Updated - Man explains why he killed his wife
Prosecution insists this was premeditated murder
A man who has admitted to killing his wife and mother of their three children, told a court today that he had not intended to commit the crime.
But the prosecution called for life imprisonment and said that the fact that the accused had carried a knife in his bag showed that this was premeditated murder.
Roger Agius 49, of Fgura, admitted to fatally stabbing his estranged wife Catherine, 41, just before he was to undergo a trial by jury this morning.
He told the court how at the time they were going through separation proceedings and he suspected she was seeing another man.
Matters, he said, had been deteriorating for him. He lost his job and was seeing his children only once a week.
On the day of the incident he waited for his wife at the bus stop and wanted to discuss where they stood. But she refused to talk to him and insulted him.
He said he did not know what happened next, but he reached for a knife which was in his bag and then he turned himself in at the police station.
Mr Agius said he now had no relationship with his children. He wanted to have such a relationship, and had filed the guilty plea so that the children would not suffer the ordeal of the trial..
He denied ever having taken any money from his wife or having previously ever hit her.
In the past, he said, because of his drinking problem, he used to tell his children to be like their mother, not like him. Later he told them to be like him, not her, because he did not break up the family.
PROSECUTION DEMANDS MAXIMUM SENTENCE
Dr Nadine Sant, prosecuting, said a husband killing the wife he was expected to protect was the worst act. The murder, she said, was premeditated because the accused had been carrying a knife. He stabbed her close to her heart with such force that even part of the handle penetrated the body. This man had a drinking and gambling problem and even evicted the family from their home so that he could enjoy his lifestyle.
Furthermore, his guilty plea was only filed on the eve of the trial. This was no early admission of guilt, and the accused deserved to be jailed for life. When he turned himself in at the police station he asked the police to wash his hands. He then asked for a cigarette and coffee...this did not reflect remorse.
Dr Joe Giglio, appearing parte civile, also called for the maximum punishment and said the testimony of the accused showed he was not sorry for his crime. What disturbed him most, Dr Giglio said, was that the accused even told his children to be like him. He had destroyed his family and orphaned his children.
Defence counsel Malcolm Mifsud said the legal system was not one of retribution and the whole point of punishment was reform. He said the accused made his admission within five minutes when he turned himself in. The accused had not been trying to justify his actions, but to explain what had happened.
Sentence will be handed down tomorrow.
Mrs Agius was stabbed on July 13, 2009 at abut 6 p.m. when she stepped off a bus in Neolithic Temples Street, Tarxien.
At the time of the incident it was reported that Mr Agius went to the Paola police station and informed the police that he had seriously injured his wife.
When the police arrived they found the woman lying in the middle of the road with a knife lodged in her side. She was rushed to Mater Dei Hospital where she later lost her life.
A woman who lived close by explained how, when she realised something wrong had happened, she ran outside and saw a nurse tending to Mrs Agius.
The nurse asked her for a piece of cloth, to assist Mrs Agius from losing more blood, and the neighbour ran inside and grabbed a white towel.
"The poor woman had turned pale and was groaning in pain. I've never seen anything like it. She was wearing a white shirt that was covered in blood. Then I noticed the knife, with a grey rubbery handle," the woman said.
As she was stabbed, Mrs Agius dropped her hand bag and shopping bags on the spot where they remained - in a cordoned-off area - until Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna appointed several court experts to assist him during the inquiry.
During compilation of evidence, the victim's sister was said to have told the police that the couple had argued over property.
20 Comments
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Peter Psaila
Jan 10th, 18:37
Zewgt vizjijiet mishutin. Ix xorb qerdu kien u l loghob fallih
J Debrincat
Jan 9th, 18:58
"He then asked for a cigarette and coffee...this did not reflect remorse."
Really?? How does asking for a cigarette and a coffee have anything to do with remorse?
N. Galea
Jan 9th, 16:16
toqod tghid hux... tiltaqa mal persuna il hazina u jiswik hajtek! taqbad tahseb dwar il hajja tigenen
P Bonnici
Jan 9th, 14:06
You cannot compare this murder with the one which happened in Salford Manchester, where an Indian student was shot by a complete stranger in the middle of the night.
Most homicides in Malta are committed for a reason and a large number are committed by relatives of the victim.
So Malta is very safe, until you upset someone badly!
R. Gauci
Jan 9th, 13:06
Meta naqra fuq kazi bhal dawn nibda nistaqsi ghamilniex sewwa li nehhejna l-piena Kapitali.
William Calleja
Jan 9th, 13:22
"the legal system was not one of retribution and the whole point of punishment was reform"
That's why we don't have a death sentence sir. If you feel really strongly about it maybe you should spend some time living in societies where the death sentence is still in force.
Peter Agius
Jan 9th, 13:41
Jien nahseb li ghamilna hazin.
hilary schembri
Jan 9th, 20:30
How would you feel if you or any of your family members were sentenced to death? It is cruel and unjust and sick that some people still believe in this method of punishment!
Karmenu D
Jan 9th, 22:06
The Death Penalty has a brutalizing effect. The more a state executes its inmates, the higher the rate of crimes of violence. For sure it is not a deterrent because no one who contemplates murder will stop and think: "Oh, if I get caught, I will get the DP." There are people on Death Row in California (where I live) that have been waiting for the past 25 years for the appeals, and legal procedures. Imagine the pain and suffering the victim's family has to go through each time there is a court hearing - reliving the past for 25 years. There is never a closure.... the DP leaves two families suffering forever! Are you still for the DP?
Noel Mifsud
Jan 10th, 05:25
Sakemm tkun 100% cert min qalel, tipo dan il kas, ghamilna hazin nehhejnija veru.
Mr Adrian Zahra
Jan 10th, 05:35
we went from one extreme to the other. From death sentences to suspended and laughable sentences, in the hope that people can change. In my opinion criminals should be given one chance may be two, at the third it is a no go you are out of society. AS things are today there is no real motivation to change ones way of life.
Peter Murray
Jan 9th, 12:38
Just happened to have a knife on his person then and now this sob-story to justify such a cruel act to leave his children without a mother.This was a premeditated act and is as unjustifaible as it is callous .Bring back hanging for such murders I say!
Mr phil sam
Jan 9th, 10:55
"He filed the guilty plea before the start of a trial by jury. The trial was suspended to give Mr Agius time to reconsider his plea."
The incident happened July 2009. Surely the accused, has had time enough to concider his plea.
Ciroka Maroka
Jan 9th, 10:10
What is happening in Malta?, murders are every day. Malta is not safe any more. 10 years ago maltese were the most kindly people of the world and now it is like Afganistan uffffffffff
Sean C
Jan 9th, 10:25
'Mrs Agius was stabbed on July 13, 2009 at abut 6 p.m. when she stepped off a bus in Neolithic Temples Street, Tarxien.'- Not a recent event, Malta isnt that bad :)- One of the lowest crime rates in the world and safest (natural) place on earth- google it you would be surprised.
Mr Edward Muscat
Jan 9th, 10:43
Pls spare us this dramaticity. Malta is still one of the safest places on Earth, and this is coming from the mouth of someone who doesn't boast on patriotism on every possible occasion.
Drocan Lubstuit
Jan 9th, 11:06
@ Ciroka Maroka
Please visit this link and visit the statistics on the lower part of the web-page:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/oct/13/homicide-rates-country-murder-data
For your (and other readers') ease of reference, please note that these statistics are featured per 100,000 inhabitants and a summary below shows that:
Luxembourg - 0.4 (best rating on the grid)
UK - 1.6
Malta - 1.7
Afghanistan 5.9
Columbia - 61.1 (worst rating on the grid)
I do hope that the above gives you a better pcture of the scenario and would appreciate very much were you to avoid mud-slinging in the future. Perhaps a little effort towards research would improve your comments hereby.
Paul Preston
Jan 9th, 12:34
With reference to the mentioned Guardian Uk Website by "Drocan Lustuit" in comments below .. The actual figures mentioned in the Guardian Worldwide Murder Survey are based on the year "2004" no doubt in this current pressure pot world we now find ourselves in with more people generally struggling to make ends meet on a virtual everyday basis now due to the worldwide credit crunch/rising energy/fuel costs and seperation/divorce levels increasing all the time in all countries .. No doubt those quoted 2004 figures are now considerably a lot higher in their respective countries as we enter 2012 ?
Jay Oatmon
Jan 9th, 10:09
This is Malta - so we can expect about ten years before we get a result from the courts.
Peter Murray
Jan 9th, 12:43
We all thankfully wont wait that long though for your erudite input!What difference will a result from the courts make to the motherless-and now fatherless- children?The issue surely is about the murderer now attempting to justify his callous and premediated assassination!