The circumstances that led to the Sliema double homicide on New Year's Day are still shrouded in mystery but the mother of one of the dead men does not believe her son was the type to go stealing with two knives in hand.

Speaking to timesofmalta.com from her apartment in Blanche Huber Street where her son lived with her, Tanya Gera is shocked by what happened.

"Nicky was my baby and I still cannot accept what happened," she said this morning with tears streaming from her eyes.

Her son Nicholas, 26, and Duncan Zammit, 32, died after they got into a violent fight with knives on New Year's Day.

Mr Gera is believed to have broken into Mr Zammit's apartment in High Street Sliema at around 6 a.m. The fight took place in the presence of Mr Zammit's wife, Claire Zammit Xuereb, and their three-month old twins – who were sleeping in another room.

Police seem to have discarded the initial theory that Mr Gera's was a botched robbery and are still trying to establish the link between the intruder and the couple.

Describing her son as "a quiet and reserved" person, Mr Gera's mother has no idea whether the two men knew each other.

"I am shocked and cannot accept what happened. He is not the type to use a knife... no, not my Nicky. It must be devastating even for the other guy's family, leaving twins fatherless," a visibly distraught Mrs Gera said.

Her son had been working at a restaurant on New Year's Eve and after it closed he went to have a drink at a St Julians pub, according to Mrs Gera. The last recorded communication seems to be a phone call Mr Gera made to a friend at around 5 a.m., almost an hour before he is reported to have entered Mr Zammit's apartment.

"I was shocked when the police came knocking on my door in the morning because until then I had no idea Nicky was not in bed," she said.

Mr Gera would have been 27 on Thursday.

The police are still trying to establish the facts surrounding the double homicide and the two autopsies are underway.

See also:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120102/local/stabbing.400753

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