The compilation of evidence against Erin Tanti, the drama teacher accused of the murder of his student Lisa Maria Zahra, 15, continued this morning.

The court heard that he told police he did not kill Lisa Maria Zahra and that he loved her but planned to end their relationship.

Police Inspector Josric Mifsud said Mr Tanti chose not to reply to police’s questions when he was asked to release two statements.

However, in a third statement taken hours before he was charged in court, Mr Tanti said he loved Ms Zahra but he planned to end the relationship.

Mr Tanti, who is pleading not guilty, also told police he did not kill her.

 

Read the proceedings below (in reverse order).

12.13am: The case continues on April 28 when the court is expected to decide whether there is enough evidence for Mr Tanti to be indicted.

12.08am: Constable Kimberly Cachia gives an overview of vice squad involvement.

Sergeant Alexander Schembri from the Valletta police station said police entered Mr Tanti's Valletta apartment using a ladder and with the assistance of the CPD.

12.02pm: The lawyer asks if Erin was under the influence of morphine when the police spoke to him in ITU. The inspector says he had the doctors' go-ahead.

The lawyer asks how the police did not find it odd that a man who wanted to escape the country, was found in a situation where he had broken ribs.

"Didn't you find it odd that a person who wants to escape arrest, hurts himself?" the lawyer asks adding that the inspector was having a lot of "subjective interpretations".

The inspector says that the magisterial inquiry looked into the details that included the type of injuries Erin had.

The inspector said that when they spoke to Erin in ITU they knew he had broken bones.

11.55am: Lawyer is asking about the "love letter". The inspector said he interpreted it to be a love letter.

The lawyer is insisting it is not a love letter. The inspector replies "points of view".

11.49am: The tickets found in Tanti's passport were old tickets, he said.

Now the lawyer is asking about the psychiatrist's approval to speak to Erin.

The inspector said they first spoke to Erin in ITU after speaking to a doctor. After they spoke to him in ITU they consulted with the inquiring magistrate and then informed him he was under arrest.

He said he was present during the last statement released by Erin - just before his arraignment.

The lawyer is asking if he heard Erin say: "I didn't kill her".

The inspector said that he did hear him say that.

Lawyer retaliates: "Why didn't you mention this today?"

11.44am: "I opened Lisa Maria's Gmail and saw those particular messages... I think it was Easyjet and I clicked on it," he said.

11.43am: Again, the inspector says, there was an email from Caroline Tanti regarding flight tickets. He was searching for anything that could shed light on where Lisa Maria was. He did not know how long he spent looking through the computer. He did not recall exactly how long the search took.

Dr Sciriha is pressing him about the content of the desk top search.

11.40am: All the mother told him was that Erin called her to tell her he loved her, Inspector Mifsud said. He added that a two-liner note was found in Erin's house telling his mother "this is not your fault".

Dr Sciriha is asking about the search at Lisa's house.

11.38am: Mr Tanti's lawyer, Michael Sciriha, is asking questions. He said that when the police spoke to Mr Tanti's mother no notes were taken since she was not being interrogated at that stage. The police were just trying to find the missing teenager.

Dr Sciriha is pointing out that the testimony of Inspector Sylvana Briffa differed from Inspector Mifsud's testimony when they spoke about the part where they spoke to Erin's mother.

Inspector Mifsud replies that he is testifying the truth according to what he heard when he was present.

Dr Sciriha is asking more about his conversation with Erin's mother.

11.34am: Inspector Mifsud said that on finding Mr Tanti's passport missing he suspected the couple might have left the island. However, Lisa's passport was found at her house.

11.31am: The lawyer quoted parts of the police report that notes that, when the police searched his home, they found that several items that were of sentimental value to Mr Tanti were missing.

A love letter from a Danish girl was found in his car.

11.27am: The inspector says Mr Tanti had never told the police, except for the last comments, that he had a relationship with Lisa Maria. But the police had photos to prove this. These included photos of the couple undressed in Lisa Maria's room.

During questioning he insisted he never had sex with her. But underwear found in her room had traces of what looked like semen.

11.24am: On April 3, a final statement was taken shortly before he was charged in court. Suddenly he said he was willing to show the police where it all happened. He said he jumped from the same spot from where Lisa jumped but they jumped from different angles.

He said he loved Lisa Maria.

He said he had taken the passports and other items because he was going to end the relationship.

Erin was then arraigned in court.

Inspector Josric Mifsud is now being cross examined by Giannella de Marco, representing the Zahras.

11.21am: On March 21 in the morning an autopsy showed that Lisa's cause of death was death by trauma. She had dislocated joints and head fractures.

Police went to hospital to speak to Tanti but he said he was not feeling well so they left.

On March 23, police went to Mount Carmel Hospital so that an expert took a DNA swab for comparison purposes.

On April 1, Mr Tanti was released from Mount Carmel Hospital and was arrested. He was cautioned and released two statements.

During the statements, police spoke to him about all they found but he chose not to reply.

On April 2, the second statement was taken and he did not reply.

11.19am: He regained consciousness. His leg was "crooked" and he was under lots of pain but he managed to walk to the area where he was found. It took him 12 hours.

A psychiatrist examined Tanti and issued a certificate on March 20 saying that he could be questioned by police.

11.17am: There were also several handwritten notes inside the car.

Inspector Mifsud was informed that Tanti was at the ITU. The officers went to speak to him and he said he was willing to speak.

He said he met Lisa at about 11pm and went to Dingli. There they took aspirin he had bought from a Valletta pharmacy as well as whisky.

After taking pills and whisky in the car they got out of the car. He said Lisa wanted to jump and called him a "pussy" for hesitating. She counted to three and jumped. He saw her hit the bottom. He then jumped.

11.13am: Inside they found a large paper bag. Inside there was an envelope in which there were four cheques addressed to Tanti. €2,470 in cash were also found. Aspirin was also found in the car.

Police also found two mobile phones in the car's central console. Inside the car there was also an open whisky bottle.

11.11am: When the officer went on site he found that a brown jacket had been found near her body. Inside were car keys, Mr Tanti's passport and Virtu Ferries tickets.

Using the keys police opened a car found on the scene. The officer searched the car.

11.10am: It also turned out that a dead person was found on a tree. Their bodies were airlifted.

11.09am: There they found a black book with poems and a towel with traces of blood. The sheets were taken by police as was a digital camera. In a small tin found in her room there was tobacco and what they suspected to be cannabis resin. On a computer where was an e-mail from Caroline Tanti with flight tickets for the beginning of March.

The officer says he asked for assistance from the ports and carriers to find out more about the tickets.

At about 4.30pm he was informed that a person was spotted at Dingli Cliffs, on a rock, waiting for assistance. Rabat police went on site as did the CPD and AFM.

11.06am: Police took a laptop computer. James Muscat pointed out that €3,000 that were usually kept in a tin were missing. This was money from their joint business.

The officer then went to Lisa's house and searched her room.

11.05am: Caroline Tanti went along during the search. CPD were called in to open the Valletta apartment where Erin lived alone.

11.04am: Caroline Tanti said she and Erin's father had just separated and she felt Erin needed support and was in contact with Appogg.

A friend of Erin, James Muscat, showed the police where Erin lived in Valletta.

11.03am: He exhibits the logs in court. He was informed that at about 11pm the two phones were switched off. Police tried to reach the phones but did not manage.

Police called Tanti's mother, Caroline, to the Naxxar police station. She last spoke to Erin the night before and he called her to tell her he loved her. She thought it was odd but he was calm.

11.01am: On March 19 in the morning he was informed that a girl was missing and she was probably with a certain Erin Tanti. Her brother then told the police that a suicide note was found in her room.

Mr Mifsud asked for the call logs from the mobile numbers of Mr Tanti and Ms Zahra.

10.58am: Dr Sciriha says that his client never wore a watch. He is asking whether the sergeant made a mistake when he testified, yesterday, that Mr Tanti was wearing a watch and told him the exact timings including when he jumped.

The sergeant says he is not sure if Mr Tanti wore a watch but, when he spoke to him on the day of the rescue, Mr Tanti told him that he and Lisa arrived in Dingli at 11pm, they jumped at 3am and he came to his senses at the bottom of the cliff at 4am.

Inspector Josric Mifsud speaks.

10.56am: Erin Tanti walks in - again accompanied by a nurse. PS Konrad Debattista takes the stand. He is continuing his testimony from yesterday. Michael Sciriha, Mr Tanti's lawyer, is cross examining.

10.51am: Mr Tanti's father is sitting in the dock - waiting for his son to be brought into the court room.

10.47am: Magistrate Audrey Demicoli, who is presiding over the trial, does not like people just standing around in the court room so some students gave their seats to relatives.

10.45am: Lawyers and prosecution arrive in the court room for the third sitting in the compilation of evidence against Mr Tanti. There are several law students in the courtroom apart from a strong media presence. Relatives are also walking into the room.

The compilation of evidence started on Monday and continued yesterday.