The former partner of a woman murdered in San Ġwann last September today told a court of how he had once been physically threatened by the man accused of murdering her. 

Moses Bafoe, a former partner of victim Caroline Magri and the father of two of her children, told a court that he had once caught sight of Ms Magri and Djibril Ganiou, who stands accused of her murder, inside a car in Swatar.

Ms Magri was found murdered inside her San Ġwann flat last September. She had been stabbed multiple times.

The witness recalled that an argument had broken out and that Mr Ganiou had threatened him by holding a knife against his neck. Some eyewitness had called the police who had intervened, but the accused had not been arraigned, the witness concluded.

Mr Bafoe told a court presided by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit that he had been in a relationship with Caroline Magri for some 8 years and recalled that 2 years before the murder, the victim had brought Djibril Ganiou, the man charged with the murder, to her apartment.

Ms Magri had allegedly broken off her relationship with Mr Bafoe and consequently, their two children had been entrusted to Appoġġ, the court was told. Mr Bafoe said that he and Ms Magri had reconciled some three months before her murder, and that he had moved back into her flat in San Gwann.

On the eve of the murder, Mr Bafoe had slept at the flat but Ms Magri had not spent the night there, the court heard. On the morning of that fateful day, the witness recalled having left for work at around 6.30am. Upon his return at 4.30pm, entering the flat from a back door which led into the bedroom, he had found the woman in bed. Since the room was rather dark, he thought that she was asleep but soon realised that she was dead.

Taking the house keys from the sofa and not touching anything else, the witness walked to the nearest police station to file a report.

Mr Bafoe declared that the victim had on earlier occasions, showed him certain marks on her wrist, similar to markings caused by a rope. Asked by the defence whether such marks could have been connected to sexual play, the witness replied that he did not know. However, he stated that the victim used to see other men.

On one previous occasion, Ms Magri had turned up at the Ħamrun police station suffering slight injuries and had filed a report against the accused, another witness explained.

The police officer who had been present when this report was filed told the court that Ms Magri had alleged that she was receiving SMS from her ex, who was threatening to kill her and then commit suicide. When the man, Mr Ganiou, had been arraigned the victim had forgiven him and dropped the charges.

Inspector Keith Arnaud prosecuted. Lawyer Joe Ellis was legal aid.