Two pathologists who carried out an autopsy on a woman’s corpse said she had suffered a “brutal death”, bleeding to death as a result of 12 stab wounds, with at least four penetrating the bone and one actually fracturing her rib.
Forensic pathologist Ali Salfraz and consultant histopathology James Degaetano said the autopsy concluded that the cause of Maria Stella Magrin’s death was a ruptured lung and loss of blood after having “bled profusely”.
The 68-year-old was found lying in a pool of blood beneath a wooden altar in her house in Cospicua after being stabbed in the back.
The murder took place on October 29, 1986, as she wrestled with the men who robbed the equivalent of €14,000 in cash. Only one of the accused – Saviour Mangion, 47, from Żejtun – is still alive today. Another, Oswaldo Spiteri, committed suicide shortly after being arrested over the murder and his uncle, Leli Spiteri, died while the investigations were dormant.
Mr Mangion, who is pleading not guilty to killing Ms Magrin, is serving life for the murder of Rosina Zammit, 54, in Safi in 1984 and was jailed for 21 years for the murder of Francis Caruana in 1998. He stabbed both victims repeatedly.
The police had no leads in the investigation until Mr Mangion and Oswaldo Spiteri were arrested in 2005.
Dr Salfraz explained in court that, unless immediately treated, a ruptured lung would lead to death within a few minutes.
Replying to a question by one of the jurors, Dr Salfraz said an examination of the wounds could not determine the height of the aggressor.
Earlier, two former police sergeants who at the time were stationed at the forensic department, said that the fingerprints found were not enough to return conclusive results. The indications were that the intruders did not have bare hands, though it could not be determined whether they were using gloves.
Addressing jurors, defence lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace said that, contrary to what had been claimed by the prosecution – that this was an easy case – he believed it was a very difficult case because there was no concrete evidence linking the accused to the gruesome murder. He said the statement, in which his client admitted his involvement with the police, was taken without his client having access to a lawyer.
Even the statement by Oswaldo Spiteri, who said Mr Mangion was with him, was taken in the absence of a lawyer.
Prosecutor Nadine Sant insisted that “the best form of defence is attack” and this was what the defence had done by attacking the prosecution and the police investigations rather than come up with a more credible line of defence. She said the evidence all pointed to the accused as the person who killed Ms Magrin “capriciously”.
The case continues.