An expert appointed by the court to retrieve data from the mobile phones of the victim of a murder today reported that according to the phone log, the last call was received from a contact saved as ‘vojt.’
Etienne Bartolo, 36, from Birkirkara, nicknamed ‘il-Vojt’, sat in the dock as the compilation of evidence surrounding the murder of Roderick Grech last March, continued.
The court-appointed expert explained how after the March 29 incident, which had taken place in the early hours of the morning in Tumas Fenech Street, he had been contacted by the Birkirkara police station.
He had been appointed by the duty magistrate to collect two mobiles belonging to the victim of the stabbing as well as another belonging to Mr Bartolo, the prime suspect.
When testifying on his findings before Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, the expert pointed out that although he had been able to retrieve all data from one of the victim’s phones, he had been unable to access the second one which was locked with a passcode.
For this reason, the court upheld a request by the prosecution authorising the expert to communicate with other experts in the field so as to obtain the necessary software which would allow access to the phone. Data stored therein could prove most valuable for the case.
During the sitting, two police officers also testified how they had taken samples of the reddish liquid found at the scene of the crime.
They had found a whitish substance in the Ford Fiesta belonging to the victim which had been found parked in the middle of Tumas Fenech Street. They had handed this substance, together with other items including clothing belonging to the suspect, to forensic experts for testing.
The vehicle itself was later towed to the yard at the Police Depot.
The fatal incident had allegedly taken place when the suspect and victim met inside the latter's car to conclude a drug deal.
Inspector Kurt Zahra prosecuted. Lawyer Edward Gatt was defence counsel. Lawyers Franco Debono, Angie Muscat and Yanika Vidal appeared parte civile.