A frail-looking, 68-year-old man was yesterday charged with the attempted murder of his sister-in-law who he allegedly stabbed in the back during a domestic argument on Monday afternoon. Edgar Zarb, from Marsa, pleaded not guilty to stabbing Evelyn Zarb twice. Police Inspector Anthony Portelli said the accused had an alcohol problem, adding it would be best if he was referred to the Mount Carmel Psychiatric Hospital until the first sitting. Legal aid lawyer Noel Bartolo pointed out that although the first charge was for attempted murder the second was for ­causing slight injury, which was in itself a contradiction.

Requesting bail for his client, the lawyer noted the injuries were not life-threatening.

Magistrate Edwina Grima remanded the man in custody at Mount Carmel Hospital’s ­forensic unit until he could be properly assessed.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.