A jockey who stands charged with murdering his former girlfriend in Żebbiegħ was yesterday granted bail on his ninth attempt after having been in prison for the past 20 months.

Kenneth Gafà, 38, of Marsa, was given bail against a deposit of €15,000 and a personal guarantee of €25,000.

For crimes liable for punishments of nine years or more, the custody limit is set at 20 months, after which the law obliges the court to grant bail.

In the short sitting yesterday, Magistrate Anthony Vella handed down the bail decree and Mr Gafà was led away by an escorting prison guard.

Until the time of writing he had not yet paid the bail deposit required to be allowed out of prison.

On December 12, 2010, Mr Gafà was charged with the murder of Christina Sammut. He is alleged to have shot her the previous evening as she sat in her Peugeot Berlingo van waiting to meet another man.

Police Inspector Chris Pullicino has already testified in court that Mr Gafà turned himself in at the Ħamrun police station and admitted he was responsible for what happened at Żebbiegħ.

Mrs Sammut, who was a widow with a 15-year-old daughter, had a troubled one-year relationship with Mr Gafà, especially towards the end of it. Both had filed police reports against each other in the weeks leading up to the murder.

Lawyers Emanuel Mallia and Arthur Azzopardi appeared parte civile on behalf of the family.

Lawyers Steve Tonna Lowell, Gianluca Caruana Curran, Gianella Caruana Curran and Joseph Giglio appeared for the accused.