As a young child, Desiree Grech Rosso wanted to become a lab scientist, just like her father, Albert Brian Rosso. But when he was murdered and his body was never found, when she was 15 years old, she scrapped her plans to follow in his footsteps and, eventually, decided to study law to be able to follow the court case against the two men charged with his murder.

Now, she believes the law that allowed her fathers’ alleged killers to “literally get away with murder” needs to be amended.

She believes that, before the courts scrap key evidence – such as statements in which a murder is admitted – there ought to be an assessment of the serious nature of that evidence.

Fishermen Anthony Bugeja, 55, and Piero Di Bartolo, 49, were last month cleared of her father’s murder during a trial by jury held 18 years after he disappeared in October 2005.

The jurors were not made aware of the contents of statements in which the accused admitted to the murder in 2005. This was because, last year, the criminal court declared the statements inadmissible because they were given without legal assistance and could result in irremediable prejudice for the accused. At the time the statements were given, such assistance was not required by law.

It was only five years later that the right to consult a lawyer, for no longer than one hour prior to interrogation, was introduced under Maltese law. In 2016, the right to legal assistance was granted throughout the whole pre-trial stage, including during interrogation.

Desiree believes that the bottom line is that justice did not prevail.

Rosso was a lab technician.

A legal fiasco

“The court case was a fiasco like no other. It took 18 years to start. Then, the court allowed that, due to a change of law, statements were not produced as evidence. Once jurors ‒ after the trial ‒ read that these men had admitted and they freed them, it must have been an unnecessary burden on their shoulders,” she says.

“This should have been an open-and-shut case but it dragged on for almost 20 years and dragged us with it. We expect closure. We will never get what we want – my father back. Apart from the fact that he was murdered, we could not even say goodbye in a decent funeral since his body was never found. Something like this, you never get over. You just learn to cope,” she adds.

Now Desiree and her mother Mary Rose have filed a judicial protest holding the State responsible for the acquittal of Bugeja and Di Bartolo. They are claiming this was due to the court delay, together with shortcomings in the investigation and handling of the criminal proceedings.

In the protest ‒ filed by lawyers Stefano Filletti, Eve Borg Costanzi and Nicole Galea ‒ they argue this resulted in a breach of the right to life enshrined in the European Convention for Human Rights and Malta’s Constitution.

“Through the case, we aim to raise awareness of the injustice being allowed and pray to God that such cases are not allowed to happen as they are inhumane,” she says.

She feels she owes it to her father.

Marsaxlokk fishermen Piero Di Bartolo and Anthony Bugeja had been charged with the murder of Rosso. Photos: Jonathan Borg

A funny, loving father

Desiree remembers two things when she thinks about her father: his love for the Floriana football club and his passion for the sea. He was a marine biologist and medical technician who worked at the San Luċjan Aquaculture Centre. He also loved his boat.

“I remember his laugh. I remember when he would take me to watch football and bribe me with ice cream. He also had a fumigation company and supplied bees for organic fertilisation of farms. He would take me to fields with him ‒ that’s where I learnt how to ride a bicycle, with his farmer friends.”

She recalls how he was funny but also a perfectionist and the sort of person who knew how to do everything. He was strict about her studies and very proud that she was planning on becoming a lab scientist like him.

“I did my O levels in biology and chemistry. I eventually did my A levels, got my A level in biology and kicked off the Applied Lab Sciences course after that. Dad and I had been talking about this study plan since I was in Form 2, so he knew the career path I was taking before the incident…

“But after his disappearance I changed plans and opted for law to follow up on this case. I eventually specialised in financial crime and I’m now head of the compliance and financial crime department in banking.”

Desiree recalls how the problems started when her father bought a second boat, which he wanted to use for tuna fishing as a side business. He bought the boat with its crew – that included Di Bartolo – and employed Bugeja to help him run the boat. She insists that Bugeja was not a co-owner.

Months before the murder, her father started acting strange. He was scared all the time and told her mother he would not live much longer. He spoke about being threatened by Sicilians and the reason he gave was that the boat had been used for something illegal, which he disapproved of.

She later learnt that her father had also told her mother about two instances when Bugeja almost killed him: once when he almost shot at him on the boat and another time when Bugeja turned on the propellor while he was diving close to it.

He was so scared that he even bought a gun and reported his fears to then police commissioner John Rizzo.

A young Desiree with her father.

The day of the murder

Desiree remembers the day of the murder very clearly.

October 10, 2005, was a Monday and, on the following Wednesday, she was to start Sixth Form. She was also doing a hairdressing course.

On the day, her father was meant to take her to the course. But he was late and it was very unusual. Her mother tried calling him but he did not pick up, so she took her to the course. The car broke down on the way there. Again, her mother tried calling him but he did not answer. When they got home that evening, the tea his mother prepared for him was still in the tea cosy – untouched.

“She did not react but I could see fear in her eyes,” Desiree remembers.

Her mother drove to his work and a watchman told her he had left in the morning to see Bugeja. She called Bugeja’s wife, Lilian, who said she had seen him in the morning outside their home and gave her Bugeja’s number. Bugeja said he met him near the boat and not at home.

Mother and daughter then went to file a report at the Żabbar police station and when her mother mentioned that her husband had recently flagged his fears to Rizzo, “there was panic”.

“It was surreal, like a film. There were police searching our house,” she says.

The family kept hoping until they were informed by investigators, some days later, that Bugeja and Di Bartolo had admitted to the murder.

The police suspected that Rosso’s disappearance had something to do with his fishing business. The prosecution, in fact, alleged that Rosso was shot dead during an argument that broke out over a fishing vessel, Desiree.

The police claimed that a violent row over the fishing vessel ensued when Rosso met Bugeja outside his Marsaxlokk home. Bugeja allegedly fetched a firearm, in a premeditated plan, and shot Rosso in the presence and in agreement with Di Bartolo, who used to operate the vessel.

The men then allegedly placed the victim’s body inside a sack, transported it out to sea and dumped their load near the Freeport, weighing down the sack with some stone blocks.

Rosso with his fishing vessel Desiree.

Both men were arraigned, their trial starting 18 years later. The statements could not be used. They were acquitted.

“When we were told they admitted, that’s when my mum broke down. I asked her: ‘What happened? Did he die?’ She said: ‘Yes, he’s dead’.”

As a teenager, it didn’t hit me as hard as it did my mum at the time. I took a long time to realise what actually happened. As a coping mechanism, I thought he went abroad and we’ll never see him again.

“The shock materialised two years later. I had to undergo years of therapy. I had panic attacks. It took me six years to come out of it: six years of therapy, medication and trying to find a way out. I started involving myself, studying law and criminal psychology to understand what could have led to this.

“Thankfully, my mum is a very strong woman. I would not be where I am today without her. We struggled financially as there were the legal fees that were an unnecessary obstacle we had to face.

“This case took the life out of us. When I got married, my uncle walked me down the aisle. My mum lost her life partner, she is alone. I had to leave the island and could not bear to stay here,” she says.