Bail revoked in attempted murder case

An appeals court yesterday revoked bail given to a man charged with trying to strangle his former girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.

Stephen Vella, 34, had originally been granted bail on Tuesday after he was arraigned pleading not guilty to attempted murder and slightly injuring the woman during an argument. Lawyer Leonard Caruana, from the Attorney General’s Office, appealed the decision. He pointed out to the Court of Criminal Appeal that a number of witnesses still had to testify and argued that bail was premature.

Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano upheld Dr Caruana’s request and remanded Mr Vella in custody.

Mr Vella allegedly attacked the woman and tried to strangle her with a telephone cord after she broke up with him last weekend and then rejected his attempts to get back with her.

He had been granted bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000 and a deposit of €1,000, with Magistrate Antonio Micallef Trigona warning him that breaching bail was a serious crime and he could end up in jail for six months.

Police Inspector Malcolm Bondin prosecuted. Lawyers José Herrera and Veronique Dalli appeared for the Mr Vella.