The trial by jury of former policeman Carmel Cutajar kicked off this morning, making history as the first trial to be presided over by a female judge, Madam Justice Edwina Grima.

Mr Cutajar, 50 of Rabat, is pleading not guilty to the attempted murder of his estranged wife, seriously injuring her, carrying an unlicensed firearm and committing a crime he was duty bound to prevent on September 26, 2012.

The accused had been married to Maria for 21 years, with whom he had two daughters. At the time of the incident, they were aged 14 and 20.

According to the prosecution, their marriage was not a happy one due to the accused's possessive, authoritarian and violent character, making his wife practically a prisoner within her own home.

In fact, two months prior to the incident, Ms Cutajar and their two children had left the family home and sought shelter at Dar Merhba Bik.

The accused could not accept the fact that his wife and children had defied his authority and left the family home and he tried to persuade her to return. Since there were instances in the past when Ms Cutajar would relent before his honeyed words and return, only to suffer beatings and oppression by her husband, she decided to stand firm. She made it clear to him that he could forget her as she would not be returning to him.

The accused could not stomach this fact and concocted a plan to kill or seriously injure his estranged wife, the prosecution argued.

In the afternoon of September 26, the accused took a revolver and made his way to Saqqaja, where Ms Cutajar was working at the Point de Vue. Peering through the establishment's door, the accused spotted his estranged wife and asked her to exit so that he could speak to her. Ms Cutajar complied to avoid a scene before her colleagues.

The bullet pierced her chest and rib cage, lodging itself close to her heart.

The accused pleaded with her to return home with him, but she reiterated that her decision was final.

"So you're not coming back?" he repeated. Upon her reply, he produced the revolver, aimed it at her heart and fired at close range. The bullet pierced her chest and rib cage, lodging itself close to her heart.

Upon being shot, in great pain, imbued with a sudden strength, Ms Cutajar turned and made a dash toward the establishment. The accused then proceeded to fire two shots in her direction, which missed.

Her colleagues assisted her until the ambulance arrived and she was rushed to hospital, where her condition was assessed to be critical. It was only thanks to the timely surgical intervention which saw the bullet being removed from the pre-pleural space very close to the heart that her life was saved.

Therefore, the voluntary homicide was not executed due to factors out of the accused's control.

In the meantime, the accused drove towards the Rabat police station and turned himself in. He said he had turned the gun on himself but the wound was only a superficial one, with the accused admitting that he himself had fished it out.

Giannella Busuttil and Anthony Vella from the Attorney General's office are prosecuting. Edward Gatt and Mark Vassallo are defending the accused.