One week has passed since the double fatal stabbings in a Sliema penthouse shocked the nation on New Year’s Day, but police are no closer to unlocking the clues that will establish the motive.
Police believe Gera entered the apartment unarmed
Police are still trying to establish the connection between the two dead men, Duncan Zammit and Nicholas Gera, who got entangled in a violent fight involving two big steak knives.
It also remains a mystery as to why Mr Gera was in the High Street apartment of Mr Zammit and his wife Claire Zammit Xuereb in the early hours of New Year’s Day and what sparked the confrontation.
Mr Zammit died of nearly 30 knife wounds, cuts and bruises – mostly sustained as he tried to defend himself – while Mr Gera no fewer than 10. However, police sources told The Sunday Times Mr Gera had only two wounds that could be described as deep and fatal, the rest were not life-threatening.
It is possible that while Mr Gera was crouched on Mr Zammit lashing at him, Ms Zammit Xuereb could have grabbed another knife and went to her husband’s defence.
The autopsy revealed a pattern in Mr Gera’s neck wounds, which may imply Ms Zammit Xuereb dealt him a blow in the only spot where she could strike. If this is what happened, the law is on her side as a case of lawful defence.
Police believe Mr Gera entered the 500-square-metre apartment unarmed and chose his weapon from the kitchen. During interrogations, Ms Zammit Xuereb told police Mr Gera entered the bedroom brandishing two knives, but police are questioning how plausible this is.
Ms Zammit Xuereb has stuck to her version of events, which has remained constant throughout two police interrogations.
The young widow has never spoken publicly, but her father, entrepreneur Anġlu Xuereb, has been on record in different media, presenting his daughter’s version of events. He was the first person his daughter called after the fight.
The families of Mr Zammit, his wife and Mr Gera have all told The Times that to their knowledge the two men never knew each other, which has made the deaths all the more puzzling. The only witness on the scene of the crime, Ms Zammit Xuereb, is saying she did not know Mr Gera either.
However, police sources said circumstantial evidence pointed to the probability that the men knew each other – but so far investigators have come up with nothing concrete to substantiate this theory.
Information pieced together during the past week shows Mr Zammit had spent New Year’s Eve with his wife, parents and in-laws at their house. The only time he left the house was to drive his parents to their house, a few blocks away in Tigné, around 1 a.m.
In the meantime, Mr Gera was working at Shiva’s Indian restaurant in Paceville and clocked off at 3 a.m., telling his manager he was too tired to go out. He then drove his colleague to George Borg Olivier Street, just blocks away from his own home in Blanche Huber Street.
It is not known what he did between that time and 4.45 a.m. when he entered Muddy Waters bar in St Julian’s in a mad, uncharacteristic rage. Some 15 minutes later he was kicked out of the bar, and at around 6.30 a.m. he was found dead in a pool of blood in Mr Zammit’s apartment.
His whereabouts between the time he was kicked out of the bar and before he set foot in the apartment have not been established yet.
Police have ruled out that the tragedy was a botched burglary, but the mystery remains whether this was a senseless killing by a complete stranger who targeted the couple or a feud between two men who knew each other.
In the meantime, other possibilities are being considered and the case is still being actively investigated.