Margaret Mifsud, the lawyer found dead in her car three years ago, could have been killed by the huge pressure exerted by somebody sitting on her chest while she was lying down on the driver’s seat, two pathologists told a jury this morning.

Dr Ali Safraz and Prof. Marie Therese Camilleri Podesta were testifying in the trial by jury of Nizar El Gadi, 36, who is accused of killing his estranged wife Margaret Mifsud. The victim was found dead in her car at Qalet Marku, in Baħar ic-Caghaq on April 19, 2012.

Prof. Camilleri Podesta testified that the victim had suffered internal bruising in her lower left lung, which indicated she had died of traumatic asphyxiation. She noted that her cruel death had been caused by huge external pressure on her chest.

She noted that the victim had been found with blood trickling from her nose into her eye, even though she was found in an upright sitting position in the drivers’ seat.

“It would have been impossible for this to happen unless she was lying in a horizontal position when she died,” she noted.

During cross examination, Dr Safraz said that the death could have been caused by someone sitting on the victim’s chest for a duration of time between three to five minutes.

The defence, led by lawyer Martin Testaferrata Moroni Viani, repeatedly questioned how somebody could have been killed in such manner when no visible external marks on the victim’s body had been found. He also questioned why there were no signs that the victim had resisted the aggressor.

He excluded that this scar could have been caused before the murder

Dr Safraz noted that such thing was possible as the lung had been pressed against the posterior wall of the rib cage and hence the internal bruising. He also excluded that this scar could have been caused before the murder, as  otherwise the victim would not have been able to drive.

However, he reiterated there were no signs that the victim had tried to resist the aggressor. Prof. Camilleri Podesta pointed out that victim’s relatively young age meant that her bone structure was still flexible enough to sustain a certain degree of pressure. Hence no fractured ribs were found during the autopsy.

Still not satisfied with the explanation, Dr Moroni Viani asked both pathologists to demonstrate in practice the dynamics behind this kind of death. Faced by this impromptu request, Judge Antonio Mizzi instructed one of the court ushers to lie down on a table, among some audible giggles of those present which broke the tension in the court room. The pathologists than made a brief demonstration, to highlight the fact that anybody sitting on the ushers chest could have cause his death, if he had remained in that position for sufficient time.

The victim's mother, Theresa Mifsud was next to take the stand.  She testified that the night before just as her daughter left their home, she had confided to her that she feared something was going to happen to her. The mother added that she reassured her daughter nothing would happen to her but she was found dead the following day.

Mrs Mifsud told the jury that her daughter’s concerns were related to the fact that the accused some three weeks before had allegedly tried to strangle her. Subsequently he had been harassing his estranged wife, the witness added.

During the afternoon session, forensic expert Mario Scerri took the stand. He said that the cause of death had been traumatic asphyxia, but no evidence of gagging was found. The victim had not resisted the aggressor even though she was perfectly conscious as according to toxicological tests she had not consumed neither alcohol nor prohibited substances on the night.

“It seems as though she was familiar and trusted the aggressor. Which woman would allow a man to sit on her in the tight surroundings of a car,” he asked the jury.

The forensic expert noted that from tests carried out in the UK, it transpired that the victim at no time had exited the car when she was on the scene of the crime.

He also excluded that her body had been transported from elsewhere saying that there was sufficient evidence to show that she had been killed on the spot sometime between 1.30am and 3am. In addition, the killer had accompanied her in the car as there were no traces of dust from the surroundings inside the vehicle.

Under cross examination, Dr Scerri excluded this could have been an accident or a romantic misadventure as any person of good will would have immediately stopped any activity which would pose a serious hazard to the lawyer’s life.
The trial which is now in the second week continues tomorrow morning, when an onsite inspection will be held at various locations related to her final whereabouts before she was killed.

Assistant Attorney General Philip Galea Farrugia and Giannella Busuttil are leading the prosecution whereas Kathleen Grima and Arthur Azzopardi are appearing parte civile on behalf of the victim’s family.