Convicted drug trafficker Mario Camilleri and his 21-year-old son, who were found dead in a Qajjenza field last Wednesday, were asked to go there to dig up “packets of money” that were hidden under a pile of stones, according to Mr Camilleri’s pregnant wife.

The two men’s bodies were found partly buried in a shallow grave at the field in Qajjenza, Birżebbuġa, a few hours after Mona Camilleri reported them missing.

I immediately thought they had been killed, that something had happened

The woman’s brother, Jason Galea from Birżebbuġa, has been charged with their murder. He denies the charges.

Speaking to Times of Malta in the living room of her Ibraġ home, the widow said that, unlike her son Mario Jr, her husband never wanted to be involved in a treasure hunt.

“He kept saying he wanted to stay out of it as he had only come out of jail a year ago, and after all those years he wanted to enjoy time with his family. He even told my son to be careful and not to trust anyone,” Ms Camilleri said.

“They were killed for nothing. Until sometime ago I had two strong men and now I have none.

“My son was fearless. He was so strong… and I don’t mean in the fighting sense… and Mario, after all that time in jail, why?” she asked.

The remains of a foot, which police believe may belong to 27-year-old Matthew Zahra, who went missing in August last year, was also found. DNA tests are under way.

The police believe that Mario Camilleri Sr, who was known as l-Imniehru, was killed in Marsaxlokk while Mario Jr was shot and stabbed 34 times in the field shortly afterwards.

On Friday Ms Camilleri’s 39-year-old brother was charged with both murders and two other people are expected to be charged today.

“My son was very strong. He trained regularly… 34 stab wounds and he didn’t want to die so they killed him with a revolver. On June 17 he turned 21 and a month later, they killed him,” she said.

Police expect to charge two more over murders

Ms Camilleri, 41, had been with her husband since she was 12 years old and they had four children together: Kerstin, Sera, Sabrina and Mario. She is seven months pregnant with their fifth. Mr Camilleri also had another son, Pierre, from a previous relationship.

“I’m expecting a girl. I was originally going to name her after my mother, Antonia, but in these circumstances I’ll name her after the three of them –Maronia,” she said.

She said that last week the father and son were driving in the direction of the field.

But as they approached the location her husband turned back and told them he did not want to get involved.

However, his son was keen to see what was there.

On Wednesday at about 11.30am, her husband left home for a meeting, and Mario Jr was picked up in a car. That was the last time she saw the two men.

A few hours later she tried calling both her son and husband on their phones because she had a bad feeling. But neither of them answered.

“I immediately thought they had been killed… that something had happened,” she said.

Soon afterwards, a man called and she told him she could not get through to them.

“He told me: ‘Get ready. I’m coming to pick you up’,” she said. But when he arrived at her home, at about 3pm, she refused to accompany the man and spoke to him through a metal security gate which she did not open.

She told the man that she would only go with him if her son called her and asked her to pick him up. If she did not hear her son’s voice by 3.30pm she would call the police.

A few hours later she went to the police station and said she had a feeling that her husband and son had been killed. She told them about the field and hidden money.

She even told the police something she had once heard regard-ing the disappearance of Mat-thew Zahra.

At about 1.30am, the police told Ms Camilleri that her husband and son had been found dead in a field.

“I can’t believe that I buried them last Saturday. It was so sudden… I had prepared their suits but their bodies were in a terrible state… Mario’s mother cried so much for losing her only son,” she said.

She said all this had happened after her husband had spent some 15 years in jail – mainly for drug trafficking – and they were rebuilding their lives.

“I was scared they wouldn’t find them and I’d kept wondering where they were... at least, this way, I can visit their graves,” she said.