Bidnija road rage murder: 'One guy is shooting the other,' warden told police
Mohamed Hamdan stands accused of murdering Jean Paul Busuttil
Updated 12.55pm
A panicked LESA warden told police that “one guy is shooting the other” in an emergency call which was played in court on Monday.
The call was presented in the murder case against Mohamed Hamdan, who stands accused of killing Jean Paul Busuttil following what police called a ‘road rage incident’.
Hamdan is pleading not guilty to criminal charges.
During Monday’s brief court session, police played recordings of calls made to emergency hotlines 112 and 119 related to the June 29 murder.
In one of the calls, a man could be heard identifying himself as a LESA warden and emotionally warning “he’s shooting the other guy, come bloody hell!”
Other calls also warned of gunshots.
“Send an ambulance to Bidnija, they’re shooting at us,” one of the callers exclaimed.
Defence lawyers said a call their client made to LESA before the incident kicked off had not been included. The court ordered that all recordings made to LESA and the police regarding the incident be presented before the next court sitting.
Hamdan and Busuttil collided on a country lane early on the morning of June 29, a Sunday. Busuttil’s wife and mother-in-law were with him in the car at the time.
Hamdan is alleged to have grown increasingly agitated, rushed to his home nearby, returned with a gun and shot Busuttil dead. A LESA warden was at the scene at the time.
Busuttil's wife told the court last week that a cursing Hamdan left the crash scene shortly after a LESA warden arrived, then returned a few minutes later with a gun. He then shot Busuttil five times at close range, she said, screaming “I hope you die, you bastard” after doing so.
She and her mother, who were initially scheduled to testify on Monday, will appear at a later date, once all recordings are presented and prosecutors have gone through a magisterial inquiry report into the crime.
A copy of that report was presented to the court at the start of Monday’s hearing.
Magistrate Astrid May Grima issued a prima facie decree against Hamdan, saying there was enough evidence for the case against him to continue.
The case continues on September 19.
Live blog
Prima facie decree issued
12.39pm Magistrate Astrid May Grima issues a prima facie decree against the defendant, Mohamed Hamdan.
Having seen the evidence presented so far, the court believes there are enough reasons for him to stand trial. The defence does not contest the decree.
The case is adjourned to September 16.
Testimonies postponed to next sitting
12.37pm The victim’s wife and mother-in-law were due to testify today, but it’s looking like that will be postponed to another sitting.
It seems the court wants those recordings and some other pieces of evidence to be presented before proceeding with testimonies.
More calls to be presented at a later date
12.35pm Defence lawyer Mario Mifsud suggests one recording is missing: his client, Hamdan, called LESA himself before the “big incident”, he says.
Fellow defence lawyer Edward Gatt asks the court to order the police to present all calls made to LESA and the police regarding the case. The court orders police inspector Colombo Zahra to do so.
'One is shooting the other'
12.30pm The calls were made to emergency number 112 and then transferred to the 119 emergency call system.
In the first call to 112, a warden can be heard requesting an “RIU” (Rapid Intervention Unit) at Triq il-Bidnija in Mġarr.
In a second call, a voice can be heard saying “Send an ambulance to Bidnija, they’re shooting at us”.
A third call features a very emotional voice reporting “an emergency, an emergency send help please”.
A fourth call: “Hello, in Triq il-Bidnija tal-Qasab as I call it. Send police and an ambulance... there’s been a shooting”.
The court also hears recordings of conversations on the 199 call system concerning the incident.
In one of the calls, a LESA warden can be heard telling police “he’s shooting the other guy, come bloody hell!” He sounds emotional.
In another call, the warden tells police he is safe but there has been a shooting. “Jesus Christ, I ran up so bloody quickly,” he can be heard telling the police. He explains the location and is told an RIU police unit is en route.
Recordings to be played in court
12.14pm Deputy court registrar Angelo Buttigieg presents an inquiry report about the crime to the court.
He is followed on the witness stand by Sergeant Klevin Saliba, who works at the police’s IT section. Saliba presents copies of emergency phone calls made on June 29 (the day of the murder).
The prosecution asks for the recordings to be played out before Busuttil's widow is in court. The defence does not object to that.
Who are the lawyers?
12.08pm Attorney General lawyers Kaylie Bonett and Mauro Abela are prosecuting, assissted by Inspector Kurt Colombo Zahra.
Lawyers Mario Mifsud, Nicholas Mifsud and Edward Gatt are representing the defendant.
Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi, Jacob Magri and David Farrugia Sacco are representing the victim's family.
In case you missed it
12.00pm On July 1, we revealed that Hamdan had a history of violent crime, including an attempted murder charge.
And this morning, we exclusively released video of another incident involving Hamdan which happened in January. Hamdan got into an argument with a driver and rammed his car with a water bowser truck. Watch the incident on video.
Welcome
11.55am Good morning and welcome to this live blog. We're in the Valletta law courts building for the second hearing in the compilation of evidence against 46-year-old Mohamed Hamdan.
We expect proceedings to begin at around noon.