A man who stands accused of a murder in Gozo in 2009 when he ran over another man with a car, had not intended to commit murder, but was trying to drive off after being severely injured when he was assaulted by the victim, a trial by jury was told today.
Gerald Galea stands accused of the murder of John Spiteri after an argument and a scuffle after he protested when he saw Mr Spiteri and his son trimming a tree in the car park in Qbajjar in order to set up a kiosk.
When making final submissions in the trial by jury, defence counsel Jason Azzopardi questioned the credibility of the prosecution’s main witness, Matthew Spiteri, the victim's son, who was present when his father John was run over.
How could the wheels of the Terios car cause the screeching sound as alleged by the victim's son, when the ground of the car park was covered in gravel, Dr Azzopardi asked.
Casting doubt upon the veracity of the version of events given by Matthew Spiteri, Dr Azzopardi observed that another witness, Joseph Asciak, who lived in a flat overlooking the site of the incident, had testified about having heard the revving of an engine but no screeching tyres.
The prosecution was intent on making the jurors believe that the accused, a soft-spoken ‘perfect gentleman’, a lover of nature who described the Spiteris' cutting of tamarisk branches as ‘hurting the tree’, had suddenly been transformed into a violent man, the lawyer said.
Reminding the jury of several shortcomings by investigators in the course of the inquiry leading to Mr Galea's trial, Dr Azzopardi questioned why no comparative analysis had been performed on blood samples retrieved from the ground of the crime scene.
Why was no accident reconstruction expert appointed to determine the unfolding of events on that fateful afternoon back in June 2013?
How could the accused have intended to purposely run over the victim when he was in excruciating pain and half-blinded by the blows dealt by John Spiteri shortly before being run over?
Not only was the accused temporarily blinded, but he had allegedly lost his specs after the first blow. These were later discovered by investigators inside the Terios.
The accused had himself told the police that he did not see John Spiteri. He had kept repeating that his only intention at the time was “to get the hell out of there” for fear that the father and son would kill him.
Indeed, the accused had been beaten up so badly that the same witness, Joseph Asciak, when testifying before a magistrate just two weeks after the incident had declared “I can't tell if it was the same man because his face was all bruised” when asked to identify Mr Galea.
The trial continues. Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi is expected to address the jury tomorrow.
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.