The man who allegedly sold 18-year-old Rachel Bowdler the heroin that killed her eight years ago instructed the man she was with not to take her to hospital after she took the overdose, a court heard yesterday.

The man who had been accompanying the victim, Jason Decelis, is serving a 25-year jail term for failing to take Ms Bowdler to hospital on that ill-fated Sunday the 13th, in May 2001.

Yesterday, Mr Decelis took the witness stand against 32-year-old David Gatt, who is charged with the murder of Ms Bowdler and with drug trafficking.

He told the court that Mr Gatt had sold the girl a packet of heroin at Mr Gatt's apartment in Buġibba on the day she died. The two took the drugs there and then left.

When Ms Bowdler started displaying the symptoms of an overdose, Mr Decelis, then 24, called the alleged dealer and was told not to take her to the hospital or to the polyclinic as they would be arrested.

The couple was at his mother's house at that point. They had fallen asleep after having sex. Mr Decelis awoke at about 6.30 p.m. and tried to wake Ms Bowdler up but she did not move, so he called Mr Gatt who told him to inject salt and water into her veins. This did not work and he called his father Carmel who went to the flat immediately but even though he splashed her face with water she remained unconscious.

Mr Decelis then made several calls to Mr Gatt who told him not to take the girl anywhere and to leave her where she was. At about 8.30 p.m. he went back to Mr Gatt's place to buy more heroin and returned to find her in the same state.

At 10.30 p.m., his mother got back home from work and the two went to Mr Gatt's house to see what they were going to do with the girl as she was not breathing. "Mr Gatt told us not to do anything and wait until the morning".

In the morning, Mr Decelis called him again and he told them to take the body to a place called Ras il-Ġebel in Għajn Tuffieħa. They dumped the girl in a field near Mġarr, an act which resulted in the whole Decelis family, Conċetta, her husband Carmel and their son being jailed for over 40 years between them in 2006. Mr Decelis said he had met the girl for the first time that day at the alleged dealer's house. She had gone there asking for heroin, which she paid for with her mobile phone.

Mr Gatt cooked the heroin for her and she injected herself after which he asked Mr Decelis to drop her off in Ċirkewwa. Mr Decelis told him he couldn't but she got a lift with him anyway to Qawra where he lived with his mother, he said.

"She asked me to use the toilet and said that she was tired as she had just come from a party. Shortly afterwards we had sex," he said. The two then sat down in the living room and watched Jerry Springer on television and fell asleep.

During Mr Decelis's testimony a loud thud could be heard at the back of the court room. It turned out to be Mr Gatt's sister, who passed out just as she was about to walk into the court room. She could be heard crying some minutes later in what seemed like a panic attack.

The case continues.

Police Inspectors Norbert Ciappara and Dennis Theuma prosecuted. Lawyer Joe Brincat was defence counsel.

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