Man accused of vicious court assault while still handcuffed

The terrified victim of what is alleged to be a vicious attack in a courtroom yesterday took the witness stand and trembled as she told jurors of the moment her former boyfriend managed to break her foot even while he was handcuffed.

On the witness stand, Maria Elena Felice took her time before she gained some confidence to testify against 37-year-old James Demanuele, saying the attack was unprovoked.

Mr Demanuele stands charged with seriously injuring her in the incident on December 9, 2008, at 10 a.m. on the second floor of the court house outside courtroom No. 17.

Ms Felice said she was outside the courtroom peering through the small glass window in the door leading to the room when, escorted by a policeman, Mr Demanuele asked her whom a particular set of mobile numbers belonged to.

When she told him she didn’t know, he hit her with his hands and, as she fell to the ground, he kicked her and broke a metatarsal bone in her foot.

She explained that the numbers he was asking about were in a report drawn up by a court expert and were in fact new mobile phone numbers she had bought so he would not bother her anymore. She bought one for herself and one for their severely autistic daughter, which, she added, she doesn’t really use.

She said Mr Demanuele jumped to conclusions and thought there was actually another man in her life but she wanted to keep those numbers secret “at all costs” to prevent him from causing any more harm to her and their daughter.

In a statement, Mr Demanuele said that when he called a number which was shown to be making calls to his daughter and his former girlfriend he heard sexual noises on the other end.

Other times he heard a male voice and became angry because he thought Ms Felice was giving his daughter’s mobile phone number to strangers, he said.

Following the attack, which occurred in December, Ms Felice only recovered in June. She said she was fed up of his behaviour and the threats had to stop.

This was not the first time Mr Demanuele allegedly attacked Ms Felice and he still has a pending case in which he is accused of assaulting her at the end of her testimony in another case.

The trial continues.

Lawyer Maurizio Cordina from the Attorney General’s Office prosecuted.

Lawyer Malcolm Mifsud appeared as legal aid.