A carnival partygoer who grievously injured an aggressor lurking in the dark was deemed to have acted in legitimate self-defence, even if excessively so.

Shaun Demicoli, 43, was on his way home after a private party at Birżebbuġa in the early hours of March 2, 2014, when, upon stepping outside, into the dark street, he suddenly landed a blow on the head.

Testifying later in court, the accused explained how, at the time, he had not recognised his aggressor as the same man, a tall, Tunisian national who, earlier on had turned up at the party uninvited and had had a minor confrontation with Demicoli. 

As he left the party with his partner, daughter and a male friend, Demicoli been chatting casually as he opened the aluminium door of the apartment block and stepped out onto the dark street.

The unexpected blow had caused him to step backwards, his mind “going blank”.

Then the first thought that rushed through his head was that “he was being ambushed,” and instinctively fought back to protect his partner and young daughter. 

A DJ who had been performing at the party, later recalled how he had rushed outside upon hearing the commotion and had spotted the two men engaged in a fistfight. 

The accused’s partner was sent flying to the ground when she tried to intervene to break up the fight.

The victim himself had no recollection of the incident, explaining later how that night he had gone to a bar and asked for a drink, having already had two bottles of wine at home, and only recalled landing at the midst of a fight.

“Everyone was hitting me and I did not see their faces,” the victim explained.

The man was left on the street, face badly mutilated and almost choking on his own blood.

Luckily, he was spotted by a girl, sitting on the back seat of her grandfather’s car. The man’s partner happened to be a trained nurse and gave first aid until an emergency team arrived on site. 

Demicoli was subsequently prosecuted for attempted murder, grievous bodily harm as well as relapsing. 

His lawyers raised the plea of legitimate self-defence.

The court, presided over by magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, observed that though CCTV footage was not sufficiently clear, there was enough evidence to grasp the dynamics of the incident.

That evidence showed that the accused had reacted to a “sudden, actual and absolute” danger which could not be anticipated nor avoided “by other means”.

Although he had acted in self-defence, there was no doubt that his reaction had been “disproportionate,” said the Court, observing that whereas the accused had walked away after the violence, the victim might have fared worse had he not been spotted by passers-by. 

The court cleared the accused of attempted homicide and convicted him of inflicting grievous injuries, but since he had reacted under surprise, shock or fear, that excessive behaviour earned him no punishment in terms of law. 

Lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jason Grima were defence counsel.