Jurors yesterday acquitted Pasqualino Cefai of trying to murder a man after stabbing him 14 times inside a court room in full view of a magistrate. The jurors, however, found him guilty of causing serious injury.

The trial, which began on Monday, was characterised by graphic testimony which showed how Mr Cefai had stabbed Joseph Portelli repeatedly inside a Gozo court room on June 6, 2012.

The attack happened during a case where Mr Cefai was trying to block Mr Portelli from executing a warrant of seizure on two trucks as compensation for money owed to him by Mr Cefai. Taking the witness stand, Mr Portelli’s lawyer, Kevin Mompalao, had explained how on the day, Mr Cefai, towards the end of the case, began making comments and accusing his client of trying to starve his family by taking the trucks.

Magistrate Josette Demicoli ordered him out of the court room but seconds later he returned and attacked Mr Portelli, 57, of Żebbuġ, who collapsed on to the floor. He said he saw the knife sink into his client’s back multiple times. At one point, Mr Cefai’s hand slipped off the handle of the knife leaving it embedded in his client.

Following seven-and-a-half hours of deliberation, the jurors returned yesterday finding him guilty by six votes to three of causing serious injury and by the same vote count not guilty of trying to murder him.

They also found him guilty by eight votes to one of causing slight injury to Dr Mompalao who was injured in the attack. He was also found guilty of relapsing and committing the crime during the operative period of a suspended jail term.

Defence lawyers Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo asked Mr Justice Michael Mallia to allow two witnesses, psychiatrist Anton Grech and their client’s mother, to testify before sentencing is handed down.

The judge deferred the case for Monday morning for the testimony to be heard.