Court grants bail to Qormi murder suspect

Stephen Caruana, who is accused of shooting dead Neville Baldacchino in his home in Qormi last month, was granted bail yesterday.

Evidence produced so far was heard behind closed doors because of the "sensitive nature of certain witnesses' testimony". Magistrate Miriam Hayman, who is presiding over the case, yesterday declared that all the sensitive witnesses have now been heard and proceedings can therefore continue publicly.

Mr Baldacchino, 28, was shot several times with a shotgun at about 1 a.m. on December 19 on the terrace overlooking the backyard of Mr Caruana's house.

During the arraignment, defence lawyers told the court that the incident happened when Mr Caruana - who was asleep at home with his wife and their four children - was woken up by a sound. Mr Caruana was scared when he discovered Mr Baldacchino in his home "illegally", according to defence lawyer Gianella Caruana Curran.

When asking for bail, Dr Caruana Curran pointed out that her client has a clean police record, has strong ties with Malta and that all the main witnesses have testified.

The prosecution, conducted by Police Inspector Chris Pullicino, disagreed and asked the court to deny bail because of the seriousness of the charges.

However, taking into consideration the fact that only the court experts had yet to testify, the court granted bail, imposing a deposit of €18,612 and a personal guarantee of €34,897. In addition, Mr Caruana has to sign every day at his local police station and cannot go outside his home between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Police Inspector Daniel Zammit also prosecuted.

Lawyers Emanuel Mallia and Arthur Azzopardi appeared for Mr Caruana with Dr Caruana Curran.