'How I hate her'

"How I hate her". Those were the words a man facing murder charges uttered when he briefly regained consciousness in hospital three days after the incident.

"How I hate her", Clive Farrugia, 24, told his mother, who was by his side at the time, before he sank right back into unconsciousness, Police Inspector Daniel Zammit said in court yesterday. The accused only came to again a day later, on May 12.

He stands charged with murdering 61-year-old Mary Theresa Vella and trying to kill his former girlfriend Mary Grace and her brother Joseph in a vicious assault at their Cospicua home on May 8.

The officer gave a chilling account of how Mr Farrugia stalked his former girlfriend, 24-year-old Mary Grace, and her new boyfriend Kevin Pace for two days before the attack.

The accused admitted to the police during interrogation that, a day before the incident, he had already gone to his former girlfriend's house with the intent of carrying out a similar attack but had second thoughts when he saw her brother's car.

On the day of the murder he went to the Vella family's house in St Lazarus Street to visit his two-year-old son, Inspector Zammit said. Mr Farrugia's ex-girlfriend, the boy's mother, let him in but told him to keep quiet as her brother, Joseph, was sleeping upstairs and she went into the kitchen with her mother while he played with his son in the front room.

After an hour, when it was time for him to leave, he locked the door which led to the room where her brother was sleeping, produced a 20 centimetre "diving" knife and asked for a hug. Not seeing the knife, Ms Vella said there was no need for her to hug him as their relationship was over. This is when he flipped, the officer said, and started stabbing her wildly.

Her mother rushed in and tried to defend her daughter but he turned on her. He hit her repeatedly and stabbed her deeply, three times in the back, in the right shoulder and once in the right cheek. One of the stabs punctured the lung, proving fatal.

Alerted by his sister's terrified screams, Mr Vella rushed downstairs and tried to get into the room but found the door locked. While her mother was being stabbed, Ms Vella managed to unlock the door and let her brother in, who charged Mr Farrugia.

The accused waved the knife at him but Mr Vella, a stocky Special Assignments Group police officer, hit back to defend himself.

He punched the accused a few times and then grabbed him by the wrist, put him into elbow lock, when he felt the knife against him, as he put it.

He then left the room and rushed him upstairs to his bedroom where he had a pair of handcuffs.

Mr Farrugia, according to the officer, was struggling all the way upstairs and even tried to kick Ms Vella as she sat at the bottom of the stairs reeling from the attack and the 28 stab wounds she suffered. Eventually the SAG officer restrained him. Mr Vella asked him what had happened and he replied: "Because I love her. Because I love her... Kill me. Kill me".

Mr Farrugia told the police he could not take it anymore as he was heartbroken and that his mind told him to do what he did.

After restraining the alleged assailant, Mr Vella went downstairs to help his mother. In the time being, Mr Farrugia managed to stand up, walked back down the stairs and tried to attack Ms Vella a second time. Mr Vella then pinned him down on the floor and started shouting for help. His call was answered by neighbours who are related to the family.

Eventually, ambulances arrived. Alas, Mrs Vella died in hospital and her daughter and her alleged assailant both lost consciousness and were critical for a few days.

After being unconscious for three days, Mr Farrugia woke up and in the presence of a police officer on duty at the intensive care unit and his mother said: "How I hate her" and then fell unconscious again.

The case is expected to continue in mid-July.

Lawyers Gianella Caruana Curran and Gianluca Caruana Curran were defence counsel.