Accused 'did not intend to kill'

The defence lawyer in the trial of a man accused of killing a 32-year-old mother with 47 stab wounds argued yesterday that his client never intended killing the woman.

He premised his argument on the fact that out of the wounds she suffered, only four were actually "stab wounds", meaning that only four went through all the layers of the skin and flesh.

His client, 32-year-old David Schembri, stands accused of murdering his former girlfriend and mother of his seven-year-old daughter in a violent attack in May 2004, when he allegedly stabbed her to death in her San Ġwann apartment, which he got into after shooting the door down.

The couple's daughter witnessed the first part of the alleged attack.

Defence lawyer Joe Brincat's submissions followed testimony by court expert Mario Scerri earlier this week who explained the various technical definitions of the wounds suffered by the victim, Josette Scicluna. Dr Scerri had also said that the victim had been "subject to extreme torture" in the moments before she died.

Dr Brincat told jurors, before they are expected to retire to deliberate today, that his client's intention was never to kill her but "just to hurt her". Technically speaking, Dr Brincat added, the victim had suffered from incise wounds (light, short and sharp cuts), slash (longer cut, a little deeper than incision) and stab wounds (deep knife injuries, which could hit internal organs) and which were all called stab wounds by the prosecution. He also pointed out that she had died from just one of the stab wounds, which severed the subclavian artery next to her left shoulder, causing massive bleeding.

Prosecuting lawyer Anthony Barbara contested the arguments forcefully. If Mr Schembri only wanted to hurt her, why did he take a fully loaded revolver to the apartment, he asked.

He insisted that the sheer number of stab wounds proved Mr Schembri's intention was to kill.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono is expected to conclude his address to the jurors this morning, when they will be asked to retire to deliberate.

Dr Barbara, head of the prosecution unit at the Attorney General's Office, was assisted by lawyer Lara Lanfranco.

Lawyers Emmanuel Mallia, Gianella Caruana Curran and Arthur Azzopardi appeared parte civile.