Bite mark matched victim`s teeth

A bite mark found on the left ring finger of a Libyan man standing trial for the murder of a hairstylist perfectly matched a cast of the victim`s teeth, a forensic expert told the Criminal Court yesterday.

"When I examined an abrasion on (Aimem Said Giali) El-Baden`s finger it seemed to be a bite mark. So I contacted other experts to compare it with the cast of (Alfie) Rizzo`s teeth that was taken during the post mortem," clinical forensic expert Mario Scerri said.

"The following morning (dental forensic expert) Prof. Hector Galea phoned me and told me there was a 100 per cent match between the bite mark found on the accused`s finger and the cast of Rizzo`s teeth."

Dr Scerri testified before Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono in the trial by jury of El-Baden, 21, who is pleading not guilty to Rizzo`s murder at Alfie`s Salon in Sliema Road, Gzira, on February 4, 1998, at about 9.30 p.m.

He is also accused of stealing Lm30 and carrying a knife without a licence.

Dr Scerri gave a detailed description of the position in which Rizzo`s body was found and of the wounds he had suffered.

There were stab wounds on the right side of Rizzo`s blood-stained face and neck. There also was a stab wound on the back of his neck. Several incisions on both sides of both hands ranged from 4.5 to 6.4 centimetres in length.

He also had several stab wounds on the top right area of the chest and an abrasion on the right arm, close to the elbow, was compatible with a bite mark, Dr Scerri said.

The nature of some of the stab wounds suggested that the blade had been rotated inside the body. This was due to the movement of the victim, the aggressor or both.

Prof. Galea and computer expert Martin Bajada were asked to take a model of the bite mark found on Rizzo`s right arm and compare it to a cast of his teeth. Results showed that the bite was caused by Rizzo himself, Dr Scerri said.

On February 15, Dr Scerri examined an abrasion on El-Baden`s left ring finger. The abrasion was in the healing stage and seemed to be a bite mark.

"When I questioned the accused about the mark, he told me he had fallen and hurt his finger. But when I insisted it was a bite mark and could not have been caused by a fall he said someone had bit him at Tà Kandja three weeks before.

"So the experts were called again to take a model of the bite mark and compared it to the cast," Dr Scerri testified.

Prof. Galea phoned Dr Scerri the following day to inform him that the model matched the cast perfectly.

El-Baden also had several bruises on his body that were yellow in colour indicating that they were not fresh.

Dr Scerri said his analysis led him to conclude that the pattern of blood splattered on the hair salon`s floor indicated that Rizzo fell in the position he was eventually found in.

Blood marks on Rizzo`s body suggested that his aggressor fell on top of him during the struggle.

The several incisions on the victim`s hands were defensive wounds caused in an attempt to grab the weapon he was being stabbed with and the weapon had a two-sided cutting edge.

Dr Scerri also concluded that the lesions found on El-Baden were caused in the period when Rizzo was killed. The state in which Rizzo was, when he was examined at 2 a.m., indicated he been dead for five hours and it was possible that he did not die as soon as he had been stabbed.

Earlier, serologists Christopher Farrugia and Robert Cardona explained that they were appointed to look for the presence of human body fluids.

Body fluids, they explained, included blood, saliva and semen.

They carried out tests for the presence of human blood by taking swabs from various areas of the hair salon, including a series of drops found on the floor, from a sofa, a sink and also from the pool of blood in which the victim was found.

Tests were also conducted on items handed to them by scene of crime officers. Blood samples taken from several men, including the accused, were analysed.

Nail scrapings were also taken from the men to test for the presence of epithelial cells (surface skin cells) that might have been trapped under the nail during a struggle.

The witnesses explained how all the (human) blood found on the scene of the crime was of blood group A. The same blood group was found on Rizzo`s underpants and on a pair of blue, denim jeans found near the salon`s cash register.

The blood found on the jeans was concentrated on the front and was prominent on the outside, indicating that they had been stained from the outside.

Nail scrapings taken from El-Baden yielded inconclusive results and tests for the presence of blood on his clothes were also inconclusive. Results showed that El-Baden is of blood group O.

They also examined the victim`s body for the presence of acid phosphatase which is a component of human semen. Positive results were indicative that there had been sexual activity prior to the murder. But, they explained, the results were not conclusive.

Under cross-examination, they said Rizzo`s blood was of type A.

Joseph Bongailas said he took the handprints of Ibrahim Ramandan Ghamber Shnishah, a suspect in the case, and of the accused and compared them to the fingerprints lifted by Police Sergeant Joseph Mallia.

None of the fingerprints matched the accused`s fingerprints.

A male member of the jury was replaced by a supplementary female juror at the start of yesterday`s sitting for failing to abide by the court`s directives. The number of supplementary jurors thus now stands at four.

The trial continues this morning.

Assistant Attorney General Dr Anthony Barbara is prosecuting.

Dr Joseph Mifsud is appearing for El-Baden.