A man accused of stabbing two men in a Gozo courtroom ran out of the building unhindered and was only apprehended when he turned himself in at a police station 45 minutes later, a magistrate heard yesterday.
Pasqualino Cefai, 37, walked off after allegedly stabbing Joseph Portelli, 54, of Żebbuġ, and grievously injuring him at around noon on June 6, Police Inspector Bernard Spiteri told a court in Gozo, yesterday.
Almost 45 minutes later, Mr Cefai walked into Victoria police station and was arrested, Insp. Spiteri said during the compilation of evidence against Mr Cefai.
He also said that just after noon, he got a phone call from Magistrate Josette Demicoli who said she “didn’t have good news” as a stabbing had just taken place in her courtroom.
Magistrate Demicoli had been presiding over a civil court case between the two men and ordered Mr Cefai out of the courtroom after he kept interrupting her and making rude remarks. Mr Cefai was angry because the court had seized two of his trucks to be sold off and give Mr Portelli compensation.
He kept repeating that his family’s livelihood depended on these trucks and that he had a wife and two children to feed. He even threatened Mr Portelli, saying he would “pay him back”, Insp. Spiteri said.
Seconds after leaving the courtroom, Mr Cefai charged back in and attacked Mr Portelli, stabbing him repeatedly in a downward motion. “Even after he fell to the floor, Cefai kept on stabbing him,” he said.
Testifying before Magistrate Neville Camilleri, Insp. Spiteri said Mr Portelli was stabbed at least 15 times in his neck and upper body with a 10-centimetre blade.
The pair were “known to the police” and had a number of pending court cases between them.
After being arrested, Mr Cefai was taken to Mount Carmel Hospital where he was examined by a psychiatric expert, who gave the police permission to interrogate him. However, Mr Cefai, who spent the whole sitting hunched forward, looking at the floor, did not answer any questions by the investigating officers. This version of events was corroborated by Dr Kevin Mompalao, Mr Portelli’s lawyer, who said Mr Cefai told him “don’t be funny” (idaħħaqx avukat) while accusing his client “you want me to starve” before he was ordered out.
“I heard the doors bang open again and he started hitting Portelli in his back and neck,” Dr Mompalao said.
Without realising Mr Cefai was using a knife, Dr Mompalao made an attempt to separate the two men but held back when he saw the blade.
“He hit him several times and saw him sink the blade completely in Portelli’s back at least three times.”
At one point, the knife stuck in Mr Portelli’s back and Mr Cefai pulled it out again, Dr Mompalao said.
While stabbing Mr Portelli, who had interlaced his fingers at the back of his neck, Mr Cefai repeatedly said: “You’re going to starve my family to death.”
Mr Cefai moved towards Dr Mompalao, who automatically covered his head with his hand. “Mr Portelli didn’t say a word or fight back – I went out to look for help and ran downstairs without even feeling any pain. I was convinced he was dead.”
On his way back up to the courtroom, Dr Mompalao crossed Mr Cefai as he was running out. “He didn’t say anything or even look at me,” he said.
Mr Cefai is pleading not guilty to slightly injuring Dr Mompalao and causing more than €1,400 worth of damage inside the courtroom.
He was also charged with being in possession of a penknife without a police licence, breaching bail conditions, committing a crime during a suspended sentence and relapsing.
Lawyer Gianluca Caruana Curran and Giannella de Marco appeared for Mr Cefai.