Wife may have defended victim

Investigators probing the New Year’s Day double fatal stabbing in Sliema are not ruling out the possibility that Claire Zammit Xuereb defended her husband Duncan Zammit as he was being attacked, according to different police sources.

There are going to be some surprises

Autopsy results showed that Mr Zammit had a number of wounds typically sustained in self-defence while Nicholas Gera, the other victim, had hardly any such injuries.

Police sources said it was implausible that two men involved in a fight such as the one that occurred in Mr Zammit’s penthouse would have killed each other although that is what had been originally assumed.

“One of the two men would always win, despite suffering serious injuries,” a police source said. This has led investigators to look into the possibility that Mrs Zammit Xuereb, the daughter of entrepreneur Angelo Xuereb, somehow intervened to defend her husband.

The two men bled to death after sustaining multiple knife wounds to their upper bodies when they got into a fight after Mr Gera, 26, on Sunday entered the penthouse where Mr Zammit, 32, lived with his wife and their twins. The three-month-old babies were sleeping in their cots in the same room when the fight started.

The men’s bodies were found lying next to each other in a pool of blood in the corridor just outside the bedroom.

Initial reports suggested that the two men dealt each other fatal blows, using large steak knives from Mr Zammit’s kitchen.

The picture pieced together so far is that Mr Zammit woke up dazed to find his assailant standing over him, wielding a knife. The fight started in the bedroom and blood was found on the bed.

Mr Zammit sustained nearly 30 stab wounds, superficial cuts and bruises.

Mr Gera had more than 10 similar injuries, the sources said.

The autopsies on the two men revealed crucial clues that could lead investigators to establish the motive behind the killing, which is still shrouded in mystery.

The sources said “there will be some surprises” as to the manner in which the men died after the autopsy revealed “much more than expected”. All the information has been passed on to Magistrate Edwina Grima.

Investigators believe there was some form of connection between the two men and there are strong indications they knew each other despite both victims’ families insisting there were no known links between them.

The results of fingerprint tests are still pending and the police are also scouring personal computers seized from the dead men’s homes for any evidence that could strengthen their theories.

Mr Gera is believed to have let himself into the apartment after jumping onto the terrace from an adjacent roof. His movements in the 500-square-metre penthouse – he went to the kitchen to get the steak knife and then walked to the bedroom, presumably in the dark – could indicate a certain familiarity with the place.

The police have definitely ruled out that this was a case of a bungled burglary.

Court expert Mario Scerri is leading the forensic investigations together with police inspectors from the criminal investigation department.

The bodies of both men have been released for burial. Mr Gera’s funeral will be held today at St Gregory’s church in Sliema at 2 p.m. while that of Mr Zammit will be held on Saturday at Gesu’ Nazzarenu parish church, also in Sliema at 10 a.m.

Additional reporting by Ariadne Massa.