Pembroke murder victim Louis Ellul died from a lack of blood in his circulatory system, caused by gunshot wounds, forensic experts Marie Therese Camilleri Poesta and Ali Salfraz said in court this afternoon.

Testifying in the trial by jury of Martino Gatt, who stands charged with the murder of Mr Ellul, his wife's former partner in December 2007, the two experts said Mr Ellul had seven pellets in the chest wall that could be felt under the skin. There were also several pellet wounds on the heart and its vessels. This alone was enough to kill a man, they said.

They said there were pellets in the stomach wall and the spleen and part of his lungs disintegrated and his pelvis bone was shattered. Mr Ellul had fractured ribs on the left hand side and some parts of the ribs were missing.

But the most fatal wound was the one in his back as it led to injuries in the lungs and heart.

Forensic expert Mario Scerri, who was appointed to examine the body, described in detail the way it was positioned on the ground in Pembroke when he arrived on the scene.

A white towel had been placed under the head that was soaked in blood from a neck wound and another blue towel was near the body. A cloth bag was positioned above the back wound.

A more detailed examination of the body revealed that the neck wound was 20 centimetres long and no pellets had entered the body from it. The victim also had a gunshot wound, measuring 5.2 by 3.7 centimetres, on the left lower side of his back. Another wound, measuring 4.2 by 2.5 centimetres was close to the anus.

Dr Scerri said x-rays showed a "a cloud of pellets" inside the chest and abdominal region that entered from the two wounds. In both cases the wad - an internal part of the cartridge - was found inside the body suggesting that the shots were at close range. The pellets remained inside the body and some, that entered the body through the back wound were visible from the front part of body.

This morning, ballistic experts Brigadier Maurice Calleja and Police Sergeant Jonathan Attard said the victim was shot at close range in his anus probably when he was lying face down after he was shot twice.

"It seemed that the shooter put the gun close and fired. He probably shot him while he was lying face down," Mr Calleja said adding that a spent cartridge was found near the wound.

They said the murder weapon was a semi-automatic shotgun and three shots were fired from about a metre or a metre-and-a-half away from the victim.

Tests showed that the three cartridges found on the scene of the crime were fired from the weapon given to them for analysis - which was the gun seized by the police from the accused's rental car a few hours after the murder.

Police Inspector Stephen Mallia, the officer who arrested Mr Gatt near the Siggiewi parish church, said he had cautioned Mr Gatt and told him he was being arrested for a murder in Pembroke.  He said Mr Gatt told him: "What would you do? He wrecked my family."

He said the accused had wanted to speak and looked relieved to be speaking as they drove from Siggiewi to the police headquarters in Floriana.

Earlier Police Constables Jeffrey Abela and Lawrence Scalpello recounted how that had found Mr Gatt in Siggiewi a few hours after the fatal shooting took place,

While on patrol in the Siggiewi area they were informed that there had been a murder in Pembroke and that the suspect may be in the area.

When they arrived near the parish church they saw a man who fit the description given to them. One of the constables got out of the police car and asked Mr Gatt to identify himself.

He said his name was "Mar bil fjuri" (he went with flowers). Mr Gatt then reached for the back door handle of the police car and said: "Didn't you come for me?"

He did not get into the police car, however. The officers contacted CID officers and Mr Gatt was arrested.

The constables were giving evidence on the second day of Mr Gatt's trial by jury.

As Mr Gatt, who is defending himself, cross examined the witnesses, he explained that he had told them his name was "Mar bil frott" (he went with fruit) because he was giving them a clue to his name - Martin - which when broken down into syllables Mar-tin and translated into Maltese meant "he went" and "figs", which was a fruit.

A retired police inspector, Carlo Ellul, described how he went to the murder scene and fund the victim, Louis Ellul on the ground with an impressive wound in his lower back - "there was a gaping hole, his trousers were torn and blood was streaming out of him and onto the road.

"I was impressed by the wound... I get goose bumps just remembering the scene," he said.

Mr Ellul told the court that on the day, Ms Bajada "looked like Our Lady of Sorrows".

Her young daughter was lying on a blanket provided for her and was surrounded by people while her son looked more composed.

Ms  Bajada told him that her husband had shot Ellul and then told her it was her fault, the retired inspector said.

Joanne Bajada, the victim's partner and ex-wife of the accused, will not be testifying as the law does not allow a spouse to testify against another spouse unless she would have been the victim.

The court did not allow her statement to be read out in court as that would be indirect testimony.

The case continues.