A jury will have to decide whether certain charges related to a 1988 murder are time-barred, a judge ruled yesterday.

Carmel Camilleri, who was arraigned in April 2006 for the murder of 68-year-old Baron Francis Sant Cassia, claimed three charges filed by the Attorney General should be dropped because more than 21 years had passed since the incident.

Mr Camilleri argued that the charges of possession of a shotgun and ammunition without a licence and firing the weapon in an inhabited area should be dropped because these were time-barred by five years.

The Attorney General countered that the time-limit on a charge started running when the police identified the suspect, which in this case happened in 2004.

Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono decided it was up to the jury to decide when Mr Camilleri was known to the police and whether the charges were still valid.

In 2004, police investigations led them to arraign Mr Camilleri as the main suspect in the murder that took place outside the baron's house, Castello Zammittello in Mġarr, on October 27, 1988. They believe that he hid behind a rubble wall while waiting for the baron to come out of his home. Baron Sant Cassia died on the spot from a single gunshot to his head.

He was found lying in a pool of blood outside his residence, his car was open and his keys were on the ground. There were pellets on the car. After being refused bail several times, Mr Camilleri, of Mosta, was granted bail against a deposit of €27,906.