Charlene Farrugia, whose remains were found in a wartime shelter at a Floriana ditch, was stabbed and dismembered inside a St Paul’s Bay apartment after an argument, the court heard on Monday.

Details emerged during the first hearing of the compilation of evidence against John Paul Woods, 40, standing charged with the murder of the 25-year old carer, who went missing back in November 2008. 

The man had allegedly confessed to the murder in July last year when he was arrested in relation to a hold up at a Gżira convenience store, subsequently telling police that he wanted to speak about the deed allegedly committed 11 years before.

Details of the moments leading up to the murder were revealed by prosecuting Inspector James Grech, from the CID, who recounted the murder suspect’s confession immediately following his arrest last summer.

Back in 2008, Farrugia lived with her partner, Jonathan Attard, who was arrested in a drug bust shortly before the murder, leaving the woman to take care of his young children while he remained behind bars.

On November 5, the eve of the alleged murder, police traced a call from prison by Attard to his girlfriend, at around 4.40pm.

“Have you seen John? Did he give you the money?” he asked.

“Today I haven’t seen him but tomorrow morning I’ll go,” Farrugia had replied, her voice sounding desperate. 

The next day, around noon, Farrugia walked to the apartment on Triq Efesu, to the flat merely four doors away from her own apartment, where Woods was carrying out finishing works at his girlfriend’s place. 

Woods later explained to police that Farrugia had been pestering him for some €200 owed to her partner. 

When she knocked at the apartment block, he let her in. An argument allegedly broke out in the flat hallway and Farrugia allegedly threatened to tell Woods’ girlfriend about a made-up relationship between Farrugia and Woods, unless he forked out the money. 

Stabbed in the neck

As the two entered the spare bedroom, Woods grabbed a knife he had been using to cut electric wires, and stabbed the woman in the neck. 

Sensing she was not dead, he placed his hands on her mouth to suffocate her. 

He then dragged the body to an internal yard, placed it on an old mattress, covered the corpse and left it there overnight. 

The next day, he dragged the body back inside, out of sight of neighbours, washing away all traces of blood in the yard. 

Another day lapsed and the body remained inside the flat. 

When on November 8, neighbours began to complain about a foul smell from the ground floor apartment, Woods decided to dispose of the body, reassuring neighbours there was a problem with the drains and that it was being seen to at once. 

Using a hacksaw, he dismembered the body, placing the various parts in garbage bags, two of which he put in separate skips in Triq l-Ibħra and Triq il-Ħġejjeġ.

The head and legs were disposed of at the Floriana ditch, where police discovered them 11 years later when the accused himself led them to the spot. 

Woods drove to Floriana in Farrugia’s own car, a Toyota Platz, which he later gave to a third party with instructions to park it somewhere in Valletta. 

Investigators examining CVA footage found that the victim’s car had entered the capital on the day of the alleged murder between 2.45pm and 3.30pm. Given that the estimated time of murder was between noon and 1pm, those records meant that the car was driven to Valletta afterwards. 

On November 9, 2008, the car again entered Valletta at 7.22pm but was never driven back out. 

In August last year, after consulting his lawyer, the accused gave investigators a different version, explaining that Farrugia had allegedly been murdered inside the flat by Jesmond Cassar, the partner of Jonathan Attard’s sister. 

Woods stabbed in the arm

Woods and Cassar allegedly shared a drug habit. 

Woods had gone to a nearby pharmacy for syringes and had returned to his flat, where he had left Farrugia and Cassar, the latter having promised to get a supply of drugs.

Woods told police he had come across Farrugia’s apparently lifeless body on the floor, back against the wall.

“What have you done? What happened?” Woods charged.

A scuffle then broke out between the two men, during which Cassar allegedly stabbed Woods on the arm, then left the flat, never coming back. 

A couple of days later, Woods had decided to dispose of the woman’s body.

In his later version, Woods said that parts of the body were placed in five garbage bags placed outside the flat, the rest disposed of in skips and at the Floriana shelter. 

The five bags put outside had allegedly disappeared before the waste collection round, with Woods saying he suspected Cassar of having taken them. 

Yet, following a face-to-face confrontation between the two men at police headquarters, certain questions remain unanswered. 

When giving his last statement to police on July 2, Inspector Grech noted a change in Woods attitude, saying that the man had reacted rather angrily, insulted the officer and cut short the interview. 

The victim’s sister broke down in tears as the gruesome details of the murder were revealed in court. She had supplied the DNA sample by means of which the victim’s identity could be determined following the discovery at the Floriana ditch. 

The compilation continues on Wednesday.

Inspectors James Grech and Jonathan Ransley are prosecuting.
Lawyer Roberta Bonello is defence counsel.
Lawyer Mario Mifsud appears parte civile.