The unintended victim of a bomb blast broke down in tears yesterday as she described the pain of having her skin burnt to the point that it was falling from her arms.

Tessie Grima, 68, a petite woman with short dark red bob style hair, stood in the dock and told jurors how she thought the bomb was actually a battery when she peered into a grey plastic bag containing the remotely-controlled explosive device.

The bomb exploded in Our Lady of Mercy Street, Żejtun, on June 18, 2005.

Ms Grima survived the blast but her friend, Angela Bondin, was not so lucky and died of severe burns after spending three weeks in intensive care.

She testified in the trial by jury of Ronnie Azzopardi who stands char­ged with murdering Ms Bondin and seriously injuring Ms Grima. He is also accused of the attempted murder of the intended victim, his sister-in-law and three of her children.

It was a quiet summer day, with the village feast just days away when Ms Grima was on the roof of her house with her husband. At one point she spotted a man in a blue car drive down the road and stop opposite her house. He then placed what she thought was a garbage bag on the pavement, near a white car, which later turned out to belong to the intended victim, who cannot be named by court order.

Describing herself as a perfectionist when it came to cleanliness, she recalled that she had remarked to her husband how inappropriate it was for that man to leave the garbage there. He told her to leave the man alone and not pay attention but, very annoyed at what that person had done, she waited for her husband to have his afternoon siesta and then quietly left the house to remove the bag.

She came across Ms Bondin who offered to help her carry the bag but the witness replied she could handle it herself, though she ended dragging it along the street because it was heavy.

She moved the bag to her son’s house still under construction and left it in the garage. That is where the explosion occurred, burning her skin and face. Her hair was on fire, she said. To this day, her right arm still hurt. At the time, skin was falling off her arms.

Ms Grima said she spent about two weeks in hospital. When she was released to attend her son’s wedding, she was practically dressed like a nun because of all the bandages.

Her son, Anthony, said he was working in his aluminium workshop in an adjacent garage when the bomb went off.

He went to see what had happened and found his mother crying and shaking. When he touched her arm, the skin came off.

Mr Grima testified that he took his mother to his sister’s car and drove straight to the hospital, repeatedly sounding the horn and with the hazard lights flashing. Once at the emergency department, the medical staff took over.

The case continues.

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