as his wife had taken the house that his father had given him and had turned the children against him.

Inspector Pullicino also added that Mr Schembri claimed to have been sexually abused by a priest when he was younger which also added to his mental problems.

The officer told the court that Mr Schembri had told him that he had taken the knife with him to "teach her lesson", adding that he said his wife never appreciated the fact that, although they were separated, he went to see her every day.

Mr Schembri told the police that on the day in question the victim had asked him whether he had found another woman yet and when he told her that he was always there for her she allegedly replied: "Who would want you anyway if you cannot perform in bed".

Inspector Pullicino said that the accused also told them that he kept stabbing his ex-wife in the neck and in the stomach until she lost consciousness.

When asked about Mr Schembri's demeanour in the interview room, Inspector Pullicino said "he looked calm as if he was resting after accomplishing something".

"When we told him that she had died he was shocked and kept saying that he had just wanted to hurt her and not kill her."

Psychiatrists David Cassar, Anton Grech and Ethel Felice said that Mr Schembri was not lying about the illusions and paranoia that he claimed to suffer from because of schizophrenia and that they had deliberated on this point for a long time.

They pointed out that the accused has been sexually abused as a child and this had a very negative effect on him, adding to the sexual problems he was having. Taking the powerful medication exacerbated the problem.

Losing his wife and his children through their difficult separation was especially hard. "He became angry, which is normal for anyone who has gone through a trauma but it was different because it was fuelled by his schizophrenia".

"Through this lack of relation with reality as a result of his condition, Mr Schembri was a lot more vulnerable to certain trauma", Dr Cassar said.

He could have been misinterpreting his wife's comments when she said certain things but a psychotic mind is not a "normal" one, he added.

Dr Cassar said that on the day of the incident the accused had lost control of himself and that was when schizophrenia had flared up.

Mr Schembri had told them that in hospital he had seen someone wearing black with a white cross on a t-shirt, which he understood as a sign that his wife must be killed.

The psychiatrist added that Mr Schembri had for many years suffered from the condition, which came in bouts.

The jurors are expected to retire today to consider their verdict.