One of the alleged victims in the case of a man from Quebec charged with the involuntary homicide of his wife was to blame for the accident, a court heard today.

In the case, Jean Guy Legendre, 69, is charged with the involuntary homicide of his wife Renèe Pelland, seriously injuring two people and slightly injuring a fourth person. He is also charged with damaging the rented Chevrolet he was driving and a BMW sports car, that was being driven by Clayton James Fenech.

The accident occurred on Triq l-Infetti, near Mdina, on July 16, 2011.

Court appointed expert Mario Buttigieg told the court today he was given 12 photos by Dr Fenech. These photos, he said, showed mud on the right side of the road going underneath the Chevrolet.

But when he checked both the BMW and the Chevrolet, which were impounded in the police yard, there was no mud on them.

Asked if this could be due to weather conditions since the cars had been kept outside for two years, Mr Buttigieg said that the type of mud in the photos would not come off easily and could only be removed with a power wash.

He said that, in his opinion, Dr Fenech was to blame for the accident. The BMW, he said was travelling at a far greater speed than the Chevrolet.

Mr Buttigieg said he was was particularly annoyed because a police sergeant had destroyed the scene of the accident by throwing dirt on oil there was on the ground.

Stefano Filletti, representing Mr Legendre, said he believed the photos had been tampered with and reserved the right to request further tests to be carried out.

Kathleen Grima, appearing for Dr Fenech, strongly objected to the assertion that the photos were tampered with and said she could verify that, on the day of the accident, Dr Fenech had been to a wedding to which she was also present and had shown her the photos.

Asked where the mobile phone on which these photos had been was, Dr Fenech said he lost it.

He said the photos were on his computer but Dr Filletti said that without the original photos one would never be able to know if they were tampered with.

The case was deferred.