A judge yesterday ruled that the child of a man who was murdered in Paceville in 2012 can inherit from his father, despite being born after the man was killed.

Mr Justice Wenzu Mintoff also ruled that the victim’s unmarried long-time partner was entitled to sue the perpetrator for damages.

He was delivering judgment in an action filed by Marta Kaczmarek, in her own name and on behalf of her child, against Antonel Dobre, who was jailed for seven years for killing Al Shazliay Saleh Osama, the boy’s father.

Ms Kaczmarek told the court that she had lived with Mr Osama and that she was pregnant with his child when he died as a result of injuries he sustained at the hands of Mr Dobre in March 2012.

The child was born six months later and since his natural father had died, he was registered as being born of an unknown father. This status was changed following a court case filed by his mother, as a result of which, in October of last year, the court ruled that the child’s father was Mr Osama.

Ms Kaczmarek claimed that Mr Dobre was solely responsible for Mr Osama’s death and as a result of the death, both she and her child had suffered damages.

She requested that the court order Mr Dobre to compensate her.

Mr Dobre submitted that the action filed by Ms Kaczmarek was invalid, as neither she nor her child were entitled to any part of Mr Osama’s succession.

But in his judgment, Mr Justice Mintoff said that since Mr Osama had died without making a will, his inheritance would be passed onto his children.

Mr Justice Mintoff added that Ms Kaczmarek, though not Mr Osama’s heir, was also entitled to sue for damages. The couple had cohabited and had a long and stable relationship. It was therefore possible that Ms Kaczmarek has suffered a financial loss as a result of her partner’s demise.