Cospicua murder victim's daughter recounts in court stabbing frenzy

A woman told the court yesterday she had forgiven a former boyfriend who allegedly stabbed her repeatedly and fatally stabbed her mother.

"I believe a lot in God and I forgive him", Mary Grace Vella told a packed court room where tensions were running high after the families of the victims and of the accused clashed in the corridors a few minutes earlier.

Ms Vella was testifying in the compilation of evidence against Clive Farrugia who stands charged with the murder of Maria Theresa Vella and causing grievous injury to Ms Vella. He is also accused of slightly injuring Joseph Vella, the victim's son, a policeman. He is pleading not guilty.

Ms Vella said that on the day of the incident, on May 8, she was at home in Cospicua when Mr Farrugia turned up to see their son. She had broken up with Mr Farrugia two weeks previously and was seeing another man. She was 99 per cent sure he was the father of their son even if she had been seeing another man prior to dating the accused.

Mr Farrugia told her he loved her dearly and wanted to get back together but she refused, telling him he was miserly and a workaholic. He said he would change his ways and started to cry, sitting on the bed next to her. When she rejected his advances, he threw up on her leg.

"That is when he made the biggest mistake of his life. He produced a knife and started stabbing me on the legs frantically", she said. She was stabbed 11 times.

The witness recalled that she then started screaming. Her mother rushed to see what was wrong and tried to restrain him, which was when Mrs Vella was also stabbed.

During the knife attack, Ms Vella said she closed a door that led to a bedroom where her brother was asleep as she was confused and did not know what she was doing.

The accused even started stabbing himself below the chest and it was at that point that her brother appeared on the scene of the crime. The accused told him: "Kill me. I love her too much". The witness said her brother managed to restrain Mr Farrugia and knock the knife off his hands. She said she went to pick up the knife and stabbed the accused in the back even though her brother was shouting at her to put the knife down.

She then walked into the kitchen, sat down, put the knife on the table, sent an SMS to her new boyfriend and told him to forget her as she thought she was a going to die. Paramedics then rushed in.

"As they carried me out of the house on a stretcher I looked at my son and prayed to God I will be able to see him again", she said.

Ms Vella recalled that two days before the incident, Mr Farrugia went to her new boyfriend's house and tried to start a fight but she intervened and he left.

PS Vella said that thanks to the training he received as a member of the police Special Assignment Group he was able to restrain the accused and call for help through the main door of the house.

He testified that he had been asleep upstairs when he heard his sister's and mother's screams. He rushed downstairs and witnessed a terrible scene. His mother was on the floor, as was his sister, both in pools of blood. PS Vella rushed towards the accused and his sister warned him he had a knife. The off-duty officer said he had to defend himself and managed to pin Mr Farrugia to the ground after throwing the knife away. However, the accused continued to fight, even when help arrived. He even tried to bite a nurse who tried to assist him, PC Vella said.

The case continues.

Police Inspector Daniel Zammit prosecuted.

Lawyers Gianella Caruana Curran, Joseph Giglio and Gianluca Caruana Curran are defence counsel.