A bouncer who witnessed an incident that led to the death of a Sudanese man told jurors he saw a white man hit a black man, who fell and started bleeding from his head.
Jesmond Vella said he was standing just outside Clique, a Paceville club where he worked as a bouncer, when just a few metres away he saw a dark-skinned man talk to two white men.
Suddenly, one of the white men hit the black man.
“He went down like a ton of bricks. Boom. Knockout,” Mr Vella told jurors in the trial of Romanian Antonel Dobre, 29, who is pleading not guilty to seriously injuring Sudanese man Osama Al Shazliay Saleh, 26, known to his friends as Sunshine, on March 17, 2012, at about 6am.
The prosecution is alleging that Mr Dobre punched Mr Saleh in the face, causing him to fall, hit his head and suffer brain haemorrhage that led to his death three days later.
I told him: ‘Why?’ I don’t know what happened then. There was chaos
Testifying before Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi, Mr Vella said that when the three men were talking outside Clique, everything seemed normal. “I saw them talking and, suddenly, a white man hit the black man and he fell on the ground. I told him: ‘Why?’ I don’t know what happened then. There was chaos,” he said, adding he focused on the dark man as the others left. Asked to describe how the victim had been hit, the witness said it had been some time since the incident occurred and he could not recall the details.
Mr Vella confirmed what he had said in his statement to the police three years ago: he saw the white man hit the black man, in a swinging motion, on the right temple.
He heard the sound of the victim being hit and then hitting the ground. He also heard a “fffff sound” and saw blood ooze out of the back of the man’s head.
When Romanian Radu Rica, who was with Mr Dobre, continued testifying he said that when they walked out of the Paceville club Déjà Vu, Mr Saleh had walked in his direction looking angry. Mr Saleh, he added, had earlier elbowed him in the face for no reason.
Bouncers had intervened to stop Mr Saleh outside and Mr Dobre, who was standing on Mr Saleh’s left, pushed him with his left arm.
Mr Dobre’s palm was open and he pushed Mr Saleh from the face, the witness said. Asked to describe whether it was slap, a punch or a push, he said it was more of a push with one hand.
Mr Saleh lost his balance and fell backwards. Mr Rica said he believed Mr Saleh was drunk because of his behaviour.
The trial continues this morning, when the defence will start making its case. Lawyers Kevin Valletta and Nadia Attard, from the Attorney General’s office, are prosecuting.
Lawyer Roberto Montalto is representing Mr Dobre.
Lawyer Larry Formosa is acting as parte civile.
Two fatal injuries
Sudanese Osama Al Shazliay Saleh suffered two fatal injuries to his head, including a brain haemorrhage and a fractured skull, according to court expert Mario Scerri.
Before Dr Scerri started giving details of the injuries, the victim’s girlfriend – who is also the mother of his child – was told she was free to leave the courtroom due to the sensitivity of the matter, which she did.
In his testimony, when he projected images of Mr Saleh’s injuries, Dr Scerri said the victim had a hematoma – internal bruising – on the right of the brain that could have been caused by a powerful blow. This type of injury caused a “catastrophe in the brain” and was fatal.
The major probability was that such a blow would knock someone out instantly. There were no external fractures and this could be because Mr Saleh was hit with the fleshy part of a person’s palm, cushioning the blow and resulting in no external injuries but still leading to an internal haemorrhage.
Mr Saleh also had a large laceration at the back of his head compatible with being hit or with hitting his head. The probability, Dr Scerri said, was that he first suffered the hematoma and then hit his head on the ground. Both injuries were considered life threatening.
He said he examined Mr Saleh on March 17, 2012, and a toxicology report showed his alcohol levels were well below the driving limit. The victim was declared dead on March 20.
Pathologists Ali Safraz and Marie Therese Camilleri Podestá conducted an autopsy on March 22 and concluded that the cause of death was a fractured skull and an internal haemorrhage, caused by a blunt trauma.