'He whined so much I gave him heroin'

"He whined so much that I gave in and handed him a small amount of heroin as I knew that he couldn't handle any more than that." That was what John Mifsud told police just hours after his cousin died from an overdose, a court heard yesterday in his trial by jury.

The prosecuting lawyer from the Attorney General's Office, Anthony Barbara said it was precisely this point that made Mr Mifsud guilty of the involuntary homicide of 32-year-old David Spiteri on September 24, 2005.

Mr Mifsud also stands charged with trafficking in heroin.

In a police statement, Mr Mifsud said that on the day of the death, his cousin would not leave him alone and kept on moaning and groaning asking him for heroin until he finally got fed up and gave him a small sachet of the drug.

He said that he only gave him a small amount because he knew that he used to take some pills.

Testifying later, pharmacist Mario Mifsud said that the victim was on Valium 5, a tranquiliser which, when mixed with heroin, multiplies the effect of the heroin by five times.

The accused said in the statement that after giving his cousin the drugs he went to sleep in the bedroom that he shared with another cousin, in a house in Verdala, Cospicua.

Shortly afterwards he heard his aunt, Abigail Spiteri, screaming after she found her son unconscious and turning purple on the floor in a box room which sits adjacent to the house.

He said they tried to give him first aid and the ambulance arrived to take him to hospital where attempts to revive him proved futile.

Officers watching the house about 30 minutes after the victim was taken away said that they saw the victim's brother, Giovanni Spiteri and the accused drive up to the house and stop.

Mr Spiteri went in and later emerged holding a plastic bag which he threw away in a skip opposite the house. The bag was later recovered and the police found some syringes, one of which was used.

Taking the witness stand, Ms Spiteri said that when the family gathered at the hospital following her son's death, she asked Giovanni to go home and pick up her mobile phone.

She added that Giovanni had suffered from three overdoses but had since cleaned himself up and was married with two children.

Testifying, Giovanni Spiteri said that on the day of his brother's death, he was in Paceville with a friend Patrick also known as Il-Bum Bum who was helping him kick the habit. Ironically he would spend Monday to Sunday at a gaming arcade with Patrick trying to rid himself of the addiction.

He said that at the hospital, Mr Mifsud told him that they had forgotten to clear the house of any drug paraphernalia and that they should go back to get rid of anything so that he would not be blamed for the death.

He said that it was Mr Mifsud who had thrown the things away and not he, which contradicted the version given by Police Inspector Pierre Grech who was investigating the crime. He also denied having thrown away anything in the skip. The accused then testified behind closed doors.

Lawyer Malcolm Mifsud appeared for Mr Mifsud.