The trial of a man accused of fatally shooting businessman Vittorio Cassone during a hold-up at the Chef Italy food outlet 23 years ago argued in final submissions today that the case was characterised by uncertainty.
No one had clearly identified the accused without any shadow of doubt and there was no DNA evidence linking the accused to the scene of the crime, lawyer Franco Debono said.
The accused cannot be named because he was a minor at the time.
Dr Debono said none of the witnesses agreed on the time when the murder took place, or on the duration of the ordeal. If none of them could determine these facts, this showed they were in a state of panic.
When faced with an armed aggressor, a victim was more likely to focus on the weapon rather than the face of his aggressor, Dr Debono said. In this case no DNA tests were carried out to link the accused to the scene of crime.
The defence lawyer devoted most of the five-hour long sitting to analysing the testimony of Silvano D'Agostini, a chef at Chef Italy and one of the main witnesses summoned by the prosecution.
He described the witness as a "bully", a "liar" and of temperamental behavior.
Another witness, Rosemary Suda had recalled that the aggressor had been wearing clear tights over his face, which however distorted the features so much that she could not see him clearly.
Mr D'Agostini had also declared that he had handed over the money from the cash register to the aggressor, a fact contradicted by other witnesses.
Ms Suda, the customer who had witnessed the incident, had explained that when the aggressor burst into the shop there were only two people behind the counter, the victim and Mr Comandini.
Moreover, when Mr D'Agostini stated in court that he thought the hold-up was a prank, why did he then run to the kitchen to get two knives?
He questioned the credibility of the man since he had also been called to testify in civil proceedings for damages instituted by the victim's wife.
Unlike Mr D'Agostini, Ms Suda was a credible witness. During the hold-up she was closest to the aggressor and yet she could not identify the accused.
In the identification parade she had pointed out three men and in court she could not identify the accused.
The validity of the inquiry was also cast in doubt by the defence counsel.
Why was Victor Testa, another suspect who had been tested by the forensic investigators, never included in the identification parade?
No DNA tests had ever linked the accused to the scene of crime, Dr Debono said. Was the inquiry reopened years later just because a homicide squad had been set up to investigate cold cases? Throughout the proceedings there was never a single witness who was absolutely certain of the identity of the accused.
Mr Comandini had identified Jason Galea as the aggressor on different occasions.
The jurors were asked to note that Mr Galea was the tallest person in the identification parade, whereas the accused was the shortest.
Lawyers Kevin Valletta and Ann Marie Cutajar are prosecuting. Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri are counsel to the accused.