Winston Zahra outside court. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

People leaving comments on social media about the emotional outburst in court of Tony Zahra, the father of teenager Lisa Maria who was found dead at Dingli Cliffs, should try and understand the grief before commenting, her cousin said yesterday.

In a Facebook post, Winston Zahra Jr said that people commenting should put themselves in his uncle’s shoes before giving their opinion about what happened in the court room on Tuesday.

Mr Zahra was referring to how his uncle Tony Zahra lunged at Erin Tanti, the drama teacher accused of killing his daughter, as he testified in the proceedings against Mr Tanti.

Mr Zahra said: “As expected today was another very difficult day for the family. Uncle Tony had to take the stand in court to give evidence in the case where Erin Tanti stands accused of the murder, among other charges, of his beloved daughter Lisa Maria.

“As has been reported in the media there was a point in time where my uncle became quite emotional and asked the questions of Erin Tanti that we have all been asking ourselves since the tragedy happened. My father (Winston Zahra Sr) also reacted when he saw his brother so devastated by the proceedings.

He added: “Incredibly, I have seen some posts in some sections of social media drawing some rather strange conclusions as to what happened today. Obviously everyone is entitled to his opinion, however, I do invite those people to put themselves in my uncle’s shoes before commenting frivolously. Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to any parent. Losing a child in these circumstances is that much worse. If anyone cannot give a father some leeway for an understandable emotional outburst in such a situation then I think it’s a sad reflection of their own lack of compassion.”

On behalf of the family, he thanked everyone who “continues to show unending support to my uncle and the rest of the family during this difficult time.”