A man who stands accused of murdering his former wife’s partner six years ago in Pembroke said this morning that the victim had destroyed his family.

Martino Gatt also said that he had never denied killing Louis Ellul.

'I never said I did not kill him,' he said as he was questioning a 14-year-old girl who had been hit by pellets during the shooting.

Gatt is accused of fatally shooting Ellul as he came out of church.

When Mr Justice Mallia drew his attention to what he was saying, Mr Gatt replied: "I am not scared of saying the truth. I never said I did not shoot the man. I am contesting the intention to kill."

Another witness, Walter Busuttil, a cardio-thoracic surgeon, said he was at Mass that day and had stopped at a bazaar close to the church when he saw a family being followed by a man who was carrying something he thought was an umbrella. He said he saw the man calling the other man and as soon as he turned he shot him twice in quick succession.

The witness said he crossed the road with his children and saw the man firing the third shot when the victim was already on the ground. One shot hit him in the neck and another in the back. The third shot hit him in his lower back.

Dr Busuttil said he sent his son to call an ambulance and crossed the road to assist the victim. He tried to stop the blood but did not have equipment. Within three to five minutes the victim died. He had died before the ambulance arrived. 

Earlier in the trial this morning jurors watched on video testimony given by a girl who explained how she had been hit by a pellet in her buttocks. She said she heard the gunshots but did not see who had pulled the trigger. She also confirmed seeing the victim, Louis Ellul, fall to the ground covered in blood.

Mr Gatt, 65, is pleading not guilty to murdering Mr Ellul, the partner of his estranged wife, Joanne Bajada, by shooting him outside the church in Pembroke on December 2, 2007, at about 11.30am. He is also charged with injuring the 14-year-old girl.

The girl explained that Mr Ellul and Ms Bajada and their children had been sitting in front of them during Mass shortly before the shooting.

She said she and her friend were just two metres away from the victim when he was shot and was hit by pellets from the first shot.

Mr Gatt, who is representing himself after refusing a lawyer at the beginning of his trial, alleged that the video of the girl's testimony was different to the one taken during the compilation of evidence. He said the girl had been asked whether her clothes had been damaged and she had replied in the negative.

Mr Justice Michael Mallia, who is presiding over the trial, said this was impossible as there was only one video and the questions were being asked directly by Magistrate Saviour Demicoli.

Lara Lanfranco, from the Attorney General's office, who is leading the prosecution, said she had never heard such allegations in her entire career, saying Mr Gatt was accusing the court of lying too.

Mr Justice Mallia said the video conferencing was done according to law and Mr Gatt had been represented by a lawyer during the testimony and had also asked several questions.

Another witness,  Margaret Spiteri, who is Ms Bajada's aunt, said she usually saw Mr Gatt playing roulette at the casino in St Paul's Bay. She said her niece usually complained that Mr Gatt was violent and was not giving her money to buy food for home.

The witness said that when she found out that her niecehad  started dating Mr Ellul, the victim, she met him to see his intentions. He had told her he was unlucky with his first marriage and wanted to form a family again. She said he was serious about the relationship.