Carmelo Sant, 58 of Birkirkara, was this evening jailed for 30 years for the murder of Nazzareno Ebejer in a case which took place 20 years ago. He had pleaded guilty on Monday instead of undergoing trial.

George Pace, 58, was also jailed 30 years after a trial by jury found him not guilty of murder, but guilty of being an accomplice.

The trial heard how Mr Ebejer, 66, of Birkirkara, was shot dead in a room at L-Ahrax in Mellieha in what was meant to be a robbery, because he boasted of carrying a lot of money on him. He actually carried none.

Mr Pace had told the court that he, Mr Sant and Michael Vella, now deceased, had planned to rob Mr Ebejer, but he pleaded that there was no arrangement between them to shoot and kill him.

The jurors decided by a 7-2 margin that Mr Pace was not guilty of murder but guilty of having been an accomplice. He was found not guilty of the possession of a firearm.

The sentences were handed down by Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono. He said that in the case of Mr Sant, proceedings were carried out at a normal pace and did not take any more time than they should have.

However, Mr Sant did not show any signs that he was going to admit to the charges and in fact waited until the very last moment to place a guilty plea. Because of this, he had gained little or nothing from pleading guilty in terms of getting a reduced punishment.

He had been left to enjoy life for 14 years before being found out and had even committed other crimes while mostly living as a free man, which included theft, attempting to corrupt a public official, threatening public officials, threatening prosecution witnesses and the corruption of a 14-year-old. He was jailed on two separate occasions in connection with these crimes, the judge said.

In Mr Pace’s case, the men who were supposed to be Mr Ebejer’s friends had betrayed his trust. They first used to spend time together in front of the old railway station in Birkirkara and then took him for what was supposed to be an outing to eat a ħobza in Armier where Mr Ebejer was killed.

After searching his body for money they left him there in a pool of blood.

Both men showed no reaction on being sentenced and there was little emotion from their relatives which usually characterises the end of a trial by jury.