A man this morning started facing a trial by jury over an attempted burglary that took place eight years ago in Qormi when an elderly woman was beaten.

The man, 25, was 17-years-old when he allegedly broke into the home belonging to Dolores Debono in the afternoon of June 27, 2006. He was with two other men.
He is charged with seriously injuring the woman and the attempted theft.

Ms Debono is now 89-years-old but will most probably not testify in the trial. Her testimony during the compilation of evidence will be used instead, the court heard.

She had told police that three men had entered her house and while one restrained her, the others searched the property. At one point, the person who was restraining her dragged her along the ground, injuring her.

The police arrested a few people and the woman pointed at the accused during an identification parade as he was the only one who was only wearing a baseball cap while the other two had their faces covered.

The woman was certified to have suffered fractures to her toes during the attempted theft.

Lawyers Giannella Busuttil and Nadia Attard are prosecuting on behalf of the Attorney General’s Office while lawyer Leslie Cuschieri is defence counsel.

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