The daughter of a woman murdered in Żebbiegħ said in court yesterday the aggressive behaviour of her mother’s former boyfriend was such they were both scared of leaving the house.

In an emotional testimony, 16-year-old Caricia Sammut said her mother Christine was so frightened of Kenneth Gafà she bought pepper spray to protect herself.

Her mother died after being shot at point blank range in her neck and chest on December 11 in Żebbiegħ, close to Mġarr. Mr Gafà, 38, of Marsa, is pleading not guilty to the murder.

Ms Sammut said she met Mr Gafà when he accompanied her mother who went to pick her up after school. He used to visit their house often but, as time went by, Mr Gafà and her mother used to have frequent arguments.

She described his attitude as “normal” but added he would sometimes get temperamental, start banging and would storm out of the house. They were afraid of going out and, whenever they did, her mother would carry pepper spray with her, she said.

When an argument broke out at home, the mother would make him leave but Mr Gafà would try to push open the front door as she was closing it. Even after her mother broke off the relationship, he kept insisting it was not over, Ms Sammut said.

She once met the accused at a nightclub in Rabat, about four months before the murder, and Mr Gafà insisted on following her to her mother’s Mtarfa apartment.

Another time, Mr Gafà told her he wanted to do a tattoo bearing her mother’s name. She told him there was no need to but, one day, he appeared at her house and sporting the tattoo. When she asked why he had done it, Mr Gafà got angry and started banging on a table before leaving, the witness said.

He used to send her messages threatening to commit suicide saying he was sick of living.

She and her mother had to cancel their weekly Sunday movie and dinner night-out because they were afraid of Mr Gafà, Ms Sammut said before breaking down in tears, forcing the court to suspend the testimony because of her emotional state.

Sister-in-law Susan Sammut said the victim had told her Mr Gafà would threaten to kill her or put her in a wheelchair if he caught her with someone else. She had even called the police because Mr Gafà used to bang on her door and force his way in, the witness said.

The victim did not want to sever communication with Mr Gafà because he owed her father €13,000, which he had borrowed to open a farm, Mrs Sammut said.

The witness said she kept a number of threatening text messages Mr Gafà had sent to her and to the victim.

Police Inspectors Daniel Zammit and Chris Pullicino prosecuted.

Lawyers Emanuel Mallia and Arthur Azzopardi appeared parte civile for the family.

Lawyers Steve Tonna Lowell, Gianluca Caruana Curran, Giannella Caruana Curran and Joseph Giglio were defence counsel.