The police have managed to solve all murders committed in 2020, in a year where for the first time a father was charged with killing his son. 

It is the second successive year where the police recorded a 100 per cent success rate, and the first time this has occurred since 2004, according to crime historian Eddie Attard.

Six cases were solved last year and three in 2019 – in other words, the police mounted prosecutions in all the murders that took place, although they are all still pending a court judgment.

Last year was not an extraordinary one for murders in terms of numbers: the six cases left seven victims, equal to the number of victims in 2018 and lower than the eight lives claimed in 2017.

One woman was killed in 2020, meaning a lower ratio of femicides than previous years.

The murder victims in 2020 were Chantelle Chetcuti, Amoubi Joseph Ezechi, Victor McKeon, Saviour Gaffarena, Antoine Dalli, Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski.

Attard observed that the number of foreign murder victims has increased in recent years, with two registered in 2020.

He said 2020 also saw the first case of filicide in the country, when Antoine Dalli was allegedly shot dead by his father, Salvu, in his Għaxaq home in August.

Attard noted that the murders of children so far had always involved mothers.

He also said that the police not only managed to solve all cases but also succeeded in security extradition requests for two people allegedly involved in two of the murder cases.

Amoubi Joseph Ezechi, March 14

The second murder of the year took place on March 14 when an argument broke out between 37-year-old father-to-be Amoubi Joseph Ezechi and his roommate Innocent Okwudili, a 38-year-old Nigerian.

The stabbing took place in a Qawra apartment during an argument about who would do the cooking and grocery shopping. The victim, Amoubi Joseph, was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries shortly after. He was stabbed once in the chest. He died at the same time his wife, Harmony, was giving birth to their first child, a boy.

Okwudili, a construction worker who had travelled from Italy to Malta just two weeks before the murder took place, was also accused of being in unlicensed possession of a knife and with bearing the weapon while committing a crime.

He is pleading not guilty.  

Chantelle Chetcuti, February 2

The 34-year-old mother of two was repeatedly stabbed outside a Żabbar bar in February. The man accused of killing her is ex-partner Justin Borg, who had attended family therapy sessions with the woman one month before the fatal stabbing.

The woman had been playing billiards at St Patrick’s Club when Borg turned up, asking her to follow him outside for a chat.

Once outside, he allegedly stabbed the woman multiple times in the head and neck with a large knife.

Borg, from Safi, left the scene in haste but turned himself in at police headquarters, clothes bloodstained, blood seeping from a wound on his hand and in a state of shock.

He is pleading not guilty to murder and charges related to the possession of cocaine.

In 2013, Chetcuti had filed domestic violence reports against Borg but the case had fallen through after she chose not to testify against him.  

Victor McKeon, March 17

A foul smell emanating from a quiet apartment in the Santa Luċija government housing estate led the police to the grim discovery of Malta’s third murder victim last year, Victor McKeon, who was found wrapped in black garbage bags in the bathroom.

The 62-year-old victim had suffered blows to the head after being choked. Identification was confirmed through DNA tests.

The apartment where the man was found murdered, probably three days after it had actually taken place, had its apertures sealed from the inside with tape. 

McKeon was found in the bathroom which was locked and had a towel blocking the bottom part of its door. Despite the apparent attempt to conceal the smell, it was the foul stench of a decomposing body that compelled neighbours to call the police. All the apartment’s doors and windows were shut, and the police had to smash a window to make their way in.

Samir Almiri, 35, who lived in the same Santa Luċija apartment, was arrested in Morocco and extradited to Malta in early December. He is denying the charges.

Saviour Gaffarena, July 29

An apparent argument in a field in the area known as Ħal Millieri, in Qrendi, led to the fatal shooting of Saviour Gaffarena, 27. His younger cousin Vince Gaffarena was shot in the face but survived.

People watching the international fireworks festival in Triq il-Konvoj ta’ Santa Marija, in Mqabba, at around 10.45pm were shocked when a Renault Megane drove up with the victims inside.

Vince Gaffarena had blood in his mouth and could not speak when asked what had happened. He was given a pen and paper and he wrote: “Owen Schembri and Leon Debono, Kirkop.”

Saviour Gaffarena was shot in the head. Inside the car, the police found a bag with a pistol and magazine inside.

As investigations continued, the police found the weapon allegedly used in the murder under a tree in Kirkop. At least three shots were fired that fatal night

The two 18-year-old roommates were arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder in what police believe to be a homicide related to drug-trafficking.

Both Schembri and Debono pleaded not guilty.

Antoine Dalli, August 7

Salvu Dalli, 68, stands accused of shooting his son Antoine, 37, in cold blood on August 7 at his Għaxaq home in Triq il-Gudja. Antoine was found dead in the bathroom, having suffered a single shot in the stomach.

The father and son had a somewhat troubled relationship and had been quarrelling over money for months.

Two of Dalli’s sons had also been fighting over the financial dispute, with the two exchanging threats.

The court has so far heard how the family had been torn apart by the financial dispute that had been brewing for several months.

Antoine Dalli arrived outside his father’s home in Gudja on a bicycle. According to Salvu, also known as ‘Danger Man’, his son shouted insults to him outside his house, forcefully opened the door and tried to attack him upon entry into his bedroom.

Salvu Dalli is pleading not guilty to the homicide.

Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski, August 18

The final murder of 2020 was the shocking double homicide of art collectors Christian Pandolfino and Ivor Maciejowski who were shot dead in their Sliema home in what police believe was a four-minute botched robbery.

Pandolfino, 58, a doctor, was shot at close range, while his partner, art dealer Ivor Maciejowski, 30, was shot once in the head from a medium range.

Albanian national Daniel Muka, who has a history of armed robbery, North Macedonian bouncer Viktor Dragomanski and Danish national Jesper Kristiansen are all facing separate proceedings over the murder case.

Kristiansen was extradited from Spain to Malta to face justice. The three are pleading not guilty to the charges.

Muka, 25, was arrested a few days after the cold-blooded murder when the police descended upon a Floriana property. He is one of two brothers who is facing charges of attempted murder and the violent robbery of some €333,000 worth of jewellery in an armed hold-up at Diamonds International in Tigne Point in 2017.

Dragomanski was arrested following an equally dramatic operation because police had to chase him over rooftops in Sliema before managing to put him in handcuffs.