A Libyan man who is standing trial for the murder of his former wife wrote to his children shortly after he was arrested, telling them that he loved their mother so much that he was pondering suicide.

The man, Nizar El Gadi, 36, is accused of murdering lawyer Margaret Mifsud who was found asphyxiated in her car at Qalet Marku in Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq on April 19, 2012.

The contents of the letter was read out by Inspector Keith Arnaud during the second day of his trial by jury.

In his letter Mr El Gadi told his children that whoever was telling them that he had killed their mother was a liar, and was doing so as he wanted to see them apart. He urged them not to believe such accusations.

“You remember when you saw me and your mum kiss each other at Pizza Hut? If I commit suicide it is because I love your mother very much,” Mr El Gadi wrote.

The accused was referring to the day before the murder, when they had gone out as a family for a snack.

Yesterday, it emerged that on that particular occasion a family photo had been taken on Mr El Gadi’s insistence. The court had also heard that Dr Mifsud had made it clear she was just posing for the photo for the sake of the children, as their relationship had gone sour.

Three weeks before, she had filed a police report saying that her former husband had tried to strangle her. Subsequently she complained that he had been harassing her.

On one occasion he had appeared out of nowhere and forced his way into her car when she was picking up the children after ballet lessons. The accused had then seized the opportunity to invite the children for lunch at their favourite pizza outlet. 

Jurors this morning also head how details of an alleged attempted strangling  on March 24, 2012. A document penned by Dr Mifsud was found during a search in her bedroom.

Inspector Arnaud testified that the document also included excerpts which confirmed that the accused had told her that he could carry out the perfect murder without leaving a trace of evidence. 

The court this morning also heard how, the mobile tracking device of the accused showed that he did not say the truth on his whereabouts on the night of the murder. Although he told the police he was in Buġibba, it emerged he was in Xemxija, where Dr Mifsud was having dinner with her colleagues.

He then told the police that he had wanted to refuel his car in Buġibba but another vehicle drove too close to him and he ended up in Xemxija since he could not make a sudden right-turn.

He also told the police he had met a Russian woman near Pender Gardens in Paceville and then drove up to Buġibba.

“El-Gadi said that while in Buġibba, he told the girl that he wanted to take a CV to a restaurant,” Inspector Arnaud said. 

Inspector Arnaud said the accused had been asked to outline the route taken to Buġibba, so as to verify with any CCTV footage. Massive discrepancies had emerged during  this exercise.

During the afternoon session, Inspector Keith Arnaud presented various reports compiled by court-appointed experts which highlighted the accused's whereabouts on the night of the murder.

The accused had told the police that on that night, he had driven till the Xemxija roundabout at the bottom of the St Paul’s Bay bypass, in the company of a foreign woman he had just met in Paceville. According to his version of events he had then turned back to refuel the car from Fenech Service Station in St Paul’s Bay.

Meanwhile, the victim was out for dinner with her work colleagues on the other side of the bay at Xemxija, but never made it back home as she was killed sometime later.

Evidence presented in court showed that a number of Wi-Fi hot spots within 30 metres of the restaurant had picked the signal from Mr El Gadi’s phone. This contradicted his claim that he had not been closely shadowing the victim.

In addition, no fuel sales amounting to €10 had been issued from a particular pump at the aforementioned station on that night.

Mr El Gadi had also told the police that he had sex with the victim at 8pm, in her car in Birkirkara, just before she went out for dinner. Inspector Arnaud told the jury that from the call profile of Mr El Gadi’s mobile it transpired that he was not near her house at least till 7.43pm, as his mobile was still traced in St Julian’s.

From an examination of the defendant’s Blackberry phone it also transpired that on the eve of her murder, the victim had sent him numerous text messages, warning him to stay away from her as he was breaking the law.

On his part, the accused begged her to give him another chance, after she had reported him to the police for allegedly trying to strangle her three weeks before.

Lawyer Martin Testaferrata Moroni Viani is defending the accused. Judge Antonio Mizzi is presiding over the case.

Lawyers Philip Galea Farrugia and Giannella Busuttil from the Attorney General’s Office are leading the prosecution.

Drs Kathleen Grima and Arthur Azzopardi are appearing parte civile on behalf of the family of the victim.