Jurors start their deliberations

Jurors in the trial of a man accused of conspiracy to murder by plotting to throw a woman off a cliff retired this morning to start their deliberations.

It is alleged that the accused, Carmel Vella, 33, of San Ġwann, and another man lured Patricia Attard to L-Aħrax in Mellieħa in 2004 so that they could push her off a cliff. The plan fell through when the woman refused to go near the edge. However, she was found shot dead in her mini-van at Ta' Qali two months later, on Valentine's Day, 2004.

Mr Vella has pleaded not guilty and is insisting that he turned down a request to kill the woman for €23,000.

The other man, Josef Grech, stands accused of the murder and is currently undergoing separate criminal proceedings. He is pleading not guilty.