A Serbian woman who shot video of two elderly British men as they wasted away inside her Buġibba apartment has been jailed for five and a half years. 

Dragana Mijalkovic, 45, had become the subject of a criminal investigation when 78-year-old Neville Ayers had been found dead inside her flat, merely months after another man, 67-year-old David Grant, had been discovered under similar circumstances, both men bearing visible signs of neglect.

Dragana Mijalkovic

Ever since her arraignment back in 2016 over charges of having caused her victims unjustifiable physical and mental suffering to the extent of placing their lives in jeopardy, Ms Mijalkovic was detained under preventive arrest, never being granted bail.

Criminal proceedings drew to an end on Tuesday with the delivery of a 63-page judgment delivered by magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, which painted a very sad and disturbing picture of the suffering endured by the victims who were reduced to a mere shadow of their former selves in the final stages of their lives, while sharing the accused’s life and home.

'A documentary'

The court closely analysed a series of videos and snapshots recorded by the accused, reportedly to serve as evidence of the men’s reluctance to seek medical help.

The court likened the footage to “a documentary produced by the accused, written and directed for actors who played their part involuntarily and against their will”.

Ms Mijalkovic's voice in the background consistently came across as being detached and void of concern for the health of the vulnerable persons who were being filmed in the most awkward and helpless positions, the court observed, either naked in an empty bath, or in a crumpled heap on the floor, soiled in their own faeces.

Mr Grant had appeared bruised and cut, short of breath and hardly able to answer the incessant questions which the accused kept putting to him.

“Why you fell? For last month how many time you fell?” and other questions in similar vein which the woman kept putting while filming the men instead of shouldering her duty of care towards them and seeking immediate medical help.

She had allowed their health to deteriorate, more concerned with gathering evidence which ultimately served “to incriminate rather than exonerate her,” the court declared.

“Her attitude was unemotional and cold, retaining a distant stance without a shred of mercy, totally dismissive in spite of the scenes before her,” the court remarked, concluding that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The woman was deemed a “serious and real threat to society,” unscrupulous living off elderly and vulnerable men, yet turning her back upon them when they most needed her help, continuing to film them instead of seeking immediate medical assistance.

Such behaviour called for a punishment that would put the accused “out of circulation” and serve as a deterrent by sending out a message loud and clear.

Upon such considerations, the court condemned the accused to a five-and-a-half year effective jail term out of a possible seven-and-a-half maximum and ordered her to pay €14,514 in court expenses.

The court also ordered the accused’s removal from Malta once she served her sentence.

Inspectors Fabian Fleri and James Grech prosecuted.

Peter Fenech took over from a legal aid lawyer as counsel to the defence.