I told my friend they must have killed him - accused's ex-girlfriend

"I heard a loud thud and told my friend that they must have killed him," the former girlfriend of a man accused of murdering a Filipino sailor in a pub brawl told a jury yesterday.

She had left the bar where the fight started because she was afraid but when the brawl moved outside, she heard a loud thud and told her friend that "they must have killed him." She saw a man lying on the ground.

The woman, Caprice Naudi, was testifying in the trial by jury of Charles Demicoli, 34, her former boyfriend, who is pleading not guilty to murdering the sailor, 44-year-old Perfecto Montalban in 2000 in Cherries Bar, Birżebbuġa.

She testified that the couple were about to leave the bar at about 3.30 a.m. on Christmas Day when they passed by a table with four or five Filipinos. One of them (not the victim) said something to Mr Demicoli who leaned towards him asking what was wrong, knocking a glass off the table in the process.

It ended there and he left the bar with her and a friend.

"As we were walking out, we looked back to see if the Filipino was going to say something else. I saw him grab a glass bottle and throw it in our direction. It smashed next to my feet," she said.

The next thing she saw was a heavily built, seven-foot bouncer, Johan Briffa, also known as Il-Bobo, jump in the air and land on the Filipino. Her former boyfriend turned back and walked towards the sailor but she said she was afraid and left with her friend.

Five minutes later she saw her man emerge from the bar with a group of people, which is when she heard the noise, before turning around to see a man on the floor.

She was asked by the prosecution who the man was but she said she could not see him and did not go over to check.

Her ex-boyfriend then walked up to her and they walked a bit further up, she said, changing her version from the statement she had released to the police when first questioned about the fight.

When asked about this change of heart, Ms Naudi admitted she had lied to the police in her original statement, when she said Mr Demicoli was waiting outside with her. She had said so because she did not want to upset her parents.

She never asked Mr Demicoli what happened in the bar. "He just said he had an argument with the Filipino," she said.

The bouncer, who also testified yesterday, more or less corroborated Ms Naudi's version of facts.

He said he saw the Filipino throw a glass bottle in his direction and hit his knee. "I flew and jumped on the sailor. I punched him and held him down," he said.

At that point, people gathered round and started kicking the sailor. The fight moved outside and the Filipino stumbled over something and ran off, the bouncer said.

Another witness, Elaine Attard, Ms Naudi's friend, said she could not remember seeing the accused in the fight.

"I went to the toilet and as soon as I walked out I heard something breaking" she said, adding that, all of a sudden, she saw "Johan Briffa, also known as Il-Bobo, jumping onto one of the Filipinos".

It was at this point that it turned into a free for all, she said, adding that at that point the barman ran into the middle of the fight and sprayed "tear gas". Everyone dispersed and people started leaving the bar, which is when she noticed one of the bar owners dragging the sailor by his hands and collar towards the door.

The head of the Prosecution Unit at the Attorney General's Office, lawyer Anthony Barbara, prosecuted.

Lawyers Gianella Caruana Curran and Emanuel Mallia appeared for the accused.

The case continues.