Moments before being fatally stabbed, Anthony Borg fired two shots from his handgun, but had to manually reload the weapon to use it the third time, a ballistic expert told a jury head this morning.
Brigadier Calleja, was testifying in the trial by jury of Allan Galea, a 36-year-old monti hawker from Marsaxlokk, accused of murdering Anthony Borg, il-Bona, in February 2010 in Marsaxlokk square following an argument.
The veteran expert was testifying together with Sgt Pierre Attard from the police forensics department and Jesmond Cassar.
From a report compiled by the ballistic expert, it transpired that at least two shots had been fired from the deceased’s chrome-plated Lorcin L25 semi-automatic handgun, which was exhibited in court today.
Two empty cartridge cases and one live round were recovered from the scene, said the brigadier, adding that the weapon was recovered with its empty six-round magazine.
The expert confirmed that the live bullet bore misfiring marks on its casing.
The prosecution asked whether it would be feasible to hit a person with the weapon, at a range of 12 to 15 metres. Brigadier Calleja said it was feasible, but that it largely depended on the person handling the weapon.
Defence lawyer Giannella de Marco reminded the jury that the experts had said that a light mark on the base of the round indicated that the round had been chambered and had either misfired or ejected as the weapon was re-cocked.
“Now, this bullet has a mark from a firing pin strike but had not ignited, which means that the firer had tried to discharge it but the round proved defective and so he ejected it.”
De Marco pointed out that the weapon also had a safety catch, which had to be disengaged before firing, while stressing on the deliberate actions required to fire the weapon.
Cross-examined by Dr de Marco, the Brigadier agreed that the weapon’s short barrel made it slightly less accurate. She also suggested that the shooter’s thick fingers and the stubby barrel all contributed to a lack of accuracy.
Meanwhile the defence raised an objection to certain autopsy photographs being exhibited to the jurors, saying they were gratuitous and irrelevant to the point being proven. The prosecution contested his assertion, saying that the pictures did have relevance to the case and that the defence had not presented a legally valid reason to justify their withdrawal.
The judge remarked that he also felt annoyed by the fact that select photographs had been included. He decreed that he would be compiling a list of the photographs which he did not want the jurors to be shown.
In the afternoon, scene of the crime officers Ivan Camilleri and Sergio Azzopardi said they were shown photos of the wounds on the victim's chest and back. They were also shown pictures of the murder weapon – an all-metal kitchen knife – and the contents of Mr Borg’s wallet, which included a holy picture of Christ and the Pope.
Lawyers Lara Lanfranco and Kristina Debattista from the Attorney General's Office are leading the prosecution, while Dr de Marco, Joe Giglio and Steven Tonna Lowell are defence counsel. Lawyers Franco Debono and Matthew Brincat are appearing parte civile for the family of the deceased.
Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi is presiding.