A former manufacturing engineer who, upon retirement, devoted most of his energy to volunteering particularly with nature-themed organisations, this morning recounted how his life changed after an incident in Qbajjar which resulted in the death of a fellow Gozitan.

Soft-spoken Gerald Galea, 67, is currently facing trial by jury over the murder of John Spiteri, after the two had allegedly ended up in an argument regarding the pruning of a tamarisk tree,

The accused looks focused during a break. Sketch: David Johansson

Seated at the side of the witness stand, the accused transported all those present in the courtroom back to that fateful day in June 2013, which has changed his life completely and which continues to haunt him.

Speaking in English, evidence of his life in America where he emigrated at the age of 16, the man started off by outlining his job history, which involved spending 20 years working as a manufacturing engineer and production problem solver at Ford, where he focused on forging strong ties with employees at the workplace.

One of nine siblings, Mr Galea had upon retirement in March 2013, returned to his homeland together with his wife, so as to “re-establish life in Gozo”.

On June 19, 2013, just three days before he was due to return to Michigan, he was looking out of his second-floor apartment overlooking Qbajjar, when he saw a white truck being driven back and forth over some bushes at the far side of the car park.

It was around 2.30pm and there were two persons inside the vehicle. One of them, wearing orange, got out of the truck and, with a big knife mannaretta began to hack away at the bushes. Shortly after, he got back inside the truck and drove off. It all lasted a few minutes, the court was told.

Sometime later, while about to drive off in the Terios, lent to him by his sister, on his way to accompany his now 97-year old mother on her daily visit to Ta’ Pinu, the accused saw that the truck had returned to the parking area. Deciding to speak to the men, he drove his car into the parking lot going at normal parking speed, contrary to what the victim's son had declared when testifying in court.

Stopping his car parallel to the Isuzu truck, Mr Galea had noted that the elder man had got out and was standing close to the passenger door of the truck. The younger man, Matthew Spiteri, wearing orange, had a big knife.

‘Hi there. Why are you doing that to the tree?’ the accused had called out, referring to one of several tamarisk trees dotting the seaside area. ‘We live in Gozo. Everybody speaks to each other in Gozo. Where I live it's normal behaviour to talk to each other,’ he said commenting on the fact that he had approached the men.

Matthew Spiteri had told him that the tree was a breeding spot for mice. However, the father had piped in saying that he was clearing the site to make space. When the latter spoke, the accused recognised him as the man who set up kiosk in summer
‘Why do you have to destroy the tree to turn a penny?’ the accused had told father and son. ‘If you are going to continue, I'll take your number and report the matter to the police’ he had told them, reaching into the car’s glove compartment, taking a notebook and jotting down the Isuzu number.

No words were exchanged between the accused and the deceased. The father was getting rather irritated. ‘Go take his number so that we make a report too,’ the father had allegedly instructed his son, in an irritated tone. As the younger man crouched before the Terios to take note of its number on his mobile, the accused was about to reverse when suddenly he was stunned.

John Spiteri had grabbed him by the throat through the open window and was firing his other fist at his face like there's no tomorrow. Darkness descended upon the accused, who recalled his head swimming and such excruciating pain that he fumbled for the gear lever while his foot ‘couldn't press deeper’ on the gas pedal.

When the son finally managed to pull his father away, the accused somehow made off but the Terios moved round in circles.

“I'm getting in there to kill you” the victim's voice was heard saying in the background. Just then, the door of the Terios was pulled open and the deceased lunged at Mr Galea, who was pinned under the heavy weight of the other man.

When he finally managed to release his arm, and hit the gas, the car shot forward while its driver, body shaking, bent sideways over the gear lever, tried to manoeuvre the vehicle but his hand kept slipping from the steering wheel.

A migraine multiplied by infinity

‘Bum! Bum! Bum!’ were the sounds he recalled, his only thoughts at the time being to get away from the two men and their big knife. He remembered hitting the parked Isuzu and finally crashing into another tree. Then all was quiet.

As the engine stopped, the accused recalled thinking ‘two of them, a large knife…. fine. I'm going to die. All I could think of was to get myself out of there. I was going to die.’

The pain he was experiencing was comparable to ‘a migraine multiplied by infinity’. 'It was horrific,' the man explained, his voice occasionally cracking as he relived his ordeal. Tell a mother who bore a child to explain her pain to a woman who has not bore children, was the example given by accused when asked to describe his pain at the time of the incident.

After crawling out through the passenger door, he had just dragged himself to the recycling bins when the man in orange came up to him and punched him on the right side of his head. People pulled him away. In the background there was shouting, and someone mentioned ice. Mr Galea did not even recall seeing his two brothers there. All he thought of was that someone had to tell his mother that he would not take her to Ta’ Pinu that day.

Asked to explain why he had asked for a lawyer, Mr Galea explained that in America one always contacted the police, a lawyer and the insurance in case of an accident.

When the victim had attacked him a second time, the accused was frozen in panic. He had hit the gas to get away. He could not understand why the man was doing that to him over what he had termed a ‘weed’, namely the tamarisk tree.

The accused explained through tears, how whenever he experienced a bumpy ride in a car ever since the incident, vivid memories would flash through his mind so that he would find himself reliving the whole trauma of that fateful day. His persistent state of mind precluded him from driving.

“Driving would be dangerous to me and others” the man concluded, adding that although he no longer drove his mother to Ta’ Pinu, he did visit the church to pray not only for his family and himself but even for the victim's family who had “lost a man”.

The trial continues with the cross-examination of the accused.

Lawyers Giannella Busuttil and Kevin Valletta from the AG’s office are prosecuting. Lawyers Jason Azzopardi and Arthur Azzopardi are defence counsel. Lawyer Joseph Giglio is appearing parte civile.